Chapter 25: Pain, Truth, and Vengeance
*****Where We Left Off*****
Eli once again found himself watching a nightmare unfold. A nightmare he was too late to prevent. He was in his car across from J&E Investigations digging for change to put in the parking meter. He saw Wallace and V come out of his office and start an obviously intense conversation. He decided to wait them out and not interrupt. He didn't like to get involved in drama that didn't concern him unless it couldn't be avoided. When V started across the road signaling the end of their discussion, he got out of his car and went up to feed a few quarters in the parking meter. He wasn't facing the road when he heard tires screech and a loud thump. He turned in time to see a car nearly miss Wallace. A good, experienced P.I. would've sprang into action and focused on the car: license, make, model. However, he was, instead, riveted immobile by the sight of Veronica lying in the street, obviously injured.
Wallace screaming out her name jarred him out of his sudden paralysis, and he ran to V's side as he pulled out his phone, calling for an ambulance. Deja vu hit him as he disconnected from 9-1-1 and pushed #9 on his speed dial—a number that directly connected him to Sheriff Mars. Time slowed as he took in so many things at once. Jay ran outside—the noise brought him to investigate—a look of horror on his face as he recognize Veronica on the street, obviously a victim of a hit-and-run.
Wallace started to gather Veronica in his arms. Eli stopped him as he waited for Keith to answer his phone. "Don't. She could have a spinal injury," Eli told him. He reached for her pulse as Keith finally answered his phone. The ambulance must have been nearby because the sirens could already be heard. "Veronica was just hit by a car walking across the street in front of our office," he told Keith.
Silent, Keith tried to wrap his mind around his worst nightmare. "I'm not in Neptune. It'll be a few hours before I can get there," he told Eli.
"She's alive. Ambulance is on its way. I'll call you when I know more," Eli said, disconnecting before Keith could reply.
Wallace was near hysteria. "Oh, God! Oh God! Not Veronica! Not her!" he yelled. "Veronica? Can you hear me?" he shouted at her. Jay waved at the ambulance that was pulling up.
Eli opened his phone to call Logan. "Meet us at the hospital. Veronica's been hurt," he said as soon as Logan said hello.
"What?" Logan asked, not believing what he heard.
"Someone ran over Veronica. She's alive. They're putting her in the ambulance now," he told Logan as he watched the activity in front of him. He saw Veronica move her hands, and she said something to Wallace. Eli sucked in an air of relief. "She's conscious now," he told Logan.
"She was unconscious? What?" Logan asked in stunned horror.
"We're heading to the hospital now," he said and disconnected before Logan could asked anything else.
Wallace got into the ambulance with Veronica. Eli turned to go to his car and follow when two police cars pulled up. Resigned, he knew he couldn't leave until he gave a statement. "Call your sister," he told Jason and handed his phone to him as Deputy Leo approached. Eli was glad it was Leo. A friend of V's, he wouldn't keep Eli long.
"What happened?" Leo asked in concern. "Was that Veronica?" He looked at the ambulance as the paramedic shut the door.
"Yes. Wallace saw more than me. He's in the ambulance with her. I was feeding the meter," Eli said.
Leo stopped and told the other deputy to go to hospital and get statement from Wallace Fennel.
"The Sheriff's stepson?" the deputy asked in surprise.
"Yes. The victim was Veronica Mars, the Sheriff's daughter," Leo explained. The deputy immediately turned and went to his car.
"A car hit her and took off. My back was turned. When I heard the tires screeched and a thump, I turned around. I saw a car narrowly avoid running down Wallace. Then I couldn't see anything past Veronica lying in the middle of the road. I knew right away that she'd been hit," Eli explained.
"What kind of car was it?" Leo asked.
Eli thought a moment. Then shook his head in disgust. "I don't know. It was a dark color. Compact," he said. He grimaced. "Some P.I. I am. When I realized V was hurt, I just didn't see anything else."
"More details will come to you after you calm down," Jay said.
"He's right," Leo agreed.
Eli shook his head. "Someone just ran over the closest thing I have to a sister. I'm not going to be calm anytime soon," Eli replied in anger and frustration.
Leo turned to Jason to find out what he saw. Jason replied, "I heard the noise and came out to see Wallace and Eli running toward Veronica in the street. The car was already gone by the time I got out here. However, my Uncle Nico is inside the office. He was on the phone. We have surveillance cameras. I'm not sure how much of the road our cameras picked up, but it's worth a look."
"I'm going to head to the hospital," Eli told Jason.
"Okay. I'm going to go introduce the deputy to Nico and go pick up Jazmin. We'll be along soon," Jason said. They turned to go into J&E Investigations while Eli got into his car to go to the hospital.
*****Elsewhere*****
Logan and Trina ran every red light in their urgency to get to Veronica.
"I'm sure she's okay. You know Weevil likes to torment you," Trina said, trying to reassure both of them. Fear and worry was making her ill, but she knew that Logan was about to have a major meltdown. She had never seen him like this. Since he had gotten Weevil's call, there was a look on his face that she'd never seen before. Of course, she had never been there before for him in any of his other moments of need. She hadn't even been around the days after Lilly had been murdered. Now it was her turn to finally be a good sister even though her body was more uncomfortable than normal.
Logan could not bring himself to respond to his sister. His mind was in overdrive. It was like he was someone else. Or he was outside of his body looking down. All he could think about was that Veronica was hurt. She needed him. He couldn't lose her. What would he do without her? He had already lost too much, given up too many things. There was no way the universe would demand more from him. Not her. Anything but her.
They arrived at the hospital moments after the ambulance. Logan didn't bother to park but left his car in the ER loading zone. He got out when he spotted Wallace walking behind a gurney that was going into the hospital.
"Wallace!" he called out.
Wallace turned and looked relieved to see him. He waited for Logan and Trina to catch up to him. "It was a hit and run. A car came out of nowhere as she was crossing to her car in front of Jay and Eli's work. It almost hit me, too," Wallace told them. He turned to follow after her—Logan hot on his heels.
Trina tried to follow but stopped when a sharp pain hit her back. She stopped to rub her back. Used to feeling uncomfortable, she ignored her discomfort and waddled after her brother.
Logan ran up to Veronica, who had gotten wheeled into an ER cubicle. She was pulling off the oxygen mask and trying to talk. The movement clearly caused her a lot of pain. He could see it in her eyes. Seeing an obvious sign of life caused Logan to relax slightly. She wasn't going to be taken from him, too. "Are you okay?" he asked as he finally made it to her side, practically shoving the paramedic out of his way.
Veronica started to cry when she saw him. "I'm sorry, Logan. I didn't see the car," she wailed.
Taken aback by her uncharacteristic display, Logan looked helplessly over at Wallace who tried to reassure Veronica. The paramedics attempted to get the two men to leave her side, but they refused to leave. Finally, the ER doctor arrived.
The doctor's sudden appearance created panic in Veronica. She turned fearfully toward Logan. "The baby, Logan. Tell him to check on the baby!" she said.
Confused, Logan looked back toward Trina. "Trina's okay. Don't worry," Logan assured her.
"No!" Veronica wailed. "Not her baby. Our baby!"
Logan was puzzled. The doctor looked concern. "A baby was with you?" he asked.
Wallace replied, "No. She's obviously confused. She was hit by a car and hit her head pretty hard."
"No! I'm pregnant!" Veronica shouted in frustration.
At her proclamation, Logan stepped back, the news slapping him in the face. "What?" he asked in dismay.
Wallace looked equally shocked.
"Is my baby okay?" Veronica asked the doctor, frantic. The doctor immediately comprehended her concern and barked an order to the nurse and then told Wallace and Logan to leave so he could examine her.
Logan leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I'll be close by if you need me," he said. He wiped the tears that were still coursing down her cheeks.
They all went into the waiting room without speaking. Everyone's mind was reeling at the news Veronica just shared. Finally, he turned to look at Wallace, a look of accusation on his face. "Did you know she was pregnant?" he asked, half expecting Wallace to say yes. Knowing she was taking risks while pregnant would've compelled the normally mild mannered Wallace into reprimanding her the way he did the other day.
"No way!" Wallace exclaimed. "No idea. She must've just found out."
Trina said, "We should've suspected. What with all the throwing up and stuff she's been doing lately. I should've expected."
Logan looked at her and nodded, his mind still trying to wrap his mind around the news. Then he noticed how pale his sister was. She was holding her stomach. "Are you okay? Sit down," he ordered.
"I've felt better," she replied as she sat down in one of the open chairs.
"She couldn't have known she was pregnant long or we'd know," Wallace said. He refused to believe that Veronica would take a P.I. job knowing she was with child. Not even she would be so reckless.
"Maybe," Logan murmured. He sat down next to his sister thinking about it. Unfortunately, he knew his girl too well. He also knew how much she hated being coddled and how worried she'd been about the Sorokin threat. He also recalled his conversation with Duncan a few days ago. Now Veronica's reaction to it put a whole other spin on it. "The little minx. Wait 'til I get my hands on her," he thought. Irritation at her secretiveness warred with the complete and utter joy that filled him.
"You're going to be a daddy, little brother," Trina said happily.
A smile broke out on Logan's face a full minute as he contemplated that fact. Then he was hit by fear. "What if she loses the baby?" he asked. The three of them exchanged worried looks at the possibility.
"Mom has said before that some women don't like to tell anyone they're pregnant until after the first trimester. It's the riskiest time for them," Wallace shared.
They sat there in silence as they each thought about what could happen, both the good and bad.
It wasn't long before Weevil showed up. Dick was right behind him. Trina had called him before they had left the beach house. "How's V?" Weevil asked.
"We don't know yet. The doctor's examining her," Logan replied. "What the hell happened?"
Wallace and Weevil each shared what had happened. "The car was parked. It wasn't coming down the street. I know that for sure," Wallace said. "It was parked and just pulled out and hit her."
"Do you think it was on purpose? Or did the driver get scared and drive off?" Weevil asked him.
"You're telling me this was a hit and run?" Logan asked in sudden anger.
They nodded. "There was something familiar about the car," Wallace said, thinking hard. Before he could speculate, the deputy appeared and asked to speak to him. He stepped out in the hall with the deputy to give his statement.
Dick looked at Weevil, shocked and a bit scared. "So someone just ran down Ronnie? Who would do that?" Dick asked.
Weevil looked over at Logan both of them having the same thought. "I can think of someone," Logan said grimly.
"Who?" Dick asked.
"Who do you think?" Weevil asked in annoyance.
"Sorokin," Logan replied bitterly. "This time he's gone too far. Not only could he have killed Veronica, but she's pregnant."
"What?" Dick asked in disbelief.
"Seriously? She's expecting?" Weevil asked, getting to his feet in surprise. "Is the baby okay?"
"I don't know. She was freaking out. I didn't even know she was pregnant. Wallace didn't either, so no one probably did," Logan shared.
"How could you get her pregnant now with all the shit going on?" Weevil demanded angrily. He gave Logan an accusing glare.
"Dude, they go at it like rabbits. I told'em it was bound to happen eventually," Dick said smugly.
"It wasn't planned. We use birth control. Veronica's on the pill," Logan said defensively.
"Even I know the pill's not fool proof, dude," Dick said gleefully. "Ronnie pregnant. What if she has a little girl just like her? Can you imagine!"
Actually, both Logan and Weevil could easily imagine a miniature Veronica running around. The imagine brought smiles to both their faces. In a rare moment of camaraderie between them, they exchanged a look of mutual understanding. Then, almost at the same time, they each were filled with hot rage. Someone dared hurt Veronica and threaten the life of her unborn child. "He needs to pay," Weevil said angrily.
"We'll make sure," Logan said in agreement.
"Guys, I hate to rain on your revenge parade and all, but Sean was at the house earlier. I saw him," Dick said.
"Dick, have you ever thought that maybe Sean makes sure you see him so he can have you as an alibi, the one guy he knows I trust the most?" Logan pointed out. He let Dick think about that a moment. Then he continued, "There's a lot of guys going in and out of your frat house. I doubt you kept tabs on him all afternoon. Even if he didn't physically do it, he's behind it. Just like he put Julie up to planting the bombs. You cannot expect us to believe he's innocent. "
"You're not going to get me to believe that the timing of this is pure coincidence," Weevil added.
"Exactly," Logan agreed.
Wallace came back into the waiting room. Mac, Jason, and Jazmin was with him. Mac went straight into Dick's arms. Weevil got up to give Jazmin a hug. She looked upset. "Is Veronica okay?" Jazmin asked worriedly.
"The doctor's examining her now," Logan said. "Did someone call Duncan?"
"Yes, he said he'd track down Parker and bring her here right away," Mac replied.
"Dude, did you know Ronnie's prego?" Dick asked Mac.
Mac's side glance to Logan answered the question. "You knew?" Logan asked, jumping to his feet. "How long have you known? Why didn't Veronica tell me?"
Mac was very uncomfortable as all eyes looked to her, waiting for her reply. "I've only know about a week or so," she replied.
"What? A week?" Logan asked. He faced her, a look of hurt and disbelief on his face.
"Logan, don't be mad! You know Veronica. She doesn't like to share things. She took a home pregnancy test about two weeks or so ago when Daisy suggested she could be pregnant since she was always sick to her stomach," Mac explained. Before she could explain further, Logan cut in.
"Daisy knows? Did you know, too?" he looked at Jason accusingly.
Jason held up his hands. "I knew nothing. Daisy isn't one to share her secrets. You should know that by now. I had no idea," Jason said.
"I didn't either," Jazmin said. She felt a bit hurt that both Daisy and Mac knew before she did. Mac she understood, but it galled her to think that Daisy knew before she did.
Mac immediately knew what Jazmin was feeling. "Veronica didn't tell Daisy. Daisy was with her one day when she got sick in the cafeteria. Veronica didn't know that taking antibiotics weakened the effectiveness of the pill, so she hadn't even suspected she might be pregnant. I know only because she wanted me to go with her to the doctor for a confirmation," Mac explained.
"So she'd rather take you than me, the father and the man she's supposed to love?" Logan asked, the hurt and confusion painfully apparent to all of them. His friends, even Weevil, looked uncomfortable at the conclusion he was drawing.
"Logan, you know Veronica. And she knows you. You get crazy protective. She hates when anyone tries to curb her behavior," Wallace offered. Despite his own annoyance with her, he still felt compelled to defend her.
"She was so freaked about Sean and what was going on, she was just waiting for the right time," Mac explained. "She wanted it to be special and didn't want the stress of Sorokin over her head when she shared the happy news with you."
"So she is happy about it? She wasn't keeping it from me because she was upset?" Logan inquired, unable to keep his fears and insecurities to himself.
Mac looked at him compassionately. "Of course, she was happy. She was just scared about the timing. She was worried about something like this happening," Mac assured.
Logan thought about what she said. Then he turned to Wallace. "So you saw nothing at all? Could you see who the driver was?" Logan asked him.
"I know that the driver couldn't have possibly been trying to kill her," Wallace said.
"Why do you say that?" Jason asked.
"Because the car was parked. He was obviously watching her. The hit seemed impulsive. Not planned. If you really want to kill someone, you don't pull out from a parked position. You'd come barreling down the road," Wallace said.
"Planned to run down someone recently?" Dick couldn't help asking. He threw Wallace a teasing grin.
"Of course not. I'm just saying," Wallace said.
"So you think the driver was male?" Eli inquired.
Wallace nodded. "I didn't get a good look at the face, but the profile was masculine, and the driver was sitting up high in the seat, indicating height," he replied.
"It's Sean. I know it," Logan said grimly.
"Did the cameras pick up anything?" Eli asked Jason.
"The deputy and Uncle Nico were viewing them as I left. I didn't wait around to see. We should know something soon," Jason replied.
Before they could begin to discuss the possibilities, the doctor came in. "Veronica and the baby are fine," the doctor said, knowing that was what they wanted to hear first.
The group breathed a sigh of relief. Trina suppressed a moan as another stabbing pain hit her lower back. "So she's not in danger of miscarrying?" Logan asked.
"Well, there's no sign of bleeding, but I'd like to keep her overnight just to be safe. She does have a concussion, her left arm is broken, and her right shoulder blade is dislocated. She is in a bit of pain," the doctor said.
"I'll say!" Dick exclaimed in sympathy.
"Can we see her?" Wallace asked.
"Yes, she's going to be moved to a private room within the hour. Two at a time may go back and see her in the ER," the doctor explained.
No one questioned the fact that Logan and Wallace went to see her first. Both were incredibly shaken by her brush with death. Wallace kept thinking about his last conversation with her. What if his harsh words had been the last thing she ever heard from him? Guilt racked him at the thought.
Veronica gave them a weak smile in greeting. She had a full arm cast on. The break must have been in her bicep area. Both arms were in slings.
Logan went to her side. "I want to hug you, but I don't want to cause you any pain," he said to her.
"You can kiss me. My lips are about the only thing that doesn't hurt right now," Veronica said warily.
Logan frowned at that comment, but he leaned down to kiss her. "I'm sorry you're in pain," he said.
"You scared me to death!" Wallace scolded. "Didn't your mamma teach you to watch for cars when you cross the street?" He tried to make her smile. It worked. He felt relieved to see her smile at him.
"I'm sorry I scared you. The car just came out of nowhere," Veronica said.
"Yeah, I know. It almost hit me, too. I jumped back, and it swerved around me," Wallace said.
"Do you think I was the target? Or was it an accident?" Veronica wondered.
"Let's not worry about that now. The doctor said you weren't bleeding, but I know worry and stress is never good for a pregnant lady," Logan admonished.
Veronica looked guilty. "I'm sorry, Logan, that I hadn't told you yet. I was just so scared and worried about everything," she said earnestly.
"We can talk about it later. I'm just glad you're okay. I love you even though I don't always understand you," he said, a note of resignation in his voice.
"Who does?" Wallace teased. "There's other people here who want to see you. I better call your dad. I haven't even called Mom yet. She's going to kill me for waiting."
"Don't worry her. I'm okay," Veronica insisted.
"You don't get to do that, Veronica. Keeping things from people because you decide they don't need to worry isn't right," Wallace said sternly. "You have no right to treat the people you love with such disrespect."
"He's right," Logan agreed. "That's a bad habit of yours. One we will discuss at length when you're feeling better."
"Remember, I'm the mother of your child," Veronica said sweetly.
Wallace couldn't help but laugh at her obvious manipulation. Logan narrowed his eyes and shook his finger at her. "You are shameless! You can't play that card. Not yet," he informed her. He leaned down to kiss her again. "There are other people here anxious to see you. They're going to move you to a room soon. I'll see you there in a bit. I love you even though you told Daisy you were pregnant before me, the man you love." He couldn't resist that parting shot. Her look of guilt at his reminder made him feel a bit smug. That was the least she deserved for not only keeping her pregnancy from him but taking a job that could've turned dangerous if he hadn't been there. Just the thought of that made him angry. However, he wouldn't let himself direct his anger toward Veronica. Not when there was a much more deserving target.
Logan and Wallace went out to the waiting room and told Mac and Dick they could see Veronica. Trina felt too sick to get up, so she waved her brother away. "I'll just sit and wait until everyone else has had a chance to see her. I'm feeling a bit ill," Trina said.
"Do you want me to take you home? I can wait," Logan said.
"I can run you home if you like," Jason offered.
"No, I'm good. I want to see Veronica. I'll be fine," Trina said, waving off their concern.
Logan motioned to Weevil to follow him. They went into the hall. "We need to teach Sean a lesson," Logan said to him.
"I agree," Weevil said. "He needs to learn that we're not just going to let him sit back and mess with the people we care about. Guys like him only understand one thing."
"Let's not tell anyone else. Last time I wanted to give someone payback, Duncan acted without me," Logan said grimly.
Weevil nodded his head in understanding. "We should stake out his house. There are too many witnesses at his frat house," Weevil said.
"You know where he lives?" Logan asked.
"Jason kept tabs on him as soon as he started sniffing around Daisy. The address is at our office. Let's go by there. We can check out the video while we're there," Weevil suggested.
"Good idea. Let's go," Logan said. This time he was going to make sure Sorokin understood what would happen if Veronica was threatened in any way. Now that she was pregnant the urgency to protect her was so strong he could barely see straight. His family was more important than anything. Sean would be made to see that if it was the last thing Logan did.
*****TO BE CONTINUED******