We're Family
By: His_Beautiful_Girl
For: Day Six of LV AU Week: Hurt/Comfort
This story is set approximately two years after the end of the movie. The season that shall not be named never happens in my world.
The ride back to Keith's house was silent and somber; Veronica and her dad both lost in thought, thinking about the news the doctor had just given. The worried blond insisted on accompanying the man to the appointment for several reasons; the first being she was certain her dad's condition was getting worse; the second was she recognized her dad wasn't being completely truthful about his diagnosis, he made sure to never bring any papers back and she had searched the house and office and found nothing; finally, reality was stating that it might not always be an intentional act of deceit on Keith's part, it's possible he doesn't remember everything. Ergo, she looked at her father's schedule and saw when his next appointment was, then made sure she was available to accompany his protests.
It was more than just forgetfulness and, despite him trying to cover up his symptoms, Veronica noted each one and grew more distressed and frightened as they appeared. Forgetfulness, disorientation, repeating himself at times, inability to remember things pertaining to cases and plans and it seemed even the past, irritation, mood swings, loss of appetite, twitches in his hands, and almost certainly depression brought together an alarming picture. That psychology degree, those years spent in school hadn't been for naught, and while more symptoms started to show, facts had to be faced. Something was gravely wrong.
Age couldn't be ruled out as a contributing factor but the severe head injury sustained in the accident that had killed Sacks two years ago had caused more damage than originally thought. The appointment today was the culmination of many tests done and visits to several doctors to rule out everything and get the best possible diagnosis. Brain imaging, visit to the neurologist, mental examinations as well as mental health exams for mood, cognitive exams, computerized testing for cognition, each one had aggravated Keith more and Veronica was often ready to cry, at her wit's end at how to get her dad to agree to each one the primary doctor ordered. It was Logan who stepped in and talked to the elder Mars, to persuade him to do them for his daughter and put her mind at ease. Logan had done everything to try to be there today but when the Navy said you had to be somewhere, there you must be. Veronica understood this, it was all part of their life now, at least he was on shore rotation and would be home tonight. Besides, she had an inkling her dad would have thrown a fit if both of them were there.
The car pulled into the driveway and broke the trance. Veronica opened her door getting out, then went around to the passenger side to Keith, "I'm not a damn invalid you know. You don't need to help me. And don't you start trying to take care of me either, I can still take care of myself. I'm the parent, you're the child."
She bit her lip hard, stomach twisting, then saying softly, "I know dad, that wasn't what I was doing."
"Well, what were you doing then. I know you number one daughter, better than you like to think I do?" Keith grunted irritably.
"I was going to see if you would like me to make you some dinner since I'm here. Give you a chance to just relax and watch the Padres play. See if there is anything you wanted help with like errands since you're already home."
Keith sighed, eyes softening, "Veronica, go home to your boyfriend. You don't need to worry about your old man. I've got some leftovers to heat up and I'll be just fine. The doctors, you know they always inflate things, don't get worked up over this. Maybe it's time I cut back on the hours, semi-retirement but I'm okay without a babysitter and you have a life to live."
The toe of her boot, scuffed into the drive-way, swallowing over the lump caught in her throat, "Oh, um, okay, I'm just going to use the bathroom then and I'll be on my way."
Keith nodded his head up and down before they made their way to the front door where she stood back and let her dad unlock and open it. Letting him enter, she followed and headed to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Hands clenching at her sides she practiced some of the deep breathing techniques Logan had shown her and felt her pulse begin to even out, and breaths become easier to take. Several minutes later, she flushed the toilet so Keith wouldn't get suspicious and then took time washing her hands before exiting and calling out. "I'm just going to grab a bottle of water on my way out."
As she made her way to the kitchen, she took time to notice that everything looked neat and orderly, nothing jumping out at her to raise concern. Opening the refrigerator and seeing the contents verified that he did indeed have some leftover chili, as well as the makings for a sandwich. Veronica snagged the bottle of water that was her cover before shutting the appliance.
In the living room she found Keith settled and comfortable in his favorite chair; she bent to kiss Keith's cheek. "Okay dad, I'll see you tomorrow."
"See ya later, kid." Keith's voice came out gruffer, his eyes drooping with exhaustion. Biting her bottom lip she forced her body out the front door, locking it behind her and to her car. She grit her teeth the entire ride home, determined not to cry while driving.
LoVe~~~~~LoVe~~~~~LoVe~~~~~LoVe~~~~~LoVe~~~~~LoVe
Logan's lips turned downward, eyes narrowing, stomach knotting when he found silence coming from the apartment, saw no lights on. Veronica's car was parked in it's assigned space next to his and she hadn't texted she was going out with anyone; stomach lurching he inserted his key and unlocked the door to their apartment, entered and looked around. While waiting for eyes to adjust to the darkness; his was mind so preoccupied flipping the light switch by the door never crossed it. If he hadn't been trained as well as he was the flicker of movement on the couch wouldn't have caught notice.
With rushed steps it only took three strides to get to the small curled up figure lying on the couch. "Veronica? Baby, are you okay? What happened?"
Fingers tenderly brushed back her hair, strong arm twitched to grab her up and cradle her but he was unsure if she was sick or physically hurt and didn't want to harm her either. "Please baby, I need you to talk to me, tell me what's wrong." Any other time Logan might feel embarrassed with the way his voice quaked, cracked slightly in a way it hadn't since puberty but this was Veronica, there were no rules and no shame when it came to his love and devotion to her.
"It's- it's dad, Logan. It's bad and I don't know what to do or how to fix it, how to solve it! I can't fix it and I feel so helpless." Heart breaking sobs burst from her chest while tears began to flow again. Veronica's body shook violently while her body attempted to curl up smaller. Logan had just reached out to sweep her into his arms when she pushed away, uncurled, nearly fell off the couch before managing to stumble at a fast pace to the bathroom.
"Fuck!" Logan breathed out, heart contracting at both the sight of his girlfriend and the news. He followed to the bathroom as she dry heaved over the toilet; sobs continued to rack her small body. Since her hair was in a ponytail, he didn't worry about holding it back and focused on kneeling down on the cold tile floor and rubbing her back. He didn't know what to say, the words 'it will be okay' didn't fit nor did 'it will work out.' So, doing what Logan did best, he spoke from the heart while offering the comfort of touch, continuing to stroke her back. With an attempt to keep a steady, calm voice the words spilled out, "I'm so sorry, 'Ronica, so sorry baby. I swear, I'll be here for you, we'll do this together. I'll help baby, you don't have to go through this alone. I've got you, whatever you need, I've got you."
More sobs abused her petite frame and Logan carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulders, gently drawing the small blond to rest against him. After what seemed like hours, dry heaves stopped and the sobs became soft whimpers. He pressed soft kisses at random moments against her head but they had grown silent long before while he held her and tried to give her some of his strength. Questions about what the doctor had said invaded his mind but this was not the time, she would tell him when she could.
With a soft murmur "Ready to get up and go somewhere a little more comfortable?"
Nodding sluggishly, her body was unsteady when she tried to rise and Logan held her conscientiously to help. He maneuvered them to the sink, knowing she would want to brush her teeth and splash some water on her face. His heart hurt while watching her struggle to do these simple things to let her do it. Veronica didn't like being entirely dependent for anything, no matter what, he got a better response in trying to take care of her as he learned what tasks to let her do to maintain some sense of that independence.
"Bed or Couch, Sweetheart?" Logan's soft, low voice broke the silence.
"Bed please"
Strong arm scooped her up tenderly and then held her safely while he moved them to the bedroom. He sat her on the edge of the bed, a gentle curve of his lips as he unbuttoned her shirt and slid it down and off. Making easy work of her bra, it joined the shirt on the floor before guiding her to lay back to remove her jeans, leaving her in her panties. With a quick stride to his drawer, he took out one of his t-shirts that really, were there for her to wear as nightshirts, and brought it back, unfolding it before then guiding it over her head and down her body. He pulled back the covers and let her crawl under them before going to lower the blinds. He made his way to his side of the bed, sitting to unlace his boots and kick them off along with toeing off his socks. Standing he removed his uniform and kept his boxers, then joined Veronica in bed.
The moment he was between the sheets, Veronica scooted over to meet his body in the middle, tucking against his side as his arms enveloped her. Logan waited with patience while she adjusted for a few minutes, laying her head against his chest, her arm wrapping around his waist, making sure they were pressing against each other, knowing she was getting comfortable enough to talk to him. The need to know was pressing both because of how much he cared for Keith and looked to him as the father he had never had and also because the more information he received the better he could help Veronica. So, he let the petite blond settle to her needs and adjusted his arms around her accordingly.
Hearing his girlfriend's sad sigh followed by the determined inhales and exhales of breaths he waited until her soft voice broke through the silence. "The doctor confirmed the diagnosis of Alzheimer's. They can't say for sure if the injury from the accident- there was more injury than was caught at the time." Veronica's voice cracks.
"Shit Veronica- I should have- I'm so sorry-"
"Logan, stop" Her hand comes up to cup his cheek with a tender touch. "Don't do this to yourself, you did everything you could- so much more than most would. Because of you my dad is still alive. This isn't your fault… it's nobody's fault… it just is."
Logan's arms tighten and he kissed her temple, wishing he could make this not be real for her. "Is there any kind of time frame? Do you feel we should get a second opinion? Do we need to get him a nurse? What do we need to do?"
Despite her watery eyes she manages a smile and wiggles up to kiss him. "I love you so much, Logan Echolls. I don't know what I would do without you and I don't ever want to find out. You're so good to me and just willing to help dad, just like that"
With a rough swallow he briefly thinks of the ring locked up in the safety deposit box but knows now isn't the time to think about such things. He spoke in a wry tone "Let me guess, he gave you the I'm fine on my own, I can do this by myself. Don't make a big deal out of this, they probably don't know what they're talking about anyway?"
Her mouth dropped open, "How do you know that?"
With a kiss to her nose he grinned, "I'm familiar with the Mars way."
For just a moment she looked as if she would retort and then pouted instead, which caused him to chuckle. Her lips twisted a little and then a giggle popped out of her lips as her eyes widened and another giggle came out. Soon both were laughing as they held one another. It wasn't so much that anything was that funny and they certainly weren't discussing a funny subject but the tension it released was like popping a balloon. As the laughing calmed, his lips brushed her forehead.
"To answer your questions, nobody knows of any kind of timeline because nobody is the same. There is a very similar progression in symptoms but how fast or slow someone deteriorates is always up for debate because everyone is different. Right now he doesn't need a nurse, but there is some concern with his forgetfulness about things like him leaving the stove on or other hazards in the house. We should try to let him be as independent as possible and safe. I read in some of the paperwork that many people who suffer from Alzheimer's struggle with a loss of dignity, especially when they have always been very independent people. We need to watch him for deep depressions too. The doctor wants to set up a call with me to give me some more information; he felt that doing so today was only going to agitate dad further. I need to go into research mode. And I don't know what to do when he does need a nurse. I should be the one taking care of him, he's my dad, I'm all we're all he's got.
Logan nodded as he listened, "We'll make sure he gets the best care, baby. And if you want to cut back on work to take care of him or even stop working to take care of him you know you can right? I know money has sometimes been an issue with you but please… let me help, let me put some of this money to good use. You and Keith are the best good use I can think of. It's not like you're being a kept woman, you'll be taking care of your dad, that's the most important job. We're in the fortunate position that it won't hurt us financially."
Veronica was quiet and then slowly nodded her head up and down before hugging him tightly again. "Thank you, God- just thank you so much, Logan."
"Hey Sugarpuss, you know how we've been talking about maybe getting out of here, you were thinking about letting me use some money to buy us a house?"
"Yeah-? Uhm- not to be rude but why would you think of that right now?"
Logan shifted so they were laying face to face and he could stroke her cheek. "What about if we bought a house and built one of those.. I think they're called 'mother-in-law' cottages close to the house but with enough space so he wouldn't feel like he was living with us. If we had some basic help like a housekeeper and cook then the housekeeper could go clean the cottage once or twice a week and the cook would be there and could bring him out dinner on nights he doesn't want to come have dinner with us or we're out. Plus they could keep his refrigerator stocked with foods that are simple to prepare like sandwiches or things he would only need to heat up in the microwave. It would allow him as much time as possible to still be "on his own" and when the time comes that it doesn't work anymore, we'll have a suite all set up in the house for him to move into. Maybe you could work from home and later one when he needs someone there to watch him all of the time, we could have someone that could come in on days you need to go out."
His stomach started to somersault as Veronica just stared at him, not saying anything. Just as he was about to break the quiet she threw herself fully against him and hugged him with all of her might. "Oh Logan, you would do that for me? You would help me take care of my dad in that way? You have no idea how much this means, oh thank you, thank you. I know I've been so stupid about the money thing and I'm not about to start spending your inheritance or anything but this idea is amazing and you're so wonderful" She kissed him suddenly and it took his brain a second to catch up with the fact that he was supposed to be an active participant but when it did, he threw himself into returning the kiss.
When finally they broke apart, panting for air he looked at his girlfriend in amazement. "Of course I would do this for you. Veronica, he's your dad, he's like my dad, he's family. We're family. We need to look after each other, you taught me that." He hugged her tightly. "Do you think when we bring up the idea we should call it a 'not a quite father-in-law cottage.'
Veronica laughed and kissed him again "Sure, you can word it that way. Maybe someday soon we can lose the 'not a quite part'." She nuzzled into him, knowing full well what she had said and feeling his heart speed in his chest as she listened.
The End