TWO YEARS LATER
"Thanks, Dr. Phillips!" Veronica called out as she closed her therapist's door, stepping out into the waiting room.
Glancing towards the cluster of black metal chairs in the corner, she caught Logan's eye, and he smiled over the National Geographic magazine in his hands. Standing, he tossed it onto the coffee table and came around to meet her, extending his hand, she took it as he pulled her closer, leaning in to kiss her forehead.
"Ben texted me that he's waiting downstairs for us."
Nodding, Veronica pushed through the office door into the hallway, walking with Logan towards the elevators. "Sorry. We went a little long today. I hope you weren't bored waiting."
"You were late, and I was early." Logan chuckled as they stopped in front of the shiny brass elevator doors and he pressed the button to take them down. "After we did our usual check-in on things, I didn't have much to talk to Dr. Ferguson about today."
"In therapy terms, is that good or bad?"
Logan shrugged, his eyes turning up to watch the floor numbers light up, indicating the elevator was on its way down towards them.
"Good, I guess. Life is currently blissfully uneventful. He checked back in his files and it's been more than three months since I've had any Aaron-related nightmares, which he says is huge progress. How about you? Feel like sharing what you and Dr. Phillips talked about yet?"
Wrapping her arms around Logan's bicep, she leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. "Lianne. Again. Still. I really, really don't want to go out to visit her at Jake's house in Napa this summer, but now Lilly is trying to persuade me."
"She is?" Logan jerked his head back, incredulous, and frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want you to get caught up in the drama. Besides, it's not going to happen. Dad has full custody of me, and if I don't want to go, I don't have to—end of story. But of course, we had to delve into my feelings about why I didn't want to go and my lingering resentment towards my mother. In the end, I think Dr. Phillips agreed that if I wasn't fully comfortable then I made the right decision, and Lilly will have to deal."
"Are Casey and Duncan going to volunteer at Camp Augustana again this summer?"
"I think that's the plan. Which also means I wouldn't have Duncan there to run interference when Lilly takes her pseudo-sisterly-bonding ideas too far. The pedicures we went for together were nice, but I don't need a full makeover, complete with wardrobe change."
The elevator dinged and the two stepped into the empty car, turning to watch the doors close silently in front of them. When the elevator shook and started its descent, Veronica rose on her tiptoes and gave Logan a peck on the cheek, glancing at their reflection in the yellow metal walls surrounding them.
"Besides, if I leave, then I'd miss your mom's triumphant return to the L.A. stage."
"She was born to play Miss Hannigan." Logan chuckled. "I still think one or two of those Annie 'orphans' may legitimately be afraid of her."
"And you've been such a good son to run her lines with her. I want to be there for you too."
Rolling his eyes, Logan shook his head. "Let us not speak of me doing my 'Annie' impression ever again."
"At least she didn't make you wear the curly red wig." Veronica giggled.
The elevator dinged again, and the doors slid open, allowing the couple to step out into the lobby. Veronica could see Ben standing outside near the limo, and as they approached, he opened the door, nodding to them as they walked out.
"Your father called, Miss Veronica. A case is keeping him late so you're to stay at Ms. Lester's house until he comes to pick you up later. I let Mrs. Navarro know and she will set another place for you for dinner."
Exchanging a glance with Logan, Veronica smiled at Ben and nodded as she slipped into the back of the limousine. "Thank you, Ben."
Logan followed and settled beside her, stretching his arms across the back of the seat. Veronica immediately dropped her head to his shoulder and cuddled next to him as his arms wrapped securely around her. The door slammed shut and Veronica let out a sigh of relief to be on their way. Going from school to therapy sessions during the week always left her exhausted, but with surfing lessons and tae-kwon-do on the weekends, the crazy amount of homework they had in ninth grade, and the father-daughter time Keith insisted on, therapy during the week seemed like the most logical time to book appointments.
With the help of her physician, Lynn was able to find a therapist for Logan almost immediately and arranged for Veronica to try a counsellor in the same practice. It worked out well, as Ben would chauffeur both to and from their appointments, usually dropping Veronica off at home afterwards. When they first started, there would be silence on the way home, as each sat quietly, contemplating what transpired at their appointments. But soon, they fell into the habit of sharing information, finding catharsis in knowing they were not alone in their journey.
As her father had predicted, each of them attempted at different times to pull away from the other: picking fights about nothing, leaving messages unanswered, emotionally shutting down. The weight of their experiences at times left them with nothing left to give to each other and that was when having the professionals available was the most helpful. It gave them a space to talk about their feelings, and complain about their lives, while learning to get themselves back on track, and back to each other.
Logan's hand slipped under the edge of her black striped t-shirt, his cold hand resting on her warm skin just above her jeans, and Veronica gasped, giggling as she did the same to him under his orange plaid shirt. Smiling down at her, he kissed the tip of her nose.
"I need to work on my Twelfth Night essay when we get home, or it will never get done."
Batting her eyelashes at him, Veronica gave him a playful squeeze. "You say the most romantic things."
"I'm nothing if not romantic."
"That's okay. I have a pile of trigonometry homework that I'm sure Dick will need help with this weekend, so I might as well know how to do it before I show him. After helping him with the science exam, Mac and Wallace called dibs-out on helping him for at least a month—I think he nearly broke them."
"Since he got back together with Madison, he hasn't been concentrating in class again, has he?"
"Nope. He hasn't been concentrating on anything remotely school-like since she shimmied back into his life. All the blood flow that was in his brain is back to being situated a lot lower in his body."
Logan's hand slipped up the back of her shirt, his palm spreading before coming to rest just under her bra-strap. "You know, Dick still has a lot to learn about healthy boundaries in a relationship."
"Says the boy with his hand up the back of my shirt," Veronica scoffed but made no move to untangle herself from Logan's grasp.
"What? Totally a healthy boundary. Just like this…" He kissed her gently, lingering only for a second before retreating. "No heavy groping. No obscene mauling. And above all, no pressure."
Tossing her legs over Logan's lap, Veronica grinned. "All our clothes are on. All underwear is firmly in the place it should be. Most of our fingers are visible to anyone looking."
"See. Healthy."
Pressing his forehead to hers, Logan closed his eyes and Veronica listened to him take a deep breath in, keeping watch until he opened his eyes again and smiled.
"Although I do still miss cuddling with you at night," she whispered, suddenly very aware of Ben's presence on the other side of the limousine glass. "Last night I snuck into your room at our house and seriously contemplated curling up in your bed and going to sleep."
"But I wasn't there."
"Doesn't matter. Still smelled like you."
Logan chuckled, giving her a little squeeze. Once the dust settled after Aaron's death, and Lynn had the resources to buy a new home, she made sure that there would be a place for Veronica, to return the favor for Keith taking care of Logan when she was in the hospital. But when Lynn started receiving offers to work again, Keith stepped in and offered to turn Lianne's sewing room on the main floor into a place for Logan to stay in while Lynn was away. By this time, it was clear that Lianne was not returning to live with them, choosing instead to fall back into the arms of her lost love, Jake Kane, immediately following her stay in rehab. Her mother's final departure and the ensuing scandal felt like a small bump in the road, compared to what she had already been through, so Veronica just stayed on track with her and Keith's new 'normal', determined not to let her mother ruin any more of her life.
"The only time I've been in your room at my place is that time you left your textbook behind, and I have to say, I've never wanted to go back. Still too many embroidered flowers and stinky potpourri and stuff."
"Just because it doesn't smell like gym socks, doesn't make it bad."
"Well, now I'm going to hide some in there, just to throw off the delicate floral balance."
Smacking his shoulder, Veronica swung her legs off him and huffed. "Don't you dare. When we live together, there will be a suitable hazmat containment bin just for your smelly clothes."
Pulling an invisible pencil from behind his ear, Logan pretended to dab it on the tip of his tongue before moving it to write over an invisible pad of paper.
"Oh! Another thing for the apartment list. Clothing….containment…bin. I think those are called 'laundry hampers', my dear."
"Har, har, har. I know what they're called. At least, thanks to me, you know how to empty one and do your own laundry, at least when you're at my place."
Replacing the imaginary pencil behind his ear, Logan rested his hands behind his head, reclining against the seat. "Ah, yes, just another reason why I would be lost without you, my love. Completely and utterly lost."
Veronica wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Not lost, just very, very gross."
With a smirk, he dropped his arms around her, pulling Veronica tight against his side, and she giggled, enjoying being enveloped by him.
"Have I mentioned today that I love you?"
"You have, but feel free to say it again."
Kissing her forehead, Logan caught her gaze, holding it for a second before speaking.
"I love you, Veronica. Always have, always will."
Grinning, Veronica stared back into his soft brown eyes. Not a day went by where she regretted starting this journey with him, from friendship to love to something more profound. She knew some still mocked the fact that they were teenagers trying to make what they had last for the rest of their lives, but she didn't allow their negativity to diminish what she and Logan shared. Because what could be better than spending the rest of your life happy and in love with your best friend?
"I love you too, Logan."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
End Note: This fic has been a labour of love for me and I want to thank everyone who read along and left comments and kudos and encouragement to continue, even when I wasn't sure I wanted to. I started writing this fic during a really terrible time in my life and your kind words kept me going in so many ways and I thank you all for getting me through.
Many, many huge and massive thank you to my two Betas for this project - Heavenli24 and Irma66. Each of you brought something to the party and I'm grateful for your help over the years.
Taking a fanfic writing break now that this is done. Thank you all for reading my work.