Toward the end of February, Logan was at home trying frantically to work past his recent onset of writer's block. He was attempting to rewrite chapters in his manuscript, which were not living up to expectations. His phone rang. He nearly didn't answer it, but at this point, any distraction, even a telemarketer, would have been welcome. "Hello?"

"Logan?" a woman's voice asked at the other end.

"Yeah."

"Logan, it's Leslie. I'm calling about Veronica." Her tone was solemn.

Logan felt panic course through his body. "What about her? Is she okay?"

"She's at the hospital. Something happened in the field."

"What? What happened?" Logan was on his feet searching desperately for his keys, which were nowhere they should have been. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know anything more about it. We just got word back at the office, so I called you. I didn't know if anyone would know to contact you."

Logan found his keys on the counter, where he could have sworn he had already looked three times. "What hospital?"

"San Francisco General." Leslie added, "Call me on my cell when you know something."

"Okay." Logan put Taser in his crate and hurried out the door. As he got into the elevator, he flipped open his phone. "Keith," he said quickly as the man answered the phone.

"I just got off the phone with the hospital, Logan," Keith said. "Do you know anything else?"

"I don't know anything. Leslie just called me and said Veronica was at the hospital. I'm on my way there. What do you know?"

"She is unconscious. She got into a physical struggle with a suspect."

Logan inhaled sharply. "How bad?"

"They thought I should fly up. I'm on my way to the airport."

"Shit," Logan said. He ran out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened and began to frantically try to hail a cab. "I'm on my way there. I'll call you when I know something."

When Logan got to the hospital, his panic only increased. He rushed into the emergency room, where the only information he could get was that Veronica was there and being examined. They wouldn't tell him anything or let him anywhere near her. "I'm sorry sir, but you aren't family," the nurse said dismissively.

"She's my girlfriend. We live together." Logan was nearly yelling.

"I'm sorry. We can only give the information to her next of kin and visitation is only for family members."

"Her father is flying up from San Diego as we speak," Logan said. He had tried to call Keith, but his phone had been off. Logan had assumed he was already on the plane.

As Keith got off the elevator having been directed from the ER to the intensive care unit, he saw Logan sitting on a plastic chair in the waiting area. The young man was staring straight ahead and not moving. Keith had never seen Logan look so pale. "Logan," he called out.

"Oh thank god," Logan replied. "They won't tell me a thing because I'm not family."

"Don't worry. I'll find something out." Keith placed a hand on Logan's shoulder before walking to the desk. "Excuse me," he said to the nurse behind the desk. "My daughter is supposed to be here. Her name is Veronica Mars."

"Just let me check sir." The nurse began to look at the information in front of her. Logan had stood up when Keith had arrived and was now standing just behind him. "Ms. Mars is still being examined," the nurse explained. "A doctor will probably be out soon to give you an update. We'll be sure to let them know a family member has arrived."

Logan sighed in annoyance. "Come on, Logan," Keith said guiding Logan back to the chairs. "Let's sit down and wait."

After five minutes of waiting, Logan couldn't sit still anymore and began to pace. A doctor didn't appear with an update for another five minutes after that. "Mars?" The doctor glanced around the waiting room. He looked to be in his late forties with dark hair and tanned skin. He wore traditional green scrubs.

Keith stood up, and Logan followed behind him toward the doctor. "Yes," Keith said. "Is she okay?"

"You're Ms. Mars' father. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Keith said. The doctor's gaze shifted to Logan. "Please just tell us how she is," Keith said.

The doctor nodded. "Ms. Mars was brought in unconscious. She sustained some head trauma. She regained consciousness after about 30 minutes." Logan let out a sigh of relief, but Keith had a feeling there was more to it. The doctor continued. "However, she sustained a number of injuries, and we had to sedate her for some of the examinations. She has a sprained wrist and some broken rips. There is concern of internal bleeding, so we need to observe her closely. It will be a while longer before she regains consciousness."

"Can we see her?" Keith asked placing a hand on Logan's arm, attempting to calm him down.

"You can, sir, but I am afraid that we only allow visitation by family in ICU." The doctor glanced at Logan, who looked ready for a fight.

"He's family," Keith said simply. "California protects rights of domestic-partners; they live together." Logan breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he had rights to see Veronica; he was just unsure how to address it.

The doctor gave Keith an annoyed look but seemed to give in. "I'll have a nurse show you to her room. I'll be by to check her status later."

The same nurse Keith had spoken to when he first got there showed them to Veronica's room. Logan felt like he was going to be sick. Seeing Veronica hooked up to monitors was nearly too much for him. "God," he breathed out. Keith was already standing at Veronica's bedside, gently tucking strands of loose hair behind her ear, but Logan had remained in the doorway. He was leaning on the doorframe.

"Logan?" Keith asked. Logan stared at him. "Come on."

Logan walked cautiously into the room and stood next to Keith. His eyes were glued to Veronica, her body lying motionless in the bed. "She looks so…" Logan whispered. He couldn't finish though. He didn't know how to explain how she looked. Veronica was usually so lively, so strong, so vibrant.

"She'll be okay," Keith said confidently.

"How do you know?" Logan was sitting down on a chair next to Veronica's bed. His elbows rested on his knees, and he was leaning forward with his head in his hands.

"I've been taking care of Veronica when she was sick since she was born. She'll get better. She's strong." Keith bent down and kissed Veronica's forehead. Turning to Logan, he said, "I need to go call Linda."

Logan nodded. He watched Keith leave the room then turned his attention back to Veronica. He reached out and took her hand. "Veronica, you have to be okay." He brought her hand to his lips, kissing it gently. "I love you. I can't lose you."

Veronica blinked awake with no idea where she was. Her whole body felt sore and her head was pounding. She squinted. Her father was asleep in a chair at her side; his feet up in another chair. Shifting her line of sight, she saw Logan pacing at the foot of the bed. His hair was completely disheveled and becoming more so as he ran his hand through it. "Logan?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. With a deep breath in, he smiled. "Thank god." In an instant, he was at her side. He pressed the call button to page a doctor. He looked down at her. He wanted to reach out and hug and kiss her, but he worried about hurting her. Finally, he gently touched her cheek. "Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"Logan, I'm confused. What happened...?" She trailed off as her father woke up at the talking.

"Veronica, oh. I'm so glad you're awake. I was so worried." Keith ran his hands down either side of her face and kissed her forehead. "I'm too old for that kind of scare."

"Dad, what…?" Veronica was interrupted again as a nurse entered the room.

"Ms. Mars, how are you feeling?" the nurse asked as she began to check the monitors. "The doctor is right behind me."

The same doctor who had spoken to Keith and Logan in the waiting room entered. "Alright, let's take a look." He shined a light in Veronica's eyes and did some other tests. "So it seems you sustained a mild head injury," he explained. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore, and my head is pounding." Veronica glanced up between everyone in the room.

"She said she was confused," Logan said. "When she first woke up."

"Ms. Mars, do you remember what happened today?" Veronica shook her head. "Okay, well that is not uncommon. How about these gentlemen? Do you know who they are?"

"Yeah, Logan and my dad," Veronica replied with a smile. "And my name is Veronica Mars, and it is 2016. Does someone want to hold up some fingers?"

"What was confusing you?" the doctor asked making notes.

"Nothing, it's fine. And, I think I'm starting to remember what happened this afternoon. I remember being out on a case, and we cornered a suspect. I think he grabbed me…" Veronica trailed off and reached up to touch her head. "I feel all… fuzzy."

Suddenly, the monitors began to beep erratically and Veronica's hand fell back to her side. "Veronica!" Logan nearly screamed.

He tried to reach her, but the doctor pushed him out of the way. He began to check her vitals. The nurse was pressing a button and soon a team joined them in the room. Logan and Keith were both pushed back against a wall.

"We need to check for internal bleeding and run some more tests," the doctor said as they began to wheel Veronica out of the room.

Logan and Keith sat in Veronica's room in silence for nearly fifteen minutes. Finally, a nurse returned and said, "There is evidence of some internal bleeding, so Ms. Mars has been taken into surgery. You are welcome to go up to the surgical waiting room, and they will keep you update there."

As they were riding in the elevator up to the surgical floor, Logan said, "I wish they would stop referring to her as 'Ms. Mars.' It sounds so ominous." Keith gave Logan a pained look. "Sorry," Logan said. "I tend to say inappropriate things when I'm worried."

"It's fine." Keith ran a hand over his face. "I know what you mean." They checked in at the desk on the surgical floor and were told to have a seat and someone would be out to update them shortly.

When a doctor finally came out to speak with them, Logan was relieved to discover he seemed much friendlier that the one they had met downstairs. "I'm Dr. Grant," the man introduced himself. "You must be Ms. Mars' father." He greeted Keith and then turned to Logan. "Making you Logan?"

Logan nodded. "How did you…?"

"She woke up for a moment when we were prepping her for surgery and was asking for both of you." Keith took in a staggered breath. Logan realized instantly that Keith was struggling with the same thought he was. Veronica asked for him, and he wasn't able to be there. "It will probably be another hour or so before we know anything. If you want to head home, we can call you with any updates."

"I'm not going anywhere," Logan said assertively and sat down on a waiting room chair.

Dr. Grant nodded. "We'll keep you updated."

Keith sat down with Logan to wait. After about thirty minutes, Logan stood up. "Do you want some coffee?" he asked Keith.

"Sure that sounds good." Logan wandered down to find coffee. When he came back, Keith was looking at a photo in his wallet. Logan sat down next to him and handed him the coffee. As Logan glanced at the wallet in Keith's hand, he said, "I was just looking at this." He passed the wallet to Logan. "It's one of my favorites."

Logan took the wallet and looked at the picture. "Oh yeah," he said looking at the picture. It was of Veronica; she must have been eight or nine in the photo. She was sitting on the branch of a tree. Her blond hair was pulled back into two braids, and she was wearing denim overalls. "Her smile," Logan said quietly.

"It's always been just the same," Keith said. He took his wallet back and glanced at the picture again before closing it and returning it to his pocket. He sighed audibly.

Logan put his hand on Keith's shoulder. "She'll be alright. She has to be." Keith simply nodded.

It was nearly eight o'clock by the time the doctor came back out to talk to them. Logan and Keith were both on their feet as soon as they saw Dr. Grant walking toward them. "She's out of surgery," he said. "We were able to stop the bleeding, and she is stable." Keith and Logan both breathed sighs of relief. "She is still under sedation and will remain so until morning. We won't know for sure how she is until she wakes up." Logan and Keith both began to open their mouths. "I'll take you to see her," Dr. Grant said anticipating their question.

Logan had nearly as hard of a time entering the hospital room this time as he did before. Seeing Veronica at all now though was making it easier. Keith was sitting down next to Veronica's bed. Logan crossed to the opposite side of the bed and stood over Veronica brushing her hair from her face. They spent about ten minutes watching her unconscious form and reassuring themselves that she would be okay. Then, a male nurse entered the room. "I'm sorry gentlemen, but visiting hours are ending. It might be wise for you to go home and get some sleep anyway. You can come back in the morning."

Logan sat rooted in his chair and looked at the man. "I'm not leaving," he said simply.

"It's hospital policy, sir. Besides, visitation is supposed to be family only." The nurse stood his ground.

Logan rose to his feet. All his patience had run out, and he had a feeling his strategies he had learned in the anger management classes he took in college weren't going to be helping him. He was ready to clock the guy.

"Logan," Keith said noticing the look on Logan's face. "We just got in the room," he said to the nurse. "She's been in surgery all evening. Perhaps you could check with Dr. Grant."

It seemed that Dr. Grant had fought for Keith and Logan, who didn't have anyone else ask them to leave. Around nine-thirty, Logan turned to Keith, "Do you want to go back to Veronica and my place and shower or get some rest? After flying up here and sitting around waiting all day, you must need to recuperate some or at least clean up." Keith glanced at Veronica with concern. "I'll call you if anything changes," Logan added.

"Actually a shower sounds really nice," Keith said nodding. "Anything you need from your place? Clean shirt?" Keith asked.

"Sure," Logan replied. "I called and asked Mike to go pick up Taser. Could you check that he actually did? Maybe call Mac while you're out of the hospital, too. I told her we would keep her updated."

"No problem." Keith stood up. "Call me if anything changes, good or bad," he said walking to the door.

Logan scooted his chair closer to Veronica's bed and rested his head on the mattress. He took her hand in one of his. "Please Veronica, be okay," he whispered.