A/N: Thank you for the reviews and PMs. You all are a hilarious group; you cracked me up more than a few times today. Thanks all for complimenting me on my brass cajones for giving Veronica a "non-douchey" boyfriend, for saying you can't wait for Logan to make himself a pain in the ass, and for all the Logan love out there. SilverLining26 mentioned his forehead wrinkles, puppy dog eyes and extensive library of eyebrow bobs-each with a different meaning. MSVasco wrote that he is sexy, has that way rich boys are misunderstood, his sarcasm, his many quotes with references, his inspirational messages, his way of going 'hero' every time Veronica was in danger, his gaze, and his epic speech. I couldn't agree more! And you know it wouldn't be a LoVe future fic if the epic speech wasn't brought up at some point, so hang in there. It's not for a while but I think it makes for a great moment. (I only tease because I can—I mean care!)

Chapter 11

Friday night, Veronica sat in the unmarked FBI sedan, with Adam fidgeting in the driver's seat next to her. After several minutes of this she turned to him irritably. "If you need to find a loo, I think I can handle the boring door watching by myself for a few minutes."

Adam snapped back at her. "I don't need to pee, and who says loo anyway? I'm just bored." He sighed heavily, then turned to face her, "But hey, as long as we're getting personal, that Logan is hot. No disrespect to Trent but I was about ready to beg him to bend me over your coffee table Friday night."

Choking on the sip of coffee she had just taken, Veronica sputtered, "Oh my god. Thank you for that mental image."

Adam chuckled. "Cut the innocent act, Mars. If you were able to keep a man like that interested, there's more to you than meets the eye."

"Shut up!" Veronica punched him in the arm. "And what is that supposed to mean, anyway? I've kept Charlie happy for three years, so I must bring something to the bedroom. "

"Oh please. I'll admit I was a bit of a slut before I met Trent." Adam grinned lasciviously. "Ok, more than just a bit. But FBI profiling skills and my slut cred means I can narrow potential knee knockers down to two words. While-"

Veronica interrupted, "Wait, is that what we were learning in profiling? I knew I got the answers to that test wrong."

Adam just ignored her and went on as if she hadn't spoken, "While Charlie would be no slouch, his words are Caring and Dedicated. But Logan? If I had to guess I would say his two words are Intense and Inventive. He'd need a willing partner to keep things interesting."

Shock jolted through her body. She did her best to make her voice as casual as possible. The last thing she wanted to do was get into a detailed conversation about Logan and sex. She'd been trying too hard to avoid thinking of him in that vein at all; things were complicated enough between them.

"I'm not going to confirm or deny regarding Charlie, but for Logan I'll have to take your word for it. It was all a really long time ago."

The study he made of her face was followed by a low chuckle. "Yet your blush tells me your memory is better than you admit…and speak of the handsome devil." He pointed to the entrance of the club they were staking out, where Logan was just getting out of a cab and making his way to the door.

"Gorramit all to hell!" Veronica yelled. "I told him to stay away from that party! Let's go." She exited the car, holstering her gun and slamming the door in one motion. She should have known better, despite all appearances that he had grown up. Now they were rushing across the street and risking blowing their cover to save his ass.

Her anger fueled her run and Adam was hard pressed to catch up. Reaching the bouncer at the door, she stopped to pull out her badge.

"Name?" He asked, looking down at his clipboard.

"J. Edgar Hoover. We need in. Now." Tiny as she was, the look on her face carried more weight in that moment than the badge she waved in front of him. He shrugged, stepped back and waved them through.

As she opened the door, the techno music playing at full volume made the floor under their feet vibrate. Blue and pink spotlights danced through the club and strips of pink neon lights circled the walls. The only bright spots were the bars at each end of the room. She and Adam split up, each to sweep half the room before meeting at the dance floor in the center. Neither spotted any sign of Logan.

Checking his phone for messages, Logan noted it was after four a.m. when he unlocked the door to his apartment. A part of him was surprised to find there were no messages; maybe she hadn't been the one on stakeout tonight. A huge yawn escaped him as he kicked the door shut and reached out to turn on the foyer light. When he remained in darkness he frowned, then flipped the switch a few times to no avail. He shrugged and threw his keys down on the table before stumbling toward the living room and the huge soft, couch he knew was waiting.

Fatigue was replaced with adrenaline when a light switched on to reveal someone sitting in his easy chair. He was instantly alert and squaring off, ready for a fight.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?" Veronica's voice reached him, sounding insincere and sickly sweet. She stood and walked toward him, seven feet of fury in a five foot body.

"Good! How do you think I've felt all night sitting here? I TOLD you not to go that party. I TOLD you we would handle it. But as usual, you just went off half-cocked and charged in. Blind! Unprotected! You didn't even know what you're supposed to be looking for; you just found trouble and put yourself right in the middle of it!"

Logan stood there listening to her tirade. He had known that going to the party would piss her off, and he would be lying if he didn't admit to himself that it was part of the reason he had done it. The small, petty part that was still a little mad at her for leaving so long ago. But mostly, he had done it because it had seemed exciting, a lark. His life had been far too tame lately and he couldn't resist the opportunity to liven it up. It had been his party invitation after all, and despite her secrecy some things weren't that hard to figure out. He rolled his eyes and matched her tone.

"Veronica, give me a little credit! Everyone who goes to that party is rich and successful. It costs a shitload of money to put on. It's not that hard to figure out that money is the end game. I knew I could handle it!"

She screamed right back at him. "Of course you can! You're Logan Echolls! You're the Fort Knox of men and nothing can break through. Not even common sense!"

In her fury she had come right up to him and was standing less than an inch away. Every nerve ending in his body was standing at attention in response to her proximity. Her blue eyes sparked and the color was high in her cheeks. She was beautiful; a tiny Valkyrie ready for battle and, in that instant, he wanted to take her on. Their eyes locked and it took every ounce of his willpower not to reach out and take her in his arms, to take her. He couldn't even remember what had brought her here tonight, and he couldn't make sense of her words.

As she stared into his eyes her challenging expression became one of confusion. She backed away from him and picked her bag off the floor. Tossing him the light bulb she had removed from his foyer, she ordered, "My office, Monday morning, 9am. Don't be late."

Logan stood rooted in his spot, unable to move until she had slammed the front door behind her. He slumped to the couch, putting his elbows on his knees and cradling his head in his hands. His mind was a jumble of words and images, his only coherent thought a litany. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck…

Veronica opened her eyes, stretching and groaning. She was so tired. So very tired. Diving right into this case so soon after coming off the last one had left her drained. Maybe, if they timed it right, she and Charlie could go on a vacation. Maybe when he was done with his book and they had tied up this extortion coalition. She turned over to see if he was awake, but found only a pillow where his head would be. A glance at at his bedside clock told her it was after one-thirty in the afternoon. He'd been asleep when she got in at five, after leaving Logan's, and it had been a while after that before she was able to quiet her mind and body enough to drift off.

She lay there and thought about Logan. About why he still had the ability to make her so crazy. Three years with Charlie and not once had he ever made her as mad as she was last night. But Logan, Logan had always been able to push her buttons, good and bad. He knew her too well. Her thoughts wandered to that moment in his apartment when they had been standing so close to each other, yelling, and she had suddenly felt...and that line of thinking had to be shut down immediately. Veronica sighed, looking up at the ceiling. She convinced herself that he'd just gotten her riled up, it didn't mean anything.

She got out of bed, shrugged on a sweater and pajama pants, then pushed her feet into a pair of slippers. When she shuffled out to the living room she saw Charlie sitting on the couch, a pad of manila stationary propped on top of a pillow in his lap. He was scribbling furiously, but stopped when he saw her walk into the room.

Veronica jumped over his legs, landing on the other side of the couch, and shifted to put her feet against his thigh. "Whatcha working on?" she asked.

Charlie tossed the pad of paper on the coffee table and leaned back, pulling her feet across his lap. "A letter to my parents, I haven't written in a couple of weeks and I don't want them to worry." He looked at her. "You got in late."

"Yeah, long stakeout." She sighed and leaned back into the side of the couch, yawning hugely and stretching her arms over her head before giving him a languid smile. "What were you up to last night?"

He shrugged, "Mostly writing. I'm waiting for the final galleys to come in to be checked over, and decided to work on a new idea that's been floating around in my head for a while. Went to the gym, noshed on a falafel. Not a Friday night to write home about," he indicated the stationary pad, "but Mom gets anxious if she doesn't get at least a couple letters a month."

"So, should we have an adventure that would be worth writing about?" Veronica suggested.

Charlie grinned,"I just crossed the line between enjoying my own company to being bored as hell, so I'm pretty much up for anything. Name it."

She thought for a moment, then offered, "Maybe go to that awesome paintball place again? Call up Adam and Trent to join, get some dinner after, and maybe hit a movie if there's anything good out."

He grinned. "Only if I get to be on your team. Trent shoots like he was born with webbed fingers, and you are as vicious as a honey badger. I love to hear Trent scream when you hit him, but he gets too whiny and bitchy when Adam or I do. What about Logan? He's probably not up to anything."

"No!" Veronica said too quickly, too forcefully. At his sharp glance she tempered her outburst with, "We haven't done anything just the four of us in a long time. We'll invite him to the next thing, okay?"

Charlie's pause was just long enough that she knew he recognized her attempt to cover, he just didn't know what she was covering. But one of the best things about Charlie was he allowed her room for secrets, as long as she didn't lie to him. Unlike their DEFCON compromise, this was an unspoken agreement they had worked out over time. He knew she had a hard time opening up, and with her job there was a lot she couldn't tell him. He rarely pushed her and she never appreciated the trust he placed in her silences more than she did now.