Wow, guys. I am really blown away by the number of reviews for that last chapter. You guys are seriously amazing.

A lot of you guessed Wallace or Mac. I'm surprised. But, one person did get the correct answer, and the cookies are yours to enjoy however you please.

I also wanted to take a quick moment to say Happy Mother's Day to any moms out there who read this. You lovely ladies rock. Enjoy your day. Also the reason I'm posting Saturday night (I get to spend my Mother's Day Sunday with my lovely Grandma).

So, without further ado, Chapter 14.

Chapter 14:

"Mr. Echolls, I really think we should be going," Marcus said as he joined Logan, who was currently pacing in the waiting room, "They aren't going to tell you anything and you have a full day of meetings, meetings that have been rescheduled several times already."

Logan turned around and looked between the door Veronica went through and Marcus, "I can't just leave her. She came to me for help, I'm not going to let her slip through my fingers again." He ran his hands through his hair for about the hundredth time that morning trying to think of a solution.

"I know. Believe me, I know. If it was my decision, I'd let you stay, but it isn't, and it isn't just your ass on the line. My job is to be the bad guy, to bring you to your meetings even when you don't want to go, and if that means that I have to pick you up and carry you over my shoulder to get you there, then so be it," Marcus lectured, standing firm in front of his client.

Logan slowly exhaled and brought his hands down to his sides, "Just give me a half an hour; let me find someone to be here when she wakes up, okay?"

Marcus looked to the clock on the wall and back to Logan, "I will give you fifteen minutes. Final offer." He pointed behind Logan, to the clock, for emphasis before turning around and walking away.

Logan pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through the contacts, looking for a number he hadn't dialed in years. "Pick up, pick up," he mumbled while he continued his pacing, listening to the ringing.

"What do you want?" the familiar voice grumbled.

"I need a favor," Logan responded in an equally delightful tone. He didn't appreciate asking Weevil for a favor, but he was the only person still in Neptune whose face Veronica wouldn't immediately hate waking up to.

"And I need a million dollars," Weevil responded, "I don't recall owing you any favors."

Again, Logan ran a hand through his hair, "Then don't do it for me, do it for Veronica."

Weevil chuckled, "How much have you had to drink? She left town years ago, man…"

"She came back," Logan interrupted, "This morning. I found her on my doorstep. I just… I have to go into work and I don't want her to be alone."

After a moment, Weevil responded, "Fine," a mix of disgust and disappointment in his voice. Logan sighed and ended the call, knowing that Weevil had every right to hate him at that moment.

By the time Weevil showed up, Logan was long gone. Instead of sitting around the waiting room for a doctor to ignore him, Weevil walked in the staff entrance at the rear. Waiting for him was his sister, Maria, with a visitor's pass. "Do you know how much trouble I could get in for doing this?" she asked him as she handed it over, "I already don't make much as it is. This white girl better be worth it."

Weevil nodded and clipped the badge to his shirt, "She is. She's the one that got me out of jail all those times, and got me a job so I wouldn't end up back there. What can you tell me about her?"

Maria looked to her brother and then down to the file she had taken from the nurses' station, "Veronica Barbara Mars, admitted at 9:13 this morning, unconscious, severely dehydrated, malnourished, high fever. She was prescribed general antibiotics and we're currently waiting on blood results to come back." She flipped a couple of more pages, "Three broken ribs, fractured radius and a dislocated shoulder, broken hand…" Maria continued to rattle off as she flipped a few more pages, "…Also seen in her x-rays is an improperly healed shoulder injury, most likely resulting in restricted movement of her left arm…multiple bruises on the abdomen, arms, and face…." Maria flipped to the last page in the file, "internal bleeding and a few popped stitches on her abdomen, from a recent C-section, though it is a tossup between that and the track marks in her arms that caused the infection. In the few moments she was awake before we put her out she was mumbling in Spanish. Are you sure this is the girl you're thinking of? She sounds more like someone who would help you get into jail than out."

"You know, you should really tell a person to sit down before you read them ten pages of bad news. Is she going to be okay?" Weevil held out a hand to the door to balance himself. What had she gotten herself into?

Maria flipped back through the pages, "She's in surgery right now, it's hard to say. There is one thing that you may be able to help with. Her emergency contact is Keith Mars, but the number listed is not in service, figures since the last time it was updated was 2007, any idea how to reach him?" She looked down at her watch before gesturing that they should walk and talk.

Weevil scratched his bald head and looked down, "He was killed in '07, murdered by her mother. It was all over the papers. You know, the day he became sheriff. Could you put uh…" he thought for a moment. He was certainly in his own right to put himself down as her emergency contact, but Logan would probably kill him later, and the pretty boy was probably paying for her expensive care. "Put Logan Echolls down instead," he said finally, hoping he wouldn't regret it.

They stopped in front of the nurses' station where Maria grabbed a pen and scribbled something onto the chart before closing it and tossing it back into the bin, "She doesn't have a room yet so you can wait here. I get off in about an hour, but I'll have my friend Carla bring you to her when she's out. Please stay out of trouble, Eli." She gave her brother a light hug and a kiss on the cheek before walking away, leaving Weevil to decide if he wanted to inform Logan or not.

He must have started to dial the number only to delete it a hundred times before Carla appeared in the nurses' station, "Eli?" she asked sweetly, "Your friend is out of surgery. She's stable. I can take her to you, if you like." Weevil nodded slowly and followed the nurse through the hospital.

"Best case scenario, she could wake up in a few hours," Carla continued, filling the silence, "It might all depend on how much she wants it. You should talk to her, knowing someone cares could be enough of a push for her to fight back." Carla stopped at a door about halfway down the hall and looked around before opening it. "Well, this is it. I'll be by to check on her later. If she does wake up, push the call button and someone will come in to check on her," the woman advised as Weevil walked into the room. Once she was sure he was settled, she let the door close behind her and walked away.

He took a seat in the chair near her bed and spent a few moments looking her over. In all his years as the leader of a gang, he couldn't recall someone looking as broken as the blonde who lay in the bed in front of him. After a few moments, he leaned forward and took her good hand in between his own.

"Hey, V," Weevil started, deciding where to look when he talked to her. Could she even hear him? "I don't know who did this to you, but I promise that if you stick around town, I will personally make sure that it will never happen again. I got your back, girl."

"You know, Neptune ain't the same place without you, Mars. The Fitzpatricks are walking around like they own the place, buying the sheriff off to look the other way. Meanwhile, just about all the PCHers are doing time for crimes they didn't commit. Anyone outside of the 09er zip code is starving, barely keeping themselves off the street. Hell, those rich dudes built themselves their own schools so they didn't have to mingle with us no more," Weevil explained sadly. Though he didn't always see eye to eye with Sheriff Mars, he respected him. He continued to talk about the changes Neptune had gone through during her absence, hoping that she would realize how desperately the town needed her in it.

Occasionally the doctor would pop his head in, usually leading a trail of interns, to check on her. Weevil would sit there silently and watch, keeping out of his way and listening whenever he had anything to share, but he usually didn't.

Stable. That's the word he kept using over and over again. She's stable. Her vitals are stable. Her condition is stable. "Any change doc?" Weevil asked on the doctor's fourth visit of the day.

He shook his head and looked down at her chart, "No, but before you get discouraged, she's only been out of surgery for a few hours. These things take time. Sometimes no change is a good thing."

Weevil nodded and watched the doctor leave again before reaching over and grabbing the television remote, "Let's see what's happening in the world of Neptune today, shall we?" he asked as he flipped through the stations until he landed on a news channel.

The pair remained like that for hours, watching the news and then a variety of talk shows once the news ended, followed by more news when the talk shows ended. If Weevil was to be honest, he would have to admit that this was the first time in months that he had paid any attention to current events, inside Neptune or otherwise.

By seven, Logan appeared in the doorway carrying a large bag of food with a rather muscular man. Upon taking in the room his face fell. "I was hoping she'd be awake. I brought dinner," he said, gesturing towards the bag, "Oh, and this is my assistant Marcus, Marcus, this is Weevil. How did you get in here, by the way?" Logan asked as he moved into the room.

He put the bag down on the small table and pulled up a second chair, "Have you eaten? I got plenty. Really, there's more than enough for three here," Logan offered.

Weevil helped unpack the bag of food, keeping one eye on Veronica. "My sister, Ria, she's a nurse here. She let me in the back."

Logan nodded and followed Weevil's gaze, his heart dropping to his stomach as he looked her over. "I saw her," Logan began, sitting back in his chair, ignoring the food he brought, "a few days ago in South America. She was right there, in front of me, and I knew something was wrong. I could see it in her eyes. You know, everyone thinks that she's so tough, but if you look into her eyes, you can see the cracks in her façade. I didn't do anything. I believed her lies and walked away."

Marcus looked cautiously over to Logan, ready to step in should the conversation take a negative turn. He watched carefully as Logan attempted to open the plastic covering of his fork, grew frustrated and flung it across the room. "Mr. Echolls," Marcus warned gently.

Weevil tried to hold back a snicker, "So what, is this dude like your keeper? Anytime you step out of line, he pulls back on the leash? Man, you could have really used one of those in high school, huh?"

Logan slammed his hand down on the table causing the dishes to rattle and alerting Marcus, "Strike two. One more, Mr. Echolls and I am taking you home. Do you understand me? You getting upset and throwing things, causing a commotion, aren't going to help Ms. Mars. They will however, draw attention and probably get you kicked out and then you won't be allowed to return."

He nodded and looked between the two men, "Would you mind giving me a minute, alone, with her?"

Weevil looked back towards Veronica for a moment before nodding and standing, "I've been here all day. Take your time." He walked to the door and stopped, turning back for a moment, "But if she does wake up, call me."

Logan then focused his attention on Marcus, "Please, like you don't have any errands to run. Do I really need to find something for you to do?" When he still lingered, Logan ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, "I'll behave, I promise. If I don't, you can use the megaphone to wake me up for a month, deal?"

Though Marcus looked hesitant, he nodded and walked away, back towards the waiting room they spent so much time in that morning. There was no way he was leaving Logan alone in the hospital.

Once his assistant was out of sight, Logan pulled the curtain closed to give them some privacy. "Veronica," he began, taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to her. He slowly reached out his hand to brush her hair out of her face, afraid that touching her might cause more pain. "I'm so sorry. I was right there. I should have tried harder. I should have…" he trailed off, thinking of everything he could have done differently.

He noticed the dark bags under her eyes and decided it was probably for the best that she was out cold. His eyes traveled down to her hand, bandaged, arms bruised. Logan knew this type of beating. He was all too familiar with it and Veronica was the last person that he would ever wish this kind of abuse on.

"Do you remember when we were younger and I just moved to Neptune and we didn't know a thing about each other, but you were nice to me anyway? You had no idea that I was the son of the Oscar winning Aaron Echolls and you still sat down next to me in the cafeteria at school when everyone else thought I was weird for wearing a sweater in the summer?" Logan asked, rubbing his thumb over her uninjured hand, "The other kids started teasing you too, but you didn't care. You were going to sit with me. That's when I knew that Veronica Mars is a force to be reckoned with."

"You're the strongest person I've ever met. You have to get through this, okay? For me, because I can't take losing another friend. Not like this," he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly before standing. Behind him he heard the curtain open and the footsteps of two people enter. Weevil took the chair near Veronica's bed, nodding at Logan that he was ready to take over for the night shift. Logan gave him a light smile and allowed Marcus to lead him from the hospital.

It's Weevil! I actually super like Weevil. So, enjoy the cookies.

Also, review. Please? I know Veronica chapters aren't as popular, but hang tight, because we're moving along. I promise. I have big things in store. Seriously. Thank you so much for your continued support.

Review! Haha. Have a good week lovelies.