I am so sorry! I know I fell off the face of the Earth but I do have my reasons. I won't bore you with all the details but my life has changed so much that being able to concentrate or find any interest in this story was not possible. But I am back and ready to finish the story. I hope I haven't lost anybody but I wouldn't be surprised if I have. Please review and tell me what you think. I love this story and I love LoVe. I'm ready to let the sparks fly.

Veronica stared down at the tabloids laying on her desk at Mars Investigations. In a million years she hadn't seen this coming. Lynn Echoll's had always seemed like such a tough individual, putting up with all the press and crazy fans for years couldn't have been easy. So what made her upset enough to jump off the bridge?

"Did she really leave a note on a Blackberry?" Wallace asked flipping through his own copy of the magazine.

"Yeah. Talk about post-modern," Veronica joked.

"How's Logan holding out?" Wallace asked hesitantly.

"He hasn't been at school since," Veronica said softly. "I tried calling but he's either turned his phone off or he's screening his calls."

Wallace watched as Veronica's father walked out of his office slowly, holding his back. He smiled as he watched them interact. It had been the first thing he noticed, their mutual admiration for each other. It wasn't just a healthy father daughter relationship, they truly cared and respected each other. It wasn't something you saw very often…if ever.

Wallace heard the door open behind him and turned. He stood up quickly when he saw Logan standing there. He didn't look so good. He obviously hadn't showered in awhile and his clothes had been slept in more than once. "Ah…Veronica…you've got company."

"And eat fiber…" she said her voice trailing off when she saw Logan standing in the entry way. "Logan," she said before hurrying over to him. She forgot that anybody else was in the room as she took his hand and led him to the now empty couch.

"She doesn't even remember we're here," Wallace said as he stood beside Keith.

"No she doesn't," Keith said softly. He stared at his daughter and felt another crack in his heart.

The first time he'd felt his heart crack was when Veronica had gone off to kindergarten. His baby was no longer a baby. The second had been when she'd became friends with the Kane's. Leanne had been ecstatic for her own personal reasons but he'd been more cautious. He saw how the rich and famous could be, he didn't know if he wanted his daughter around that. The third crack would have to be watching as she handed her heart to Duncan on a silver platter. The fourth had been when she'd come home from school with tears running down her face. She couldn't hide from him the hurt her old friends were causing her by ostracizing her. But this time it was different. Veronica was no longer that naive little girl who needed protection. So as he stood there watching her take care of Logan, with her heart in her eyes, he knew even if she didn't that she was falling for the young man.

"Are you okay?" Veronica asked as she sat on the table in front of Logan. "Stupid question," she mumbled when he just stared at her.

"My Mom is gone," Logan said softly.

"Logan," Veronica whispered. She looked down at her hands and wished she could help him in some way. But there wasn't anything she could say. I'm sorry wasn't good enough because of course she was sorry. That's too bad would earn her a bitch slap. It's not fair was just lame. There wasn't a single thing she could say.

"Hey, I'm, uh, looking for Keith Mars," somebody said from behind them.

"Yeah, sure, in here. Dad?" Veronica called but he was already walking gingerly towards Bone with his hand out. Soon they were both in Keith's office with the door shut.

"You know who that is?" Wallace asked the both of them sitting down beside them, forgetting the moment Logan and Veronica had been in.

"Should I know who that is?" Veronica asked confused.

"If you're serious about your cred with the urban demographic," Wallace said staring at her like she was retarded.

"I am absolutely serious about my cred with the urban demo," Veronica said smiling at Logan who was just staring at the two of them as they exchanged clever quips.

"Drive-By Records, reported to have held a man out of a window in order to get him to sign a contract," Wallace explained. Veronica and Logan still stared at him clueless. "Twice jailed and emerged stronger each time. The gangster rap impresario beside whom all gangster rap impresarios measure themselves. That's Bone Hamilton."

Logan and Veronica share a look. They may not know who Bone Hamilton is but they knew who Bone Hamilton's daughter was.

"Hamilton? God, that's Yolanda Hamilton's dad?" Veronica said staring into Logan's eyes.

"I didn't know you knew her," Wallace said surprised.

"We used to be friends...a long time ago," Veronica said softly as Logan slowly broke eye contact and stood up so he could leave the office. She closed her eyes and couldn't help but wish that Bone Hamilton could have shown up at a much later time. Like hours from then.

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Veronica sat at the lunch table listening as Gabrielle went on telling her fabricated story, we both know she was lying. The great thing about an ex-cop for a dad is that some boring Sunday when you've seen all the reruns, he might kill time describing, for instance, how to tell if someone's lying in an interrogation. Take Yolanda's friend Gabrielle here: the indirect eye contact, the smile that doesn't crinkle the eyes.

"So sh-she still isn't back, huh?" Gabrielle asked stuttering slightly.

"She's missing. She's in danger. Quit lying and tell me what really happened," Veronica said rolling her eyes.

"We'd been sneaking out to this club in LA, Blender. The bouncer Marcel used to work for her dad. I've been seeing this guy. He's older. My parents would disown me if they knew," Gabrielle finally confessed and Veronica knew she was finally hearing the truth.

"How long did you stay at the club?" Veronica asked .

"When Jamie and I left it was probably around midnight. Yolanda was still there. But she had her car," Gabrielle said shrugging her shoulders.

"Thanks. I hope she's okay," Veronica said standing up.

"You think I don't? She's my friend. Who are you?" Gabrielle said getting her things together before she stormed off.

"Way to go Veronica," she mumbled to herself standing up.

"Talking to yourself," Logan said from behind her.

Veronica whipped around and stood there staring at him. She noted the bloodshot eyes and the unkempt hair do. It wasn't exactly the Logan Echoll's everybody knew and liked-er-tolerated. "Should you be here?" she finally asked the question they both already knew the answer to.

"Probably not," Logan said staring at her. "But it's better than being at home watching your father pretend to be the grieving husband."

"Maybe he really is grieving," Veronica offered but she also rolled her eyes. Aaron Echoll's was only concerned with himself. Lynn had been a prop, something to wear on the end of his arm, that was all. Now he would garner even more sympathy from the American public with a wife who had taken her own life.

"No," Logan said shaking his head. "He's already planning his media tour to publicly say goodbye to his darling wife." He sighed before continuing. "So you are on the case huh?"

"She was a friend," Veronica said softly.

"A friend that broke Lilly and I up," Logan said through clenched teeth. Whenever he thought of Yolanda Hamilton he wanted to punch something or somebody.

"It takes two people to kiss Logan," Veronica said glaring at him.

"I still don't know why you had to tell her Ronnie," Logan said glaring at her. "What did it matter to you? I was drunk, she was drunk. It was a mistake."

"I had to tell her because…it was the right thing to do," Veronica said honestly. "Lilly was my best friend. When I saw you cheating on her…I had to tell her."

"Yeah well," Logan said turning to walk away. "Just think of how things might be different if you'd kept your mouth shut." Veronica watched as he strode away. Everybody was staring at her and the whispers were already starting. The joys of being the school leper.

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"Logan. I have a pretty good idea what's going through your head," Aaron said as they reached the front doors of their estate. Logan looks at his father for a moment before turning to concentrate on his tie. "I know you blame me for your mother's death. That's okay. Our marriage had some very high highs and some…very low lows. And I know that this hard act you're putting on is just your way of coping. But let's make a deal, all right? From now on, we're going to be a team. Our war's over now, Logan." When Logan didn't say anything he added softly, "It's what she would have wanted."

Logan just stared at his father impassively. He very deliberately dons his sunglasses then gives a peace sign. Aaron just nods his head briefly before opening the door. He followed his son out the door. He hears the camera before his eyes find the culprit hiding behind a rock. He chases the photographer down yelling, "Logan!"

"Picture, man, huh?" Logan asked as he grabbed the photographer before he could climb over the gate. "Something real? Here's real for you!" He raises the camera and smashes it down hard on the drive.

"Hey, that's a thousand dollar camera!" the photographer yelled. But crawls towards the gate when Logan advances towards him his rage evident on his face.

"Logan! Enough!" Aaron yelled.

"You know what Mom would have wanted!" Logan yelled not caring as all the paparazzi strained closer making sure they didn't miss a word. "She would have wanted you to not sleep with all her friends. She would have wanted you to care as much about her as your career. So okay, Dad, let's be honest. Maybe we both wished we'd been better. But she's only gone because of you." Logan held up both his hands and storms off.

"Who's gonna pay for my camera?" the photographer asked.

"I'll tell you what. I'll get on it just as soon as I've buried my wife," he said before turning to the crowd. "Hey everybody! Enjoying the show, huh?"

Logan stormed back to the pool house. He slammed the door shut behind him as he raised both hands to his head and he screamed. He hated this. He hated that his Mom had chosen to jump off a bridge instead of just leaving her husband like most other pissed off housewives. He hated that Lilly was dead and wasn't here to help him drink himself into a stupor.

But most of all he hated that the one person he'd been able to direct his anger at through the past year was no longer his scapegoat. No, she was now the girl that he couldn't get out of his mind…for very different reasons. Veronica Mars, the first and last time he'd ever imagined kissing her, he'd been 13 and they'd been swimming at the Kane's pool. He'd brought the subject up with Duncan but within the next year they'd both paired off, Logan with Lilly and Duncan with Veronica.

Logan sat down on his bed and tried to sort through his thoughts. He was suppose to be burying his Mother today. But he couldn't even bring himself to leave his room. He didn't want to do anything. He just wanted to rewind the past year and have a do over. Was that too much to ask?

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Logan walked into his bedroom and tried to close the door behind him but somebody pushed it back open. "I want to be alone," he said walking over to his bed where one of his video game controllers sat.

"Logan," Veronica said softly shocking him.

He turned to face her and noticed her non-funeral clothes and nodded his head. "Took a little break from your P.I. bit did you? You find her? Solve the case like a good old Nancy Drew?"

"No," Veronica said walking towards him. "I had to come here and…say I'm sorry. I know how dumb that is and it probably doesn't help at all but I really wish somebody would have said that to me when my Mom left…I know your mom didn't just leave but…I'm sorry okay."

"Did you find Yolanda?" Logan asked.

"No," Veronica said again. "We haven't found her yet. We're following a couple leads though." She looked away before adding, "you don't really care though."

"No," Logan said. "I don't."

"I never told you this," Veronica said surprising even herself when she brought up the one subject she'd sworn never to tell anybody. "But Lilly basically told Yolanda you were free game."

"What?" Logan said.

"We went to Yolanda's house the day before your party and Lilly…she told us she was going to end it with you….your jealousy was an issue," Veronica said looking down at her hands. "Yolanda told her jealousy wasn't an issue with her and Lilly said go for it." Veronica looked straight into Logan's eyes when she finally said, "did Yolanda just go for it?" It was Logan's turn to look down at his hands and the silence was telling enough. "You told everybody it was all Yolanda."

"It wasn't," Logan said quietly. "I was drunk and pissed and…I knew Lilly was going to dump me."

"How'd you-" Veronica said but Logan interrupted her.

"Know?" Logan said finishing her sentence. "I know I'm not the sharpest crayon in the box but I can even tell when somebody's pulling away from me. C'mon, not going to my party, one of the biggest bashes that she talked about all year long? She might as well of put up a flashing neon sign."

"But kissing one of her friends," Veronica said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I wasn't exactly thinking clearly," Logan said sarcastically.

Veronica looked away. "I didn't mean to start this…I wasn't even going to say anything." She turned to leave but she closed her eyes and froze when she realized she had to say one more thing. "I'm sorry that I told Lilly. If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have said anything."

"What?" Logan said standing up surprised. To hear Veronica say that she would have willingly kept something from Lilly, her best friend, was shocking. "But Lilly-"

"Lilly gave her permission," Veronica said softly turning to face him once again. "I never should have said anything. It wasn't any of my business."

"Logan?" Duncan asked knocking on the door as he opened it. "What are you doing?"

"Having a conversation," Logan said. He watched as Veronica froze up before mumbling something as she walked out of the room. He knew why she had to leave, why she wasn't comfortable being in the same room as Duncan, he also knew she had to tell him the truth. It didn't matter if he already knew, he deserved to hear it from her too. Just like if he'd found out the truth a year ago, he should have told Veronica. It was the right thing to do.

"Logan. It's your mom's funeral reception. Maybe we should-" Duncan said deciding to ignore the fact that his ex-girlfriend had been in his best friend's room. Which meant also ignoring the fact that his best friend supposedly hated his ex-girlfriend.

"It is not my mom's reception. It's his. So if you want to eat crab puffs and discuss today's Variety, knock yourself out, man. Thanks for coming, it really means a lot to the family," Logan said before sitting down and picking up the remote control again.

"Logan, I'm your friend, man, and I'm starting to get a little worried," Duncan said staring at him.

"And now I'm dead," Logan said throwing the controller. "None of this matters, man, don't worry."

"What are you talking about?" Duncan asked confused.

"You know Mom's dad fought in the Korean War?" Logan said confusing Duncan even more. "Uh. Well he got this lighter in Seoul. He held onto it even when he was captured. He and his buddies escaped and he had it engraved." He threw the lighter to Duncan who caught it and read the engraving 'Free At Last'. "And it was always in her purse. But she left it on her dresser the night she disappeared. It's a sign." When Duncan just continued to stare at him he shook his head. "You know, man, come on, I mean, she hated all this, she hated him."

"Logan," Duncan said even more worried about his best friend.

"They didn't find a body because she's not dead," Logan insisted. He looked down at the lighter he recovered from Duncan and held it up. "She just escaped."

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Veronica sat down in front of her laptop and waited patiently for Yolanda to sit down in front of hers. She had a couple things she needed to say. It probably didn't matter to Yolanda but the new Veronica had to apologize. She still couldn't believe that the entire time they'd been worried sick about her, she'd been off in Vegas getting married. It still seemed surreal that the whole kidnapping plot was a fake.

"Veronica, is that you?" Yolanda asked finally.

"I just wanted to say congratulations on the marriage and I'm sorry. I should have been a better friend," Veronica said softly.

"Veronica, if I had been in your position, I would have done the same thing," Yolanda said letting her off the hook.

"But it doesn't make it right," Veronica pointed out. "Last year I was desperate to fit in. I liked being Lilly's friend…I liked having friends."

"Don't sweat it Veronica," Yolanda said smiling at her through the webcam. "What you saw was damaging and Lilly was your best friend. You did what you had to do."

"I'm still sorry," Veronica said again.

"Apology accepted," Yolanda said. "And I'm sorry for kissing your best friend's boyfriend."

"Apology accepted," Veronica said laughing. She said her goodbyes and turned off her computer. She turned to get ready for bed when she heard somebody banging on the front door. She slowly walked to the door and peered out from the window but opened the door when she saw Logan standing there.

"Logan, what are you doing here?" Veronica asked but for some reason she really dreaded the answer.

"I want you to find my mother," Logan said.