The paparazzi swarmed around the courthouse like vultures. You would think it was the second coming of Christ instead of an ordinary hearing for underage drinking. Logan parked the Xterra a few blocks away and hoofed it the rest of the way. When he got to the corner, he bought a newspaper and hid his face behind it as he walked. It only worked until he hit the parking lot, and by then, they'd figured out who the mystery guy was. With a mad dash, he darted around them and headed for the side door, where Cliff McCormack waited with a dumpy looking woman in a badly cut red suit. Logan made it through with seconds to spare and the door slammed in their faces, cutting off an irate reporter and a budding videographer with a Metallica tattoo. "Whee," Logan said, clapping his hands and grinning at the two suits. "You must be Stella. So nice to meet you." He extended his hand and almost had it snapped off at the wrist by her brisk handshake.
"You're late," Stella retorted crossly.
Cliff pasted on a fake smile as they fell into line behind her. "We lucked out."
Logan muttered, "How's that?"
"Judge Dempsey is on a fishing trip and his replacement is known to be lenient."
"Huh. What about the iron maiden?" He jerked his thumb at Stella, who was half a hallway ahead of them.
"She's the best in the state. Your aunt must have some clout to have Stella at her beck and call."
Logan shrugged. "Maybe. Have you seen her anywhere?"
Cliff nodded. "Sure did. She waltzed in here about fifteen minutes ago in her leathers."
"W-what?" Logan sputtered, bursting into laughter when he saw Monique in the back row, booted feet perched on the back of the chair in front of her. "Christ, I'm really in trouble."
"Told you she was a brat."
Logan smiled. "And she's here to speak on my behalf?" He searched the courtroom for Veronica and saw her huddled in the corner with her father.
"Nope. We're leaving that to Stella and Veronica Mars."
"So why do they need you?"
Cliff sighed. "Someone's got to file the paperwork."
"That's so reassuring. Remind me to thank you when they lead me away in chains."
"Are you always such a drama queen?"
Logan clicked his heels three times. "Wouldn't my Daddy be proud?"
Cliff rolled his eyes. "Along with half the prison population at Rock Mountain."
He laughed. "So what's my damage, Cliffie?"
The lawyer wisely ignored Logan's jab. "Standard counseling and rehab, and if you're lucky, they'll let you go out of state."
Leaving Neptune was no hardship, but leaving Veronica would tear him to pieces. "My aunt's idea, right?"
"Who knows? Monique hasn't spoken to anyone but Stella since she arrived."
Logan spotted Duncan sliding into the seat next to Monique and kept quiet. "Guess she's keeping a low profile."
Cliff snorted. "Her? She's an even bigger queen than you."
He half-smiled at the lawyer. "I'm totally flattered, dude."
Cliff threw him a strange look and laughed oddly. "Think you can keep it under wraps for the next hour?"
Logan winked at the lawyer. "Sure thing, sugar."
Duncan strolled into the courtroom and took a seat next to Logan's aunt.
Monique looked surprised to see him. "Thought you weren't coming," she said bluntly.
"I changed my mind."
She nodded like she understood. "He needs his friends right now."
Duncan replied, "Logan also needs his family."
Monique looked down for a second before flashing him a dazzling smile. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm here for him."
"I'd say it's worth a lot." Logan had been cast adrift by his worthless family, and the Lesters might be the only thing standing between him and a foster home.
She looked at him sharply. "Please don't go all Hallmark on me."
"I wasn't trying to—"
Monique interrupted, "Your first impression of me was correct. I am a selfish, crazy bitch. Run while you can."
Duncan laughed. "God, the two of you are so much alike that it's not funny."
She raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"
The woman was obviously blind when it came to her own kin. "In every way. He might not look like you, but the rest is like a reflection."
Monique smiled softly. "He is the spitting image of my father at that age."
"Are the two of you close?" Duncan was curious about the mysterious Lester clan and their East coast ways.
"We didn't used to be, but he's mellowed a bit in his old age."
"Or maybe you've changed," he suggested.
She snorted. "Hardly. I'm the same girl that got dragged through the justice system and had the Lester name splashed in every tabloid in my prime."
Duncan looked down at her camera case. "So now you're making headlines of a different kind."
"Perhaps. Ah, it's show time. Here comes the judge."
Veronica's body went rigid when Judge Peterson made her entrance and everyone rose to their feet. Maybe she wasn't the gone fishin' judge, but she still looked plenty stern. With a sigh, she sank back down and listened to the proceedings. Don Lamb was the first person up and he recounted the roadside incident with a smarmy look on his mug. The judge asked some basic questions about uncapped bottles or obvious signs of drunkenness and Lamb flushed a few shades of red as he said no, merely saying that Logan had flunked a Breathalyzer test and given him major attitude. The judge made some notes on her pad and then it was Veronica's turn to give her account.
"Will you please state your name for the record?"
"Veronica Mars." Her voice echoed oddly in the cavernous room and she suddenly felt like Alice in Wonderland shrunken down to tiny Veronica size.
"Veronica, can you please explain what happened on the night of June 20th?"
"I was sitting in my car at the Dog Beach parking lot and was about to take a walk. I suddenly spotted Logan's car and he called me over to talk."
"This was someone who gave you a lot of grief in the past," the judge pointed out. "Why would you want to give him the time of day?"
Of course the judge had done her homework. Would she expect nothing less of an officer of the court? "Things changed recently. We became more friendly after I tried to find his mother and…we started dating." Veronica felt Logan's steady brown gaze light on her face and managed not to stare back. They had technically never gone on a date before yesterday, but that was nobody's business but their own.
"But didn't you have a falling out recently?" The judge looked at her father and Veronica sighed inwardly.
She nodded. "Logan lied about his alibi and I was forced to turn evidence over to Sheriff Lamb."
Judge Peterson looked down at her notes and peered out at Logan and Cliff. "Most relationships wouldn't survive that. Were you trying to mend things?"
"Yes, there were many things we needed to say."
"So you went with him, knowing he had been drinking, and leaving your dog behind in a closed car."
Veronica wanted no reminders of her past sins, but she had to move past this. "Yes, but I took his keys away from him and drove his car."
"May I ask why you parked in a breakdown lane?" Judge Peterson looked over her glasses at Veronica and she could swear she saw a sparkle break through the judge's serious mien.
"I wasn't thinking, your honor. Whenever I'm faced with an emotional crisis, I tend to block out the real world and focus on the problem."
"Veronica, would you say that the prescription drugs you were on might have impaired your judgment?"
She closed her eyes for a second and wondered who was on trial here. "Maybe. I don't know."
The judge nodded and scribbled another note. "So you talked for awhile and Sheriff Lamb happened to spot your car. How did he handle that?"
Veronica saw Lamb shift in his seat and wondered if the judge was about to hand his head to him. "He ordered us out of the car and made inappropriate comments. He also threatened bodily harm on Logan and I reminded him about his on-board video camera."
"So, would you say that he used excessive force?"
"Not exactly,"
"But the threat was there," the judge suggested.
"Maybe." Veronica shrugged.
Peterson took off her glasses. "I know it's hard to believe, but I used to be young once, and I did a lot of stupid things. This definitely falls into that category, Miss Mars. Your father has argued against community service, but I still feel it might do you some good to get away from the agency every so often. So I'm assigning you to 2 hours a week at the Neptune Food Bank for the rest of the summer." The judge banged down her gavel and looked at Logan. "Would you mind coming up here, Mr. Echolls?"
Logan had listened to Veronica's testimony with clenched fingers and an icy fist around his heart. Between his hatred for Lamb and the circumstances that forced them to dredge up painful memories, he was ready to go off on someone. It helped that the judge wasn't a bitch on wheels, but it wasn't enough. She also knew stuff about that night on the Coronado Bridge that he hadn't discussed with anyone. After she had him state his name and he sat down, he steeled himself for an emotional onslaught.
"Logan, I'm sure you're wondering why I'm asking all these questions that seem to have nothing to do with your case."
"The thought did occur to me," he replied carefully.
"I've spoken to a lot of people in the last few days. When your case came up, I asked the other judge if I could shadow this case," Peterson smiled and then he remembered who she was. Peterson was an 09'er who'd spent a lot of time doing charity work with his Mom.
"I see."
"I wanted to get a complete picture of what's going on in your life. You've faced more emotional trauma in the past year and a half than most people face in their lifetime," Peterson said sadly.
He dropped his gaze for a moment and asked, "And did you find what you were looking for?"
Peterson shrugged. "Not exactly. You're a complicated young man with a history of fighting and drinking. Add emotional instability to the mix and you're a ticking time bomb."
"Would that be C-4 or Semtex?" Logan cracked, thinking that the emotional instability could also apply to Duncan.
Peterson hid a smile behind her hands and coughed. "A lot of people are worried about you, Logan, and I'm sure your mother would prefer that you not follow in her footsteps."
He felt the sweat break out on his forehead and avoided Veronica's concerned stare. "Me too."
"Help is out there, Logan, but you need to meet people halfway. Are you willing to do that?" Peterson asked kindly.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied evenly.
"If I followed California law, I'd assign you to an intensive rehab and counseling program. Under normal circumstances, that would work just fine, but without a legal guardian, your situation is rather precarious."
Logan smiled wanly. "But you're making an exception, right?"
Peterson nodded. "At your aunt's request, I've temporarily assigned her as guardian. She will transport you to your grandfather's home on Martha's Vineyard. At that point, your grandfather will decide where to send you, but your aunt has given her word that you will receive treatment."
Fucking great. They were sending him off with his crazy aunt to some godforsaken place with frigid ocean water. "Sounds great," Logan offered with a patently fake smile. "For how long?"
"The rest of the summer or longer. Under the circumstances, it'll probably do you good to get away for awhile."
Maybe she was right. He had been headed out of town when he ran into Veronica and changed his plans to stay with her. Maybe if he had followed his instincts, he wouldn't have messed up her life with his problems laid on top of hers. Logan nodded and sighed when she rested her gavel on the bench. As he moved away from the witness box, Cliff motioned him over and said, "Judge Peterson wants to see you in her chambers."
Logan rolled his eyes. "What, she's not done skewering me yet?"
"Look, kid, I'd say you got off pretty lightly. It might sound like nothing to go out of state, but it took a lot of persuasion to get the judge to agree to this. She might have been your mother's friend, but she doesn't grant favors to anyone."
He watched Stella approach his aunt and nodded. "So what changed her mind?"
Cliff made sure Stella was out of earshot before he muttered, "You didn't hear this from me, but I'm pretty sure a very large sum of money was donated to Peterson's favorite charity."
Logan guffawed at Monique's cojones but kept his thoughts about bribing judges to himself. "Nice to know my family's looking out for me."
Cliff smiled thinly. "Well, you know what they say, every cat has nine lives. I think you've wasted most of yours. Don't blow it this time."
"Gee, thanks," he countered sarcastically. Cliff offered his hand and Logan clasped it back with a steel grip.
The lawyer made a face and headed in the opposite direction, leaving Logan to wonder what the judge wanted now.
Veronica stood at the judge's window and jumped when Logan stepped through the door. "Hey," she said tensely, thinking it was strange that Judge Peterson wanted to talk to them privately.
"Any idea what she wants?" Logan cut straight to the chase and stuck his fingers into the edge of his trousers.
"Not a clue."
Logan stepped closer and she caught a whiff of his citrusy aftershave. "Not even for me, Nancy?"
Veronica shook her head. "Sorry, Joe, I'm fresh out of ideas."
His gentle fingers touched her cheek. "Now who's scamming who?"
There was so much to say, but their time really was running out. With a faint smile, she changed the subject and said, "I was surprised to see Duncan in the back row."
Logan rested his other hand on her shoulder and stroked the edges of her hair. "So was I."
"Did you guys work things out?" Veronica asked, staring up at his sad smile and feeling her heart being ripped away at the seams.
He shrugged. "I think we have an understanding."
"That's good, right?"
"It's a start." Logan slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close. When he dropped his face and touched her forehead with his, Veronica almost lost it and started bawling. But for his sake, she smiled bravely and kissed both sides of his mouth.
"And this is a finish," she murmured, her sigh lost as he kissed her back full force, pushing her around the judge's desk and collapsing into the swivel chair, which spun as their tongues swirled and their teeth bit at each other.
When their world stopped spinning and they came up for breath, he nipped her ear and whispered, "Only to this chapter."
The End
AN: This story will continue in a planned sequel, Free at Last (taking on the old title of this story) that will deal with Logan's family.
