Title: J'veux du soleil
Author: Shanee
Pairing/Characters: Veronica, Wallace, Debbie Meyer/Rain, plenty of OCs
Rating: PG-13 (maybe R later)
Spoiler: through 1.21 and eventually through 2.22 but AU since the night of Shelly Pomroy's party.
Disclaimer: VM's characters and universe belong to Rob Thomas. Title belong to "Au p'tit bonheur" band.
Summary: AU. It's time for Veronica to end what she began in February, but she's not prepared for what she'll learn.
A/N: Okay, chapter 6 is up, sorry it's shorter. I continued to explore the traces I created in the last chapters, especially with Wallace working at Mars Investigations instead of Veronica. And I modified a little (Oo just a little?) what happened in the show. Concerning Lilly, I think it would be a possibility, a weird and soap possibility, but still one. It takes place around "Drinking the Kool-aid" and things are a bit different, considering Wallace didn't find the milk bottle and Keith didn't know about Rain/Debbie Meyer being a runaway. He didn't need this information to end the Gant case anyway.
I still hope you'll like it. It's less sad I think and sorry if I made you tear, fellows. I know Veronica is stupid to think she cannot come back in Neptune, but I have my reasons for making her act like that. Concerning the identity of the twin's father, don't be too rushed, because it will take two other chapters minimum before we know. And I miss Logan too, so the next chapter will be more from Neptune character's POV.
I want reviews! ; D
Edited January 2017 - typos found and fixed, hopefully. Visibly at the time I wrote this fic, I really had a problem with the conjunctions of time in english.
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Chapter 6: One baby and two babies make three? Not in Neptune.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, here she was. Back. Veronica restrained her sigh and gave a little unsure smile at Graziella.
"You know I have to go?" she told the old lady.
"I know, you're a pretty obstinate girl," there was a sad smile on the Contessa's face, and Veronica tried to keep smiling, even if she was on the verge of tears. "But could you give me a little time before you run?"
"Sure."
Twins and women took place at a table in an airport café.
"You know I love you, right? I want you to be happy and if you being happy means you have to run away, it's all right. I'll help you."
Veronica hugged the old lady, fighting her tears. "Thank you Grandma."
"First, you have to know that with Daniel, we opened a bank account for the twins, for later, college's tuition or else."
"You didn't have to…"
"As I said to you, they are our great-grandchildren and that's a normal thing to do. Second, I opened an account for you too, to help you to raise them." The Contessa took a big envelope from her purse and opened it. "Here you'll find the numbers and all you need to know. It's an anonymous account in Switzerland. I think your father wouldn't be able to find it."
"I can't accept it," protested Veronica.
"Of course, you can and you will. Ah, Neil, right on time."
The driver was coming toward their table.
"Good morning Contessa, Lil…. sorry Veronica."
"Hi Neil."
"Do you have everything?" asked Graziella.
He nodded and removed another brown envelope from his pocket, which he gave to Veronica. She opened it and found inside a bundle of bills, a passport and a driving license, both of the name Lola Higgins, 18 years old.
"Huh…" Veronica's eyebrows wrinkled.
"Your dad will probably look for Mary Donovan, sooner or later," explained Graziella. "And that's a few bills for your trip."
Few? There were easily thirty or forty Benjamins inside.
As Neil held their bags, the Contessa rose, and Veronica followed them outside. Neil stopped in front of a Dark Blue Liberty Limited Jeep and put Veronica's and the twin's bags in the half-full truck. Veronica noticed there were two child safety seats. She turned and looked at Graziella, suspicious.
"To whom is this car?"
"To you."
"You bought me a car?"
"No, I didn't. Daniel did."
Veronica didn't succeed to find the words, she wanted to protest, but she knew it was useless. She hugged the old lady again and kissed her.
"Thank you so much, for everything."
"Call me when you find a place."
"I will. Love you grandma, kiss gramps for me."
"I will, cara Bella. And don't forget, I want news from my great-grandchildren and regular pictures."
"I promise."
"Bye Joy, bye Evan. Be nice with mommy." Graziella softly kissed the twin's foreheads and Veronica belted them in the car. A last hug and she was gone.
xxxxxxx
The first place she stopped at was the University of Portland and she quickly found the building with the dorm she was looking for. Carrying the twins, she knocked at the door and a handsome tall black guy opened it.
"Yeah?"
"Hi, is Melanie here?"
"Mel!" The boy yelled in the dorm and let Veronica enter.
A blond girl left the bathroom and as soon as she saw Veronica, both of the girls yelled and ran in each other arms.
"Mel!" – "Lilly!"
Veronica didn't protest. Melanie knew her when she thought she was a Lilly and Veronica didn't see a good reason to disabuse her. It wasn't like Melanie was a friend for life, she was just one of her ex-clones.
"How are you? Oh, look how cute they are. Great job Lilly." Melanie looked at the babies.
"I'm fine, and thanks."
"Why are you here? Don't misunderstand me. I'm glad you're here, but… did I forget you were to came?"
"No, no, don't worry. I was around and I remembered you study here. So I thought I could come and say hello."
"That's great. You can stay here tonight; my roommate is at her boyfriend's. We can do a slumber party."
"Huh, Mel," said the guy. "Don't we already have some plans for tonight?"
"None that we can't postpone. Call me tomorrow Dave. Bye."
"Okay," grumbled the boy, reaching the door. "And it's Dan by the way."
"So, tell me everything."
"I will, but before I have something to do. Do you know a boy named Davin Usher, I think he's a sophomore here."
"It's funny you ask that. I slept with him two weeks ago. Why?"
"Nothing really important. He knew a friend of mine and I want some news."
"About your friend?"
"Yes, exactly about my friend."
"Oh it's so nice of you, Lil', to not forget your friend. He's probably at the Irish pub. I can watch the babies if you want."
"Thank you, Melanie, but it's okay. I'll come back in two hours."
"Great. I'll prepare the party."
Veronica smiled at the enthusiastic girl and left the dorm, pushing the carriage through the hall.
Veronica entered the pub and the server frowned.
"Don't tell me they're 21 please."
"What?"
"The babies. You must leave, they can't stay here."
"Why?"
"It's a pub."
"Yeah, but it's not like I will give them a bottle of whiskey." She said ironically.
"I don't care. Leave."
Veronica gave the server a dark look and complied. She was wondering how she would find Davin when a boy ran after her.
"Are you Veronica Mars?"
She started and turned to face the boy, hesitating between run and lie. He wasn't tall or well-built, he looked like a nerd, but he was dressed in expensive clothes and his face wasn't ugly.
"Do I know you?"
"I'd like to say yes, but not really. But I know you. I'm Davin Usher."
"Oh…" Veronica didn't know what to add. It was weird he knew her name. If she remembered correctly she never told him her name, pretending she was a Laureen Graham from the Neptune Inquirer.
"You made my life hell."
"Pardon?"
"I said you made my life hell."
"How? I never met you."
"Yes, but you emailed me and then, you disappeared. I don't like being interrogated by the FBI, but I have to say, your father is worse."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't know."
"Yeah, you can say you're sorry." The boy didn't seem really upset, more amused.
So her father had found her trace. And the FBI were involved. Wahoo.
"It's weird when the FBI think you're a criminal and send you in jail."
"Wahoo, I'm really sorry."
"Don't, it was funny too, and I spent just three hours in cell, before my parent's friends made my bail. But your dad, he was really angry after me. You know that he's frightening."
"Yes, he used to be a sheriff."
"I heard. My family put a restraining injunction against him."
"I'm sure he liked it."
Davin laughed. "So, what happened to you? Kidnapping? Runaway?"
"Accident and loss of memory." This boy had the right to know the truth after everything he had endured by her fault.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For yelling at you. It wasn't your fault. Come inside, it will be better to talk around a drink."
"I can't. The server said…"
"Don't worry. You're with me." He grinned
Veronica smiled and followed Davin at a table. The server frowned but did nothing and Davin ordered their drinks.
"So, why are you here?"
"To end what I began in February. To ask you some questions about Lilly Kane."
"Okay. Shoot."
"You said you had seen Lilly that week-end at the Santa Marta clinic."
"Right."
"What kind of clinic is this?"
"Huh, a kind of clinic for rich teenagers with problems."
"What kind of problem?"
"There are many. Drug problem, alcohol problem, depression, suicidal desires, auto-destruction, deviant sexuality, unwanted pregnancy, violence, conflict with their rich parents, yada yada yada. Pick one."
"Which was your reason to be there?"
The boy laughed. "At least you're direct. Alcohol." He explained and took a gulp of his vodka. "Guess which was Lilly's reason!"
"Knowing her and her so loving mother, I'd say 'conflict with her rich mother'." It was an easy question.
"Lost."
Veronica stared at Davin, her eyes wide opened.
"Another guess?"
"I'm sure it's not deviant sexuality, Lilly was fond of men, she drank but not too much and she went slow on drugs. Depression?"
"Lost again. The worst for her mother, even if Lilly told me it was "a bit hypocritical", her words."
It couldn't be suicidal desires or auto-destruction; Lilly loved her life and worshiped her body. What were the others possibilities?
Oh jeez! "She was pregnant?" Veronica asked slowly.
"And the winner is Veronica Mars!"
"But she was on the pill!" protested Veronica and the boy shrugged.
Of course, it had been possible. Lilly had forgotten her pill at least once a week and Veronica should have to recall her regularly. That had been the reason Logan had complained so often that he should have to use a condom, because his girlfriend didn't have enough of a brain to remember to take her pill.
"So Lilly came at the Santa Marta clinic to get an abortion?"
"Yep."
"And I'm sure it was Celeste's decision."
"You're good at quizzes." Davin joked. "Guess what happened?"
"Lilly was mad at her mother?" As usual. Lilly hadn't wanted to have a kid, not before thirty years old she always said, but she probably had loathed that her mother sent her there. Lilly loved scandal and she would have been pleased to make her abortion a gossip subject, only to piss her mother off.
"Yeah of course, but it's not the good answer. She never got the abortion."
"WHAT!"
"She decided to keep the baby."
Life was a bitch. Lilly wanted to keep her baby and she was murdered a few days later. Veronica didn't want to keep hers and she finally had them. And loved them, but that was another subject.
"She was pregnant when she was killed? How could that remain secret?"
"It perplexed your father too."
"You told that to my father?"
"Yeah, of course. Nobody can lie to him and I needed to be clear of his suspicion."
"Do you know why she wanted to keep the baby? It's so not Lilly."
"I think the first reason was to piss her mother off."
Of course.
"But the second was because she thought it would be funny to be a single-mother…"
Right. Lilly. She had been so immature sometimes.
"Except that Logan would have never left her alone," mumbled Veronica. And Lilly had been aware of that. It had probably been a way to enchain him to her, forever. That way she could cheat on him, without risking him to leave her.
"Logan?"
"Yes, Lilly's boyfriend."
"Oh… It wasn't his."
"WHAT!"
"Lilly thought it wasn't his. She wasn't certain, but she told me she didn't know which of them was the father."
"Which of WHO?"
"She never said their names, just that the three of them were very different from each other."
Three? Lilly, jeez!
"One was the perfect boyfriend who matched her, one was his exact opposite and the third had the glamour of the first and the danger of the second. Her words."
"Did you tell my father that?"
"No, he didn't ask. He was too shocked to discover Lilly was pregnant and that the coronary hadn't told him."
"Do you know something else?"
"Except that her mother was very furious at her, no."
"Thank you, Davin, for everything."
"You're welcome."
"Oh, if my father called you, tell him I give him a kiss and that I'll come back."
"Huh… do you think he will call me?" Davin wasn't reassured and Veronica laughed.
"No, but if he does… Bye Davin."
Pushing the carriage, Veronica left the pub and she didn't walk ten meters before she heard some fast steps behind her.
"Veronica, I forgot something."
"Yes Davin?"
"I left a message at Lilly's a couple days after that week-end and she called me back."
"And?"
"She told me her mother had freaked out, and she laughed about it. And then she said she knew somebody who would crack up more than her, and she seemed to find this absolutely hilarious."
"Did she tell you who?"
"No. But it was the day of her murder and she called me with another phone other than hers. I know that because I knew her phone number by heart."
It seemed to Veronica that Davin blushed a second. But she still didn't know why that could be important.
"And?"
"She called me five minutes after the time of her death."
HUH!
"And I don't think a ghost would be able to type my number and to speak to me. I thought you should know."
"Sure." Veronica was astonished. "Did you note that other number, by chance?"
"Yes." The guy smiled at Veronica and took his cellular from his pocket. He told her the number that she wrote.
"Thank you again."
"Welcome again."
On these words, Davin turned and entered the pub, letting Veronica musing about what she had learnt. It was weird. It was like everything she knew was a lie.
xxxxxxx
The day after Veronica drove toward the second part of her plan, still confused by the scoops Davin had given to her. Watching her asleep newborns in the rearview mirror, Veronica stared. She wasn't used yet to her new hair.
With Melanie's help, she had dyed her hair raven dark and cut it really, really short, making her seem older and grave. She liked her new look but it was very different from what she was before. But she had a new identity. She wasn't Veronica Mars or Lilly Bella Donovan anymore. She was Lola Higgins, from Wisconsin.
She easily found the spot where she had parked her Lebaron that night, but there was no trace of her car. She drove along the bush road and stopped in front of a farm. As soon as she stepped out the car, a little girl ran toward her.
"Hello."
"Hello," said the girl. "Are you here for the puppies?"
"Huh, no. I'm looking for my car, a Lebaron. I left her in the road a few months ago."
"It's the car Grampa found. Come."
Making sure the twins were still asleep, Veronica followed the girl toward a grange.
"I made it my shack, but Grampa doesn't know, because he said it belong to someone."
Veronica smiled when she saw her car disappeared under tons of straw.
"Is it yours?" asked the little girl sadly.
"Yes, it is."
"Oh…"
Veronica opened the door and pick up her belongings.
"If you don't tell I came, I'll let you have the car."
"Deal." The girl smiled, delighted. "Are you sure you don't want a puppy-dog?"
"Yes, I'm sure, but thank you."
Inside her bag were her portable, her former cell and her wallet. Veronica joined her Jeep and left the place. Direction L.A., now.
xxxxxxx
Sitting in a hall, Veronica rocked Evan in her arms, while Joy mumbled in her seat. When Daniel's lawyer entered, she placed her son in the carriage and rose.
"Hello Mr. Lewis."
"Hello… Lilly Bella, I didn't recognize you. How are you?'
"I'm fine, thank you for asking."
"What can I do for you?"
"Do you remember the offer you made to me?"
"Huh… to work with me, right?"
Veronica nodded.
"I thought you found your place in the movie industry."
"Not really."
"Great, I mean it's great for me."
"Actually, I was thinking maybe you know another lawyer who need an assistant, elsewhere. I'm not really fond of California."
"Oh…" Her request perplexed the lawyer a second, then he resumed, smiling. "My bosses sent me to their new office in Boston. I'll need you there. Do you want to come?"
"Okay, I don't know this city though."
And that was dealt. Veronica, a.k.a Lola Higgins was the personal assistant of Mr. Lewis, lawyer of Delang, Morse and Ficher Partners.
xxxxxxx
Veronica enjoyed her job; she was helping Tom Lewis for two weeks now and her boss didn't say anything to her but complimented her for her good work. The building of the Cabinet had a nursery inside and even if it was hard to Veronica to leave her precious babies in another's hands, she was able to see them several times a day. The apartment she found and rented was only seven blocks from the Cabinet and she thought she could have found worse.
Absorbed by her thoughts, she didn't see Tom entering her tiny office, more a cupboard anyway.
"So, Lola…"
It hadn't been difficult to convince him to call her Lola instead of Lilly and he hadn't asked why.
"Yes Tom? I'm finishing typing the Cavendish report. It will be on your desk in ten minutes."
"Don't rush yourself. I have another job for you. You heard about the Deevan case?"
"The woman who accuses her ex-step-father of molesting her and her deceased sister when they were younger?"
"Exactly. As we have no evidence against him, except the words of Talia Deevan and the last letter of her sister, it won't be easy. Would you check on him to see if you find something useful? He had a life before and after his marriage with Mrs. Deevan."
"Of course. I'll print the Cavendish report and then work it up."
Thanks to her dad's PI software she still had on her portable, it was easy for Veronica to discover that Philip Austen had been married five times by now and had forgotten to pay some bills to the Police Department.
His first wife, he had married when they had been still in High school, wasn't very useful. She barely remembered him and was happily remarried. Everything she conceded to say was he was very strange with her in their intimacy and he didn't want her to put on sexy lingeries.
When the second wife understood what Veronica was talking about she hung up and Veronica had to leave her a dozen messages, explaining the reason of her call and who they were, before the woman accepted to pick up her phone again. That woman had a daughter from an earlier union and she had found out one night, when she had come back from work, her husband leaving precipitately the room of her daughter, with a too visible hard-on. She had left him the next day with her traumatized five-years-old daughter in her arms and had never talked to him since. The woman told Veronica she would testify against him if they let her daughter be in peace.
The third wife was dead for two years from ovarian cancer, but Veronica found she had a son and called him. The man accepted to talk to her and told her he remembered very little of Austen's time in their life. He was four at this time and all he had to say was he had been very cold with him, hadn't cared about him nor acted with him like a father, or step-father, was supposed to do. When he understood what Veronica was looking for, he told her to call his cousin who had lived with them at this time and who surely deeply hated him.
As soon as Veronica explained the reason of her call, the girl, who was two years older than his cousin, told her they could count on her and she wanted that bastard to croak in jail.
The fourth wife was Mrs. Deevan, and the fifth and last official ex-wife of Austen was very surprised when she understand why a lawyer cabinet was calling her. She hadn't noticed anything, but it would explain a lot. She said to Veronica that her daughter had ran away a few months ago, when she had been talking about fixing her marriage with him, and she had never understood why. But she had no clue where they could find her daughter.
When lunch came, Tom was very proud of his personal assistant, but Veronica thought she could do better, and as soon as she came back from the nursery, she began to look for Debbie Meyer. Two days later, she was rewarded. But she had found her trace in the only place she wasn't able to go.
She explained her problem to Tom and as expected he didn't understand what the problem was.
"If you know where she is, go there and bring her back here."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Forget it, I'll find a solution." She couldn't really tell her boss her reasons.
Half of the day, she pondered over her problem and she finally had to convince herself that there was a solution and that this solution wasn't that worse.
She typed the phone number, knowing it was 4 p.m. there and prayed that he wasn't him who picked up.
"Mars Investigation, Wallace speaking."
She sighed with relief mutely.
"Hi, I'm Lola Higgins from Boston's Delang, Morse and Ficher Partners, and I'm looking for a girl named Debbie Meyer. I know she's living in your town, but as I'm afraid of planes, I can't come there. I was thinking about hiring you to find her and give her a message."
"Mr. Mars isn't in town currently, but I will ask him as soon as he returns."
"Great, but maybe you could begin to look for her. I'm sending you her picture. I don't know, if by chance you'd cross her way. It's pretty urgent."
"Okay, I will look. I received the fax… Huh."
There was a silence on his side.
"Something wrong?"
"Huh, no, actually. But we didn't need to wait for Keith Mars. I met that girl four days ago. I didn't know she was a runaway."
"Oh, that's great. Could you tell her to call me, I'll give you my number. But tell her you're not sent by her mother and that we need her to testify against her ex-step-father. I'll hope she won't run again. We really need her to imprison him."
"Okay, I'll call you back as soon as I speak to her."
"We haven't spoken about your honoraria."
"It's not like I have something to do. I know where she lives. You didn't need to pay me."
"Of course, I need to and you probably need that money too. Besides it's the company's money, so don't worry. And if I can help you in return, with anything, don't hesitate to contact me, I'll be happy to help."
"That's nice, thank you. I promise I will."
"Great. We'll send you the check tomorrow. Bye Wallace."
"Bye Lola."
When two hours later, Veronica received a call from Debbie Meyer, she had a world of difficulties to refrain herself to do the Victory dance. The girl was ready to come testify against Austen.
Tom was so happy he talked to give her an extra payment and the next evening he invited her and the twins to dine at a restaurant.
The diner was great, Tom was good company and the food was delicious. Everything was perfect until they left the restaurant and Veronica stopped behind a huge movie poster, astonished. She didn't think it would happen, of course it would but it was a minor role, and she never thought she could have her face smiling under a fan on each corner of the streets.
That couldn't bode well.
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A/N: So ? Love ? Hate ? Reviews ?
