AN: I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed my story... I have to say that its really the thing that is keeping the story going... I enjoy every one of your reviews and I take into consideration every suggestion that you send in, even the ones that I don't use are appreciated... Huggs and Kisses to all my reviewers and future reviewers!
Part 12
Neither of us knows what to say to my father's comment, a little voice in the back of my head tells me that its encouraging though, for him to joke. I take Weevil's hand in mine, and shift closer to him on the couch. We sit in silence as Weevil and I take a moment to collect our thoughts and communicate to each other encouragement, though a series of hand squeezes.
"Daddy," I pause again, trying to come up with the best way to tell my father that I'm dating the juvenile delinquent that he started picking up at the age of twelve, that the guy that my father didn't even like me to be in a room with only a few months ago is now kissing his beloved only daughter.
"Mr. Mars, I like your daughter very much." I want to kiss Weevil right at that moment, I want nothing more then to show him how appreciative I am, and how brave I think he is for helping me and telling my father, but I know I can't make him do it all on his own, I need my inner bad-ass to come up with something quick.
"Weevil and I are dating." I just jump right in, commit to what I need to say and do it, and I'm rewarded with my father not hitting my boyfriend.
"How long, Veronica? Didn't you just break up with Logan?" My father looks shocked, but not angry, which is definitely a good thing.
"Well, it kind of started yesterday, Weevil came over after he heard about Aaron, and he wanted to see how I was, and needed help with Felix's disappearance. We took my bike to the shop, and things just kind of fell into place. We talked today, and we decided that we want to pursue a relationship." I look hopefully at my father, whose face is almost completely blank, my father give cop face like no one else I know.
"I've got to say, it's an improvement over Logan." He stands and holds his hand out to Weevil, who takes it. They shake hands, but I know that my father hasn't had the last word yet. "You hurt her, and I'll kill you slowly. And don't forget anything that I said this morning."
"I have no intention of hurting your daughter." Weevil looks my dad in the eyes as he says this, and I just watch in aw as the men in my life size each other up.
"That means no jail
time because of you and I don't want to have to pick her up from
the hospital either."
"I will do everything in my power to
keep her safe."
"Veronica, do you mind if I finish this conversation with Eli without you?"
"I'll be in my room." I walk into my room, and hear the door to the apartment shut. My father knows me too well; he knows that if they had stayed in the living room I would have listened in at the door. I take the time that I'm alone to give Leo a call. I know that I rely too much on the Deputy, but I also know, it's good to have friends in the Sheriff's department, especially since the sheriff himself is completely incompetent.
"Veronica Mars, to what do I owe this late night phone call. If this is booty call, I have to tell you, I'm taken." Leo and I have finally reached a middle ground after I unceremoniously dumped him only a few months before.
"Oh, but Deputy Leo, you told me you would always wait for me, that you knew deep down inside I loved you and now one else." I let a little southern drawl sneak in there, just for fun, and I hear him chuckle on the other end of the phone.
"What can I do for you, Veronica?"
"We checked out the bike and there's nothing. I want to file an official missing persons report, but I don't want to mention anything about the PCH or Weevil; this is strictly me filing a report on a friend who I found missing."
"I can do that, but I need you to tell me what's going on later."
"As soon as I know something, we can have one of our 'your not a deputy and I'm not your ex-girlfriend who happens to be the ex-sheriff's daughter' coffee meetings."
"You know how much I look forward to being in the loop." Yep, and that's how we have found our common ground, I keep Leo in the loop and he looks the other way when I ask questions and favors.
"I also want to check all of the hospitals and morgues around Neptune and San Diego."
"You mean you don't
have a doctor friend who can do that for you?"
"Very funny,
can you do that?"
"I'll do everything I can."
"I don't want him found in a morgue."
"I can't promise anything, Veronica. But for your sake, and for your friends, I hope that we don't find him in one. I'll give you a call as soon as I know anything."
I hang up with Leo, and check my e-mail. My phone rings a few minutes later, Duncan's number flashes on my caller-ID, and I debate as to whether or not to pick up. On the one hand, I do owe it to him to talk about the whole brother-sister thing, but on the other, I've had so much emotional upheaval in the past two days, I don't know if I can stand it. I wait three rings before giving in and answering the phone.
"Veronica, do you think you can pick Logan and me up?" I can tell Duncan's drunk without even having to hear him say it. Duncan is one of those drunks who is almost completely incomprehensible, I know that if he's calling me, it's only because Logan is feeding him the words.
"Duncan, let me talk to Logan." I hear shuffling on the other end of the phone and whispered conversation, which makes increasingly less sense.
"Ronnie!" I cringe. "How are you doing?"
"I was doing better before my ex-boyfriend and my brother called me drunk at four am asking for a ride, because the two of you got too drunk to get home."
"Please Ronnie, we promise to be good."
"Where are you?"
"At Dick's house, he started getting mean when he got drunk, and kicked us out, something about not wanting anyone to catch the murder's son in his house in the morning." My heart breaks just a bit for Logan; this is only the beginning of how bad it's going to be for him.
"Weevil and I will be around in a minute. We'll have to borrow my dad's car."
"What are you doing with Weevil?"
"I'll tell you when you're sober."
"You like him don't you, its okay Ronnie, I know you like him."
"Yeah, Logan, I like him a lot. Please don't screw this up for me."
"I'll try, for the sake of our friendship." He sounds sarcastic when he says 'friendship' but I know that he will try not to do anything that will hurt me. He really wants to be my friend, and that means more to me then anything he did or said when we where dating. He knows that he needs to stick by me, he needs the friends right now.
