This chapter wraps up the events of "Hot Dogs", all off screen. You guys know what happened... There is a brief mention of the culmination of that episode.


43 – Talking Sense

Keith woke early the next morning and decided to make French toast and bacon to get the day off to a positive start. As expected, his plan worked like a charm with Veronica, and happy, full-of-bacon and syrup Veronica worked like a charm with Logan too. Actually, it might have been covered-in-syrup Veronica that improved Logan's mood. Keith had left them eating breakfast to go into his room to finish getting ready for the day and when he came back out to the front of the apartment, he saw Veronica holding her hand up to Logan who was sucking her fingers free of syrup one-by-one.

Keith ducked back into his room before they noticed him, unable to unsee the relatively innocent but still intimate scene. His first thought was sending Logan to Alicia's immediately. But as he contemplated whether putting them in such close proximity all the time was tempting fate, he heard them start to laugh. Happy laughter, followed by a bang and a shriek. It made him think of times in their old house when all four kids would hang out, watching South Park and playing games. There was usually at least one tickle fight whenever they all got together and it frequently sounded like what he just heard. He stepped back out to the living room to find Veronica brandishing the sprayer from the kitchen sink at Logan who was standing just beyond her reach, shaking with laughter.

"What are you two maniacs doing in my kitchen? Put the hose down, Veronica."

She jerked the nozzle at Logan again. He was now giggling helplessly, a far cry from how he'd appeared last night. "Are you gonna be good? No tickling. We're not still twelve."

"Veronica," Keith said sternly and she huffed in affected irritation and turned to snake the hose back into its holder.

"He started it. And he's got such long monkey arms that it's not a fair fight." She turned back and made a face at Logan. "One of these days, I'm gonna tase you and then you'll really be sorry." She stalked toward him and Keith laughed as Logan made a show of dodging out of her way. "Yeah, you better run." He darted back and kissed the top of her head and she gave him a laughing push. "I'll be ready in ten. You deal with the dishes."

Logan turned back to the counter and took his last bite of French toast, then gathered both plates and their glasses to move around to the sink. "Thanks for breakfast, Keith; it was great. I think you could give Mrs. Navarro a run for her money with that French toast."

"Well, I guess if this PI gig doesn't end up working out..." Logan threw back his head laughing at that and Keith shrugged. "Maybe not."

"If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure that Mrs. Navarro wouldn't be much of an investigator." Logan put the dishes into the dishwasher and then toed the door closed as he dried his hands on a dishtowel. "You'll be home for dinner tonight, right?"

Keith grinned at the domesticity of the conversation. "Yes, dear, I think I'll be home," he said sarcastically.

"Har har. I'll get dinner. Maybe Italian? Make the girl happy?"

"Yes," Veronica's voice broke in. "Let's absolutely make the girl happy." She handed Logan his backpack and stretched up to kiss Keith's cheek. "See you tonight, Pops."

"Hey, gimme a sec," Logan said, dropping his backpack, and jogging back to the bathroom.

Veronica watched him go, and then looked back at Keith. In a low voice, she said, "When you see Lynn, you tell her from me—"

"Oh no, I will not be passing any messages on to her from you right now. I can't imagine that you've got anything productive to say and I've got plenty to talk about."

"Well, just make sure she knows—"

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go." Logan scooped his backpack off the floor and pressed his hand to Veronica's back as he moved past where she stood, pushing her toward the door. "We'll see you tonight, Keith." Veronica shot one more fierce look at Keith as she went through the doorway and he waggled his fingers at her with a grin. Reflecting back to the very awkward dinner when they'd first taken Logan to meet his mom after the incident on the bridge, he was pretty sure that keeping Veronica away from Lynn right now was a very good idea.

Keith had a 9:30 AM appointment with a client so he headed straight into the office, still reflecting on what he'd seen that morning. The troubled Logan of last night seemed to be gone again and he was back to what had become normal since he'd been free of the regular contact with his dad. It's not just Aaron being out of his life; don't be a fool. It's what else is in his life.

Over the course of the last few months. Keith had genuinely grown to like Logan but even so, he was not entirely comfortable with the idea that his only daughter was so important to an abused, impulsive, traumatized boy with as many demons as Logan had. On the other hand, Veronica had become a different person in the last couple of months with Logan back in her life. She'd spent nearly an entire year isolating herself. He didn't know much about what was going on with her back then, which was embarrassing and made him feel unworthy to be lecturing Lynn Echolls on her poor parental choices. Regardless, she'd opened up a bit at the start of this school year with the addition of Wallace but it was when Logan came back into her life, and they'd started to date, that she'd actually started acting like her old self. Actually socializing again. He'd dropped in on one of Logan's sleepover parties, wanting to make sure that they hadn't invented the whole story to be alone together. Instead, he'd found a half dozen kids, laughing and playing and his daughter actually in the middle of everything.

Logan had talked about being grateful for what they had done for him but truthfully, Keith felt gratitude to him for what he'd done in pulling Veronica back into the world. That, coupled with the fact that he seemed to be as interested in her safety as Keith was, while being in a better position to know what craziness she was dreaming up, made him pretty valuable to Keith's peace of mind. Even the ever-looming spectre of their sexual relationship was less terrifying than it probably should be, or maybe it was just that he was willfully trying to ignore that since he couldn't actually do anything about it. Except keep them out of the Neptune Grand. That I can do.

Once the client meeting was over, Keith headed for the Echolls' estate. He didn't call first; he wasn't sure if he would find both Aaron and Lynn there but he was prepared either way and he didn't want to give Lynn an opportunity to dodge him. He used the gate code to let himself in, parking out front but walking around to the back of the house. He spotted Aaron doing laps in the pool and stopped in his tracks, retracing his steps to the front of the house to ring the doorbell. Mrs. Navarro answered the door.

"Oh, Mr. Mars," she exclaimed. "It is so good to see you. Are you here to see Mrs. Lynn?" She glanced over her shoulder and her voice lowered. "Can you talk some sense into her? She brought him back here. And Mr. Logan is gone."

"He's fine; he stayed with us last night. He's not alone."

"I knew that Miss Veronica would take care of him." She nodded her head earnestly. "I'm so glad he has her."

Keith nodded hesitantly. He'd been considering similar thoughts earlier but he wasn't entirely comfortable with this conversation so he moved on, also speaking in a low voice. "I did come to see Lynn and I noticed Aaron is out in the pool. Can she receive a guest? Maybe someplace we can talk alone?"

Mrs. Navarro gave a quick nod. "Let me show you to the library. Mr. Aaron never goes in there and there's a door so you can have privacy." She turned and walked away, gesturing for him to follow. "I'll bring Mrs. Lynn to you."

"Don't get yourself in any trouble," Keith said, following her as they rapidly moved down the hall. "Logan relies pretty heavily on you when he's here; I don't want this to be a problem for you."

"No, no problem. I'm just showing a guest in." She smiled over her shoulder at him. "Domestics don't have opinions on the family's personal relationships."

"Oh yeah, I can tell," he said drily and she laughed, then stopped at a closed door.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll bring Mrs. Lynn." Keith stepped inside and she re-closed the door, leaving him alone. He made a circle of the room, looking at the titles on the shelves, and then sat in an antique chair in a pairing on the far side of the room. He had just settled in when the door opened and Lynn appeared.

"Keith. How is Logan?" She hurried across the room to him and he rose to greet her. She clasped his hands and gave him a worried look. "He was so upset last night. He did come to you, right?"

Keith extracted his hands from hers and she gestured at him to take his seat again, which he did. She perched on the edge of the chair next to him. "He did stay with us last night. He's fine. He was in pretty good spirits this morning. Last night, not so much. Lynn, is what he said right? You're getting back with Aaron?"

She turned pink and looked down at her hands. "He wanted us to try again. I wanted to get away because of what he's done to Logan, and all the cheating. But he says he hasn't laid a hand on Logan since he thought I died, and Logan confirmed that." There was a moment's hesitation as she paused to draw in a deep breath. "He explained about the cheating...that he's got an addiction, like what I've been dealing with. It seems hypocritical to blame him when I've been going through the same thing."

"Did it occur to you that he told you that because he knew you'd let him off the hook that way?"

"I thought about that but he just seemed so sincere."

Keith reached out to take her hands that she was twisting in her lap. "Lynn, the man's an actor. I think he knows how to 'seem sincere'. But do you really believe him?"

"I want to," she whispered.

"That isn't what I asked you," he responded gently. "Look, he told Logan that he told you about the tape set-up in the pool house. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"Do you know there are dozens of tapes? Very clearly obtained without those women's knowledge. Some of them not even grown women. High school girls. Did he tell you all of that?" She clasped her hands over her nose and mouth and closed her eyes, nodding rapidly. "And you're okay with that?"

"Of course I'm not okay with that," she hissed. "But he feels so badly...and he says it won't happen again. He says he's committed to our marriage."

"Okay, let's say that he's telling the truth." Keith sat back, trying to look—and feel—detached from the situation. "If you're both so committed, would it hurt anything to give yourself a little more time apart? Clearly, you're still struggling and I can tell you absolutely that Logan thinks it is too soon for you to just bring him back into your lives. Rather than moving back in together, why not try moving a little more slowly? Let him stay in L.A. and you can meet to get re-acquainted again. Maybe do some couples' counseling while you've both still got the opportunity to reflect separately on your own lives and what you want from this relationship. Maybe involve Logan slowly, so they can build up the relationship they've never had. Is it necessary that you just immediately jump back into a full-fledged marriage when there are still a lot of things you need to resolve in your own head?"

Lynn laughed softly. "You sound like Dr. Tony."

"He seemed like a nice enough man but I'm not sure that being told I sound like a shrink is a compliment."

"Well, too bad, I meant it as one." She sat back in the chair for the first time, crossing her legs and leaning her head back. "He really wanted to come back to Neptune. I guess I was afraid that if I said no, he wouldn't want to try again."

"And if that's the case, if he wouldn't give you a little more space to heal some of these things between you, are you really sure you want to be with him?" Keith banged his head against the back of his chair. "Oh lord, I just did the shrink talk again, didn't I?"

Lynn giggled. "Yes."

Keith shook his head. "Don't tell my daughter." He sobered and looked at her directly. "Will you think about what I'm saying? You've worked really hard; I don't want you to lose ground because you're afraid. Logan needs his mother."

She nodded. "I will. Thanks."

"Okay then. I'm going to go." Keith stood up and Lynn did the same. "Logan's fine with us as long as he feels like he needs to be away from here and we've got a couple of friends who have room for him if things start to get too close at our place. You don't have to worry about him."

"I won't. Unfortunately, he's probably better off as part of your family than mine right now." She sighed and covered her mouth with a delicate hand.

"Well, he wants you in his family, whoever else he includes in that. I know you don't want to let him down." Keith put a hand on her shoulder. She nodded rapidly again, blinking back tears. "If you need help, do not hesitate to call me. Do you understand me, Lynn?"

She looked at him with fearful eyes. "Do you think he would hurt me? He's never hit me before."

"I don't know. He had another target before." Lynn flinched and looked away. "At the risk of sounding like the shrink, it's interesting that your mind went there immediately but that wasn't actually what I was talking about. It doesn't have to be about you being in physical danger. If you're feeling overwhelmed while you're trying to make this decision, you can call me then too. Or, even better, get Dr. Tony back down here. Or go to him, whichever. You don't need to do this alone."

"I understand."

"But, since you mentioned it, if you do feel like you're in physical danger, absolutely call me." He gave her shoulder a gentle shake. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you. The Mars family seems to be trying to save me all the time."

"Now you need to try it." He gave her a very serious look and she pressed her lips together in a thin smile.

"I will. Let me walk you out." They left the library and went back to the entry where Lynn gave Keith a quick hug. "Thanks for everything you've done. For me and for Logan."

"You're welcome. Call if you need me." He stepped outside and Lynn closed the door behind him. He was getting into his car when Aaron came around the side of the house, running a towel over his head.

"Keith, hey. Here to tell me to get my son out of your house already? I know he can be a pain in the ass but I thought he'd last longer than a day."

Keith took a deep breath, struggling against the urge to punch Aaron in the mouth. "Logan's always welcome in our home, for as long as he needs a place to stay. I just came by to check on Lynn."

"Well, thanks for that, but she's fine." Aaron had a smile on his face but his eyes were hard and cold. "I appreciate whatever you've done for my wife but I'll take it from here."

"Lynn knows that she can call on me whenever she needs something," Keith said. He didn't bother to smile; he didn't need to pretend about his opinion of Aaron. "I know you've told her about your little video tape indiscretions and she's not currently holding it against you but you need to remember that even if the law in this town won't pursue the statutory rape charges, those tapes would be damaging to your brand. Secretly recording your sexual exploits with teenagers can really dampen your PG-13 appeal." He was gratified at the rage in Aaron's eyes. "If anything happens to Lynn, or to Logan, you won't have to wonder if I'm right or not. You will find out."

"This isn't your concern, Keith. Is it physically impossible for you to mind your own business?"

"Logan is my concern. And Lynn is his, so her well being matters to me as well. You mind your manners and nothing comes of this. Keep that in mind." Keith gave Aaron a final hard look and stepped into his car. As Keith pulled out onto the street, Aaron continued to stand in the driveway, fists clenched, staring after him.


After two more nights of tucking Veronica into bed and waking up to her squeezing in next to him on the couch with a cup of coffee, Logan began Friday morning pretty sure he never needed to return to his house. Unless, of course, he could somehow convince Veronica to come back with him. Their private moments were a lot more restricted in the tiny apartment with a far more observant parent hovering nearby nearly all the time so Logan wasn't ready to rule out ever returning to his more permissive household. For now though, he was satisfied with making out in the girls' bathroom and the back of the Xterra and, best of all, their late night walks with Backup to the secluded spot under the lifeguard tower. Despite his unhappiness about his mother's decision to let Aaron back in the house, it was easy to put that out of his mind most of the time when the rest of his life felt pretty damn blissful.

A minor distraction had arisen the night before when Logan got a voice mail from Lynn inviting him to dinner. Veronica too, if that made him more comfortable. His mother's latest betrayal still stung but with a couple of days to detox from his encounter with Aaron, he thought it might be a good idea to check in and see where her head was at. Veronica, however, was adamantly opposed to the idea.

"You don't owe her anything," Veronica said after listening to the message.

"She's confused and leaving her with only Aaron to influence her is a mistake," Keith said. "She knows there are problems with what she's doing, but if you don't give her a reason to think that she has a chance to make things right with you, she may decide that she might as well go along with whatever Aaron wants."

That nearly sent Veronica over the edge. "It is not our responsibility to convince our mothers to behave like mothers. It's theirs to figure it out. If they can't be bothered, then they can both just go straight to hell. We don't need them."

Keith answered, his voice more subdued, "We're not talking about your mother, Veronica."

Veronica jumped off the couch with a frustrated cry and stormed out of the living room, slamming her bedroom door behind her. Logan stood to follow her but Keith stopped him.

"These situations are not the same. Your mom wants to make this right but she's confused. Don't worry that you're going to offend Veronica if you have dinner with your mom. She's angry right now but she'll ease up if Lynn starts acting in her own best interests, and yours. Don't avoid your mom because you don't want Veronica mad at you. She just wants what's best for you and I really do think that includes spending time with Lynn." He stood up. "I'm going to talk to my daughter. Wish me luck."

Logan switched on the TV to help him get through the agony of waiting for them to return. An episode of Friends and several trips pacing around the room with Backup later, Keith finally emerged with Veronica in tow. She looked blotchy and a little sullen.

"Well, that wore me out," Keith said with a smile as he kissed the top of her head. "I'm going to bed."

Veronica smiled, rather reluctantly it seemed. "Thanks, Dad, I guess." She'd moved away from Keith to sit on the couch again, snuggling up next to Logan. "See ya in the morning." Keith disappeared into his room and Logan turned to pull her into his lap.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry if I made you feel bad about wanting to see your mom. I may want mine to stay gone but I know you still want yours back. It isn't fair for me to try to force you to forget about Lynn when she's sorta trying." She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "It just makes me so mad that she didn't think of you before she made this stupid move. I just want to claw her eyes out sometimes." She made a growling sound low in her throat and a clawing motion with her hand in the air. He pulled her more tightly against him and chuckled into her hair. "Sorry," she said in a low voice, "I know I'm supposed to be supporting your decisions. My father has made that abundantly clear to me."

"You're fine. You're my fierce little bobcat, ready to take down anyone who hurts me." He kissed her hair and whispered, "Plus, you make that same growly noise when you're...um...excited. So, yeah. Not really thinking 'bout my mom anymore. Pretty turned on right now."

She looked up at him with a real smile this time. "Really? I don't growl. Do I?"

He laughed, then whispered to her again, "Are you kidding? Why do you think I'm not sneaking into your room at night? You're loud. And yes, you growl. Right before you..." Her eyes widened and she slapped her hand over his mouth.

"Nuh uh." He nodded and shook his head free of her hand, whispering to her again.

"Nuh huh. And I'm pretty sure you're gonna be a scratcher too. You dig those fingers pretty hard into my scalp. About the same time the growling starts."

She turned bright red and hid her face against his chest. " .God. Pretty sure I'm gonna die of embarrassment now."

He shook his head with a laugh and pulled her up to kiss her. When they finally broke apart, he rocked her back and she reclined in his arms, eyes closed, looking relaxed for the first time since they'd listened to Lynn's voice mail.

"So, if I go, do you want to go with me?"

Her eyes popped open and she looked alarmed. "Oh. I don't know. Do you need me to?"

He smoothed the wrinkle between her eyebrows. "I'm fine with her on my own. I'm always happier with you but it might be better this time if it's just me." He snuggled her closer. "If you come along, she'll probably be too distracted to talk to me."

"What are you talking about?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

"Now come on, Bobcat, no pretending you didn't terrorize her at that dinner at Jan's a while back." He nosed down into her neck to kiss her. She squirmed as he sucked gently against her pulse point.

"I never terrorized her," she protested weakly and he chuckled.

"You did and you know it. Stop pretending that you weren't trying to scare her straight." He kissed up to her ear and stroked his hand up and down her arm. "No one had ever stood up for me like that before. That's when I first really knew just how in love with you I was."

She pulled back and stared at him, a hesitant smile on her face. "Is that true?"

"That's the way I remember it. Watching you standing up for me...just about the hottest thing I'd ever seen."

"Reeeal-ly?" she drawled in a teasing voice.

"Certainly til then. Of course, since then, I've seen lots of other hot things..." He ran the hand on her arm across her breasts and down her stomach, stopping to press gently between her legs. She moaned softly in his ear and his hand moved back to rest on her stomach. "And if I ever want to see them in the light again, I've got to talk my mom out of this idiocy with Aaron. So you'd better make plans for tomorrow; I'll apparently be on a date with my mother."


Logan pulled the Xterra into the driveway and tapped the horn twice. He wasn't going to risk going to the door and running into Aaron and he was pretty sure just honking from out front would piss him off, which was an added bonus. He was about to risk really agitating him by laying on the horn when Lynn appeared at the front door. She waved and hurried over to where he was waiting.

"Honey! It's so good to see you!" she said in an excited voice as she climbed up into the truck. Once she'd managed to get in, she leaned across the console and gave him a loud kiss on the cheek.

"It's good to see you too, Mom," Logan replied, glancing up into his rear view mirror to see how much lipstick she'd left on him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby. Here, let me." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small square packet, ripping it open to produce a small towelette that she smoothed over his cheek. He sat still for her, feeling both ridiculous and happy as she fussed over him. "I'm just so thrilled to see you," she apologized with a laugh as she gave one more scrub at his cheek and then sat back in her seat. "There you go. Looking all manly again."

He snorted and put the truck in gear. "Seatbelt, Mom. You're not in the back of a limo today."

"Oh yes, right. Sorry." She reached over her shoulder for the belt. "It's been so long since I drove. Not since..." She paused and, out of the corner of his eye, he saw her look at him hesitantly.

"Not since that day on the bridge," he finished for her and she nodded.

"Well, your car's in the garage. You should stop being lazy and having drivers take you everywhere." He grinned over at her, wanting the happy mood back again. "Next time we go out to dinner, you have to come pick me up."

She smiled back. "Maybe but I kinda like this car. I don't think I've ever been in it before. We're so high up. I can see everything. I love it!"

He laughed at her. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"It is. Maybe I'll trade in my roadster and get an SUV instead." She laughed and peered out the window once more before turning back to him. "I'm so glad you agreed to meet me, honey. I wasn't sure you would."

"Mom, we may be having a gigantic difference of opinion on whether you should get back with Aaron or not but that doesn't mean I don't want to see you. I'm actually really glad that you called."

"Me too."


After dinner, Logan was heading back through Neptune to take Lynn home when he noticed Veronica's car parked in front of Java the Hut. After their dinner time conversation, Lynn had decided to suggest to Aaron that they start marriage counseling and that he move back to L.A. temporarily while they worked through that process. He personally didn't think that would go over very big with Aaron. Generally, Aaron wanted his way without having to do any work of his own. Making him go through the trouble of counseling didn't sound like something Aaron would care for. Logan didn't share that opinion with his mother though; he liked her plan and didn't want to discourage her from it by suggesting it might not actually work. Logan didn't care if they worked things out or not; even if Aaron miraculously became a decent human being, he might be glad that his mother got what she wanted but he was pretty sure that Aaron could try for years to make up for Logan's childhood and it wouldn't be enough for Logan to ever want a relationship with him. There was way too much ugliness and pain for Logan to forget.

"So, Mom. It looks like Veronica's at the Hut. How about a smoothie, or maybe an espresso, before I take you home?"

Lynn looked nervous. "Are you sure she's gonna be okay with seeing me?"

He glanced over at her with a smile, reaching to clasp her hand in his. "It'll be fine. She's gonna be thrilled with your plan. You guys will be back to normal soon. Just give her a little time to process the changes." He swung the truck into a space adjacent to Veronica's and turned the car off. As they got out and walked toward the front door, Lynn pointed at a sheriff's car parked in the lot.

"And if she's still too mad," Lynn joked, "it looks like there's law enforcement in there to pull her off me."

"I think I can keep her from doing anything that would require you to call the cops, Mom," Logan said in a dry tone and she laughed.

"I'm kidding, honey. I'm sure that all she'd do would be glare and say cutting things." Lynn stopped at the door, waiting for Logan to open it for her. "She is awfully good at the cutting remarks though."

Logan opened the door and motioned her in. "Yes, my girl has quite the sickle wit." He saw Carrie behind the counter and steered Lynn toward her. "Come on, unless you're dying for espresso, let's get Carrie to make her secret recipe for us." They got to the counter and Logan banged the bell to get Carrie's attention. "Hey, scullery maid. A little service, please."

Lynn scowled at him. "Logan, stop. Don't be rude."

Carrie appeared at the counter and swatted Logan in the head. "Don't worry, Mrs. Echolls. We're used to his bad behavior here." She looked at Logan with a grin. "Veronica said you were on a date with another woman. She wasn't plotting anyone's death so I figured it was something like this. Did you have fun?"

"We did. And now we're here for that delightful elixir that only you can supply."

"It's not that good. Sometimes I regret ever sharing it with you." Carrie turned toward the mixers. "I'll bring two out to you. Veronica and her gang are in the back corner."

"Thanks, Car." Logan turned back to Lynn. "Okay, let's go see what's up." He put his arm around Lynn's back and steered her to where Carrie had sent him. They rounded the last divider and he stopped dead at the sight before him.

Wallace was sitting alone in one of the love seats, his legs stretched out across the empty seat next to him. He was laughing at Veronica who was seated across from him, next to that deputy she used to date. His view was mostly blocked by the back of the love seat but they were both laughing also and as he watched, Veronica leaned way too close to the deputy for Logan's taste, laughing even harder.

"What the hell?" He dropped his hand from his mom's back and took the last few steps toward their seating area, resting his hands on the back of the love seat, looking down at them, just as the deputy jerked several times, making a strange noise as he did so, and then collapsed sideways onto Veronica. Wallace gave a howl of laughter, throwing his head back, and when he rocked forward again, continuing to laugh, he made eye contact with Logan. His eyes widened comically and he nearly fell out of his seat, still on the verge of hysteria.

At the same time, Veronica was pushing at the deputy who was partially sprawled across her. "Leo...umph...get offa me." He was giggling and resisting her efforts. As she shoved at him, Logan saw her suddenly notice his hand against the cushion and her focus moved from her efforts to displace the deputy to who was invading their space. When she realized it was Logan, a huge smile broke across her face.

"Logan! When did you get here?" She tried to get up but was still pinned. "Leo, get off! I'll tase you for real next time if you don't get off me." She gave him one more shove and he finally cooperated, rolling back to his side of the seat. Veronica jumped up and turned to kneel on the seat, catching Logan's face in her hands and pulling him to her for a kiss. Her eyes were bright and sparkling and the shock that he'd felt when he first saw her entirely too close to an ex slid away from him as she pressed her lips to his.

"You missed out tonight. Everything got all wrapped up. And Mandy got Chester back!"

Logan smiled down at her. "So you and your Scooby gang are celebrating at the Bronze?" Wallace laughed again but the deputy spoke up.

"Oh no, I am not a Scooby."

Logan took a step back from Veronica, turned to Lynn and gestured her around the love seat Veronica was now kneeling on.

"Yeah, you're probably more like Giles," Logan said to him, then looked at Wallace. "Do you think you can sit up enough to share your seat with my mother?"

"Yeah, of course, sorry, Mrs. Echolls." Wallace straightened up and made room for Lynn who sat down gracefully.

"Please, Wallace, I told you at Logan's party; it's Lynn. And, can someone introduce me to Officer Giles here?"

"It's actually Deputy Leo," Veronica said in an amused voice. "He helped us out tonight; arrested a couple of the Animal Control guys. They were stealing the dogs for the rewards and selling them if there wasn't enough offered. That's what they did with Chester. We got the name of the person they sold him to and Mandy's got Chester back now." She got up from the love seat and pushed Logan toward an easy chair, then sat on his lap.

"When did you figure all this out?" he asked.

"You left to get cleaned up to meet your mom and I saw the white van with a busty lady on the splash guard thingies. So, I recruited Leo and we all went down to prove they were evil dognappers. The best part though—" Wallace started to giggle again "—was when Mandy went nuts on that Lars guy with my taser."

"What?" Logan choked out, starting to laugh. Carrie walked up then with the smoothies.

"Here you guys go." She had a third glass on her tray. "I'm taking my break with y'all." She sat down in the open space next to Leo.

"Thanks, Carrie. Anyway, I didn't see how but she got her hands on my taser and went to town on that guy. She probably hit him like a half dozen times. Up in the neck too. It was awesome." Leo made that weird sound again and twitched next to Carrie. Logan finally figured out what he'd walked in on.

"Okay, now I get it. You were pretending to tase Deputy Leo here. That's what was happening when we got here." He tightened the arm around her waist, pulling her further into his lap.

"Well, yeah. I didn't actually tase him here in the Hut. I was afraid Carrie might throw me out." She smirked at Carrie, who looked at Leo speculatively.

"Mmm, maybe. I think I probably woulda let you do it at least once." Everyone laughed except Leo, who was trying unsuccessfully to look offended.

"I knew you looked like trouble from that first time we danced together," he said.

"Hey, I was trying to give you a hint that your date was secretly in love with someone else," Carrie snarked. Logan hid his snickering in Veronica's shoulder as she made a horrified face, and everyone else burst out laughing again.

"That isn't true," Veronica protested. "You make it sound like we were sneaking around. Nothing was happening. We were just friends."

"Yeah. Friends secretly in love with each other," Leo said in a wry voice. "I knew there was something weird going on there. Only thing was, I think it might have been a secret to them too."

"Not to me," Logan said, tucking Veronica's head under his chin. "I knew it. Only one still denying it was her."

"Yeah, he's all smug about it now," Carrie said. She looked at Lynn. "But back then, he was full of denial. Trust me. I was trying to talk some sense into him all the time. And all I ever got was—" she lowered her voice to an exaggerated deep rasp "—'shut up, Carrie—you don't know what you're talking about'." Logan rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah, Bishop. Whatever." He slurped the last of his smoothie and looked at Lynn. "Are you about done? I should probably get you back before Aaron calls out the dogs." She looked embarrassed but set her half-finished smoothie down on the table next to her.

"I don't exactly have a curfew, Logan, but I am getting tired." She stood up and looked at the group. "It was great to see everyone." Logan stood too, setting Veronica on her feet next to him.

"I'll see you pretty soon at home," he said quietly in her ear and she smiled up at him as he kissed her forehead.

"Okay. Are you going in with her or just dropping her off?"

"Dropping off, definitely. I'll be home in a half hour probably. Hopefully you won't still be out with your ex." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"But I think he was talking about going dancing," she teased.

"Okay then, well, when you get home from your date, you can hit the couch. I'm taking your bed."

She laughed and stretched up to kiss him. "Don't worry. I'll see you in half an hour."


We're getting very near to the end of Season 1, folks, and that is where this story will wrap. Next week's chapter is going to begin with the action of Carmen's case in M.A.D. complete and then we are going full-on into the culmination of the season. Buckle up...things are going to get bumpy over the next two weeks.

I would love to hear what you're thinking as we near the end. Remember, November is 'always leave a comment' month. At least, that's what Tumblr says. It actually sounds like one of those made-up, Hallmark holidays. Feel free to comment anyway. :)