AN: Yes the last one was super short. I did it on my phone, but I finally have internet again and things have settled down with the move. So thank you all for reading, it makes me feel super important every time I have a review, or am put on an alert list.
The days that followed were hard. They weren't like on TV, how a patient wakes up from brain surgery and can have a normal conversation, appear pain free and happy to be alive. Logan was in a lot of pain, and due to the amount of pain killers in his system he wasn't lucid for more than a few moments of time. When he was awake, it was as though he was trying to wake up from a deep sleep, often times his words not making sense, and taken over by dry heaving because the pain was so intense. It was hard for everyone to watch him like that.
The sheriff's department often stopped by to see how he was doing, waiting for their chance to ask him questions about what had happened, how he had turned up at the hospital. The hospital staff shared that they weren't really sure how he had gotten there. It had been a rather slow day, when a man showed up, with Logan in his back seat. No one took the time to ask the man who he was when they saw the state that Logan was in.
Veronica had wanted to check the security tapes, and because Logan was a part of a missing persons case, Vinnie was able to view them. But they found nothing, it was as though the cameras malfunctioned right before Logan arrived, and started working again after. Veronica listened to everyone that was questioned, hoping to hear a description of the man, but no one could seem to remember what he looked like, or the type of car he was in. The most they got out of anyone was that the he was calm, and wore a lot of black.
It wasn't until she showed a picture to the security guard that first saw Logan that she got a better idea of how Logan had ended up there. And that is how she ended up at the Kane mansion again for the fourth time in under a month.
"You again, this is getting old." Clarence told her, but allowed her to pass. Even though he had taken all the needed steps to unsure no one would connect him to Logan's return to the hospital, he had figured she would find a way.
Veronica stared up at the man for a moment before offering him a smile of thanks. It wasn't often that she felt this grateful towards someone.
"Who's here?" Jake Kane asked coming to see who was been ringing the doorbell. It wasn't often that they had visitors. "Veronica?"
She turned to look at him, and felt a new wave of emotions sweep over her. It was as though she was taken back to that little girl she use to be, the innocent one, the one before Shelly's party, before Lilly was taken away from her, and before Duncan had left her. Her tears fell she ran to Jake and hugged him. Never in a million years did she think that she would be hugging Jake Kane, the man who had repeatedly hurt her father's career, but she had never been more thankful towards someone before.
Stunned, with his arms out to his sides, he looked down at the girl who hugged him. This certainly wasn't an action that he had expected from the Veronica Mars he had seen over the last few years, this was a flashback to the girl that had been his daughter's friend, the one that was always polite and greeted him and his wife whenever she was at the house.
"Thank you." Veronica whispered, pulling back and hiding her face to compose herself. It had been a roller coast of emotions that last few days.
"I take it Mr. Echolls has been found." Jake nodded, with a sad smile. He could tell that there was no longer a point in acting like he didn't know when she nodded at him. "I am sorry he wasn't in better condition. If I had known earlier…"
"It wouldn't have made a difference. He's going to be okay, and that's what matters." Veronica told him. She knew now that she owed him, he had done more than save Logan, he had saved her.
"Gory Sorokin has been dealt with as well." Jake told her. He wouldn't go into details about how the Castle handled this matter, but he assured her that he wouldn't be a threat to Logan anymore.
There was a still moment, where to two just stood looking at each other, unsure of what else to say.
"Can I ask you why?" Veroncia asked, breaking the silence between them. She knew that she wouldn't be able to put the matter to rest if she didn't know why he had helped her after all.
"Lilly loved that necklace." Jake finally said, pointing to her charm. "She begged for weeks for it."
Veronica's hand instantly went to her necklace and gave Jake a sad smile. The necklace was one of the most important things that Veronica had. But it was in that statement that Veronica was finally able to see. Veronica and Logan were all that Jake Kane had left of his children. Lilly was dead, and Duncan and fled the country, leaving Jake with nothing that memories he had of better days.
With his reason's finally making sense she moved to hug him again, but this time she hugged him the way she often hugged her father. She couldn't picture how he must feel inside, the way he must blame himself for losing both his children so close together. She knew that it was a pain no person she ever have to go through.
Even though she knew that she could never view Jake Kane as a truly decent person again, her perception of the man changed that day. It was hard for her to view him as the villain that she made him out to be so many times. In high school he was the villain that ruined her father, that kept Duncan away from her, that had an affair with her mother for years, and in college he was the villain who ran a secret society that cause her to do so many reckless things.
Maybe it was time that she start taking the blame for her actions, instead of placing it. She could forgive him for the Castle problems. She knew that he didn't approve of Gory releasing the video of her, and that it wasn't his fault she had broken into his house, took the hard drive, and then had her father cover things up for her. In fact he had the prosecution drop the charges the second he got his hard drive back.
Outwardly trusting him wasn't something that she was going to do. But it did feel good to know that if something did happen where she needed his help, she could count on him.
It had been years since Jake Kane had been hugged like, since he had felt any type of love. With the blond girls head on chest, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. He would never admit it, but it had been heart breaking to see how upset Veronica had been with Logan Echolls missing. He had known before that the two had dated, but it never occurred to him that he meant so much to Veronica and that she in return meant that much to him. It was nice to think that his children's best friends had found something in each other.
"Send my regards to Logan." Jake said as he opened the door for the blond a few moments later. He knew that he should go and visit the boy in the hospital, but he couldn't, there would always be something that held him back from seeking out Logan Echolls.
"Thank you again, for everything." Veronica said, with one last smile before leaving the Kane house. As she drove back into the heart of Neptune she couldn't help but wonder how many more times she would visit the Kane mansion.
"Mars." Someone called her name out, stopping her before she was able to open her car door.
"Awe my favorite super villain, have you not gotten enough of me yet?" Veronica asked, squinting into the sun as she looked up at the Clarence.
"I saved your boyfriend, is that really what you want to call me? I may not be so nice next time you need a favor."
"Who said I would need another one from you?" She wanted to forget that she had needed him, that she had called him because even before she left, she knew that she wouldn't be able to get him back on her own if Gorya truly had him.
"Maybe you won't."
She couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. Yes she was grateful for his help, but he was still the man that had taken her picture and placed a riffle scope over it. The same man that had helped give her mother a reason to leave.
"So what is it you need?"
"I have something for you." He pulled a simple white envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her.
"What is it?" Veronica asked, looking at the envelope in disgust. She didn't like being handed unknown things, it had always lead to problems in the past.
"It's addressed to you, I might have a different set of morals, but even I wouldn't open someone else's mail."
Veronica didn't believe it for a second, but while she flipped the smooth paper over in her hands, she read her name in the simple perfect hand writing she knew so well. She could feel her heart jump into her throat and she looked backed up at him. "When?"
"I'm not a liberty to say."
"What can you tell me?"
"Honestly, if it was up to me, I wouldn't even be giving you that. You've nothing but a nuisance, and trouble always seems to follow you. I do hope that nothing more will come of this." He glanced down at the letter before going to his own car, and leaving her standing alone.
It took her a moment to regain full function, and open her car door. The paper that had moments ago seemed so light, now felt like a ton of bricks. With her hands gripping on the letter, staring at her name, she knew she had to make a choice.
She could open it, and tare her own heart apart, or she could pretend it never happened, erase this from her memory. The thought of Logan's long voicemail popped into her head. There was a moment in time that she regretted deleting it before she had listened to it. She knew that it would have changed things between them, it would have made her weak and feel the need to forgive him. But could this letter do the same thing? If she were to just throw it away, would she one day regret not reading it?
She couldn't think about this now. She couldn't deal with this now. She had other things to worry about, more important things to worry about. She quickly stuffed the letter in the middle car console, and pushed all thoughts from her mind. Later, she would deal with it later.