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Chapter 8

Grateful

It was the phone call every parent never wants to get. The phone call that their child was in an accident.

Keith Mars was sitting in his office getting ready to go home for the day when he got this phone call.

The phone call that his only child had been involved in a car accident was just another reminder that he couldn't protect her from the world.

He headed to the hospital in a daze. All he could hope was that it was a mistake. All he could wish for was that it wasn't his daughter found in the wreckage of a car accident on Timber road. All he could hope for was that wasn't his Veronica.

But it was. He found his little girl hooked up to a bunch of machines looking so small and pale in a big hospital bed. A big bruise marked the right side of her face.

He spoke with a few of the officers who had responded to the scene. A truck had lost control in the heavy rain making a tight turn and swerved into their lane causing Logan to swerve into a pole. It was a simple enough story. Expect the fact she was with Logan. Logan, the unstable young man she had sworn to stay away from.

The explanation of why they were together was most certainly going to be an interesting one he was sure. He finally located a doctor to update him on his daughter's condition. It was all routine. Only some bruises and a concussion. It could of been a lot worse. She was very lucky.

Keith sighed and looked at his daughter through the window into her hospital room. If she was lucky she wouldn't of been in this mess. She wouldn't of been in a car with Logan Echolls in the first place. And then came the part even Keith Mars wasn't prepared for.

"She should wake up anytime now. But we are going to have to keep her here for a few days to monitor the fetus..."

Keith's head snapped back to look at the doctor. "The what?"

"The fetus.. your daughter is about 6 weeks pregnant.." The Doctor said uncomfortably getting sense the older man wasn't aware of his daughter pregnancy.

Keith took a deep breath. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. His teenage daughter was not pregnant.

Once he had a few moments to process it all he made the phone calls to Wallace and Mac . He instructed Mac to contact Dick for Logan since he wasn't aware of anyone else Logan had.

And then all there was to do was wait.

Dick and Mac were the first to arrive followed closely by Wallace and Alicia. They sat in the waiting room waiting for what seemed like a lifetime, waiting for any good news that their friends.

Katherine arrived shortly behind the rest of the gang after receiving a text from Dick about the accident in the middle of her massage at the spa.

"A text? Really Dick? That's all I get?"

He rolled his eyes and ignored her.

"Are they okay?" She looked around the waiting room looking for anyone to give her information.

"They both are going to be fine. We're just waiting for them to wake up." Mac said quietly.

They sat in silence for a bit longer not sure what to say to each other. Really, what was there to say?

"So Logan got Ronnie knocked up, huh? Who didn't see that coming?" Dick mused. Mac elbowed him in the stomach. Sure everyone was thinking the same thing. But of course only Mr. Calabasas had the courage to say it.

"Ouch, what?! Are we sure it's Logan's? I mean..Her and Piz.."

Katherine shook her head. "They never.. ya know.. The baby is Logan's."

"You knew?!" Dick exclaimed.

Katherine just nodded bringing her knees up to her chest.

Keith held his head in his hands. Alicia rubbed his back trying to offer some sort of emotional support not knowing what to say.

Keith just got the confirmation he was waiting for. His little girl was having a baby with Logan Echolls. He knew deep down the young man loved his daughter. Hell, more than half of the things he did was because of her. Very misguided actions. But even a man jaded by love like himself could see it was out of love.

/

As Logan Echolls woke up in the hospital he wasn't sure what was a dream and what was real. The events that transpired were all a blur. Images of him swerving to miss the oncoming truck, the car slamming into the pole, the ambulance ride to the hospital, it all swirled in his head.

It all didn't seem real. But the bruises and his dislocated left shoulder argued otherwise.

His biggest concern of course was Veronica. Where was she? Was she okay? He swore to the heavens that she had to be okay. He couldn't live in a world where Veronica Mars didn't exist.

As his thoughts trailed off a doctor in his mid twenties came into his room. He was dressed in dark blue scrubs and had thick black glasses perched on his face. The man's age and appearance surprised Logan but nothing surprised him more than the man who followed the doctor into his room.

Keith Mars.

Logan took a deep breath trying to prepare himself for whatever was going to happen.

"Mr. Echolls, I'm glad to see you are awake. I'm Doctor Scott. Can you tell me your pain level? 1 to 10?"

Logan looked at the doctor like he was crazy. Pain? Logan was used to pain. Physical and emotional. He was Aaron's personal punching bag for years. Pain wasn't a foreign concept to him.

"I'm fine.."He grumbled.

He looked up at Keith with a pleading look in his eyes. "Veronica?"

Keith sighed. "She still unconscious..."

Logan took a deep breath. "But she is okay? Right? She is going to be okay?"

Doctor Scott looked at the young man in the bed obviously very distraught of the status of the petite blond he had just examined. "Ms. Mars.. is going to make it. She suffered some bumps and bruises." Logan let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes. He thanked God for answering his prayers.

The doctor continued. "One practically hard hit to the head which resulted in a concussion. We are going to have to keep her here for a few days to monitor her pregnancy to make sure everything is okay but she should be fine."

Logan heart dropped. Pregnancy?

"Her what?" He could barely make out the words, his voice trembling at the thought.

Doctor Scott looked over at Keith and back at Logan. "I was under the impression you were the baby's father..? "

Logan looked at Keith for some sort of answer, anything at this point to help him make some sense of all of this.

"Thank you, Doctor. For everything. I think I need some time alone with Logan."

Doctor Scott nodded not sure what to make of the situation. "Push the button for a nurse if you need anything."

Logan ignored him and kept his eyes locked on Keith.

Keith sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed. He looked down at his hands which were tightly clamped together.

"I'm assuming you didn't know." He stated. I wasn't a question.

Logan nodded. "How? I.."

Keith gave him a pointed look. "I'm assuming you have had enough practice on how this could happen. "

Logan swallowed hard. "I.. We were always so careful.."

Keith put his hand up. "Please, I don't need details."

Logan nodded and looked at window tears forming in his eyes. "I love your daughter. She is most important thing to me in this whole world."

Keith nodded. He knew he was telling the truth. "Well, then I hope you're ready to set up and be a man. Be a father to this baby. You need to decide now if that's a responsibility you are willing to take on. And if it's not... Make that apparent now and not drag my daughter and this child into an emotional turmoil."

Logan nodded. "Keith.. I haven't had the best role models in my life. Hell, Aaron showed me everything you shouldn't do as a parent..But you have shown me what a real father is supposed to be..And if I can be half the man you are.. half the father you are..." He swallowed hard fighting the tears. "Then.. I think me, Veronica and this baby will be okay. I will do everything in my power to keep them happy and safe "

Keith looked at the young man who he had wished so many times to be gone from his daughter's life. The young man he had arrested more than few times for underage drinking and fighting during his time as Sheriff. And for the first time, and hopefully not the last time, Keith Mars was grateful for Logan Echolls.

Wow, that was a hard chapter to write! Reviews are lovely! thanks!