A/N: All righty, ya'll. Once again, thanks to lex, my muse. Thanks for all the feedback I've gotten so far, it's always muchly appreciated. Italics are VMVO as always.
The ride back to Veronica's apartment was quiet as a tomb.
Logan's tomb, if I don't find him soon.
She got out of Leo's car when he pulled to a stop, gave him a quiet thanks, and headed up to her apartment. Letting herself in, she called for Backup, who came running. Veronica greeted her dog tiredly, longing to head for a shower and bed now that she was home. It was pretty close to the time for Backup's morning walk, however, so she diligently got the leash and clipped it on Backup's collar.
"You so owe me." She said, hugging the dog. Backup licked her cheek and barked happily. They took a quick walk around her complex, and she cursed not having a car at the moment...Backup really liked to walk along Dog Beach, and so did she. Letting herself back in, she let Backup off the leash and hit the play messages button on the answering machine.
"Veronica, this is Sheriff Lamb. Call me. I've got a few more questions for you." The machine played in it's computerized voice. She rolled her eyes and hit the next button, slipping off her jacket and shoes.
"This is John, a reporter for..." Veronica didn't even bother listening to the rest of the message, hitting the erase button.
"Veronica, it's Weevil. Call me." Her eyes locked on the phone, all thoughts of a shower and a nap gone from her mind. She picked up the cordless without playing the rest of the messages, and dialed as she walked to her bedroom. She stretched out on her bed as the phone rang. She got his machine.
"You've reached the Navarro residence. Please leave a message after the beep." Weevil's recorded voice said.
"Weevil, it's Veronica. Tag, you're it." She hung up with a sigh.
Damn. Just...damn.
She grabbed a towel from the hall closet and took the longest, hottest shower she could manage.
Thank God the landlord finally fixed the plumbing. I'd have gone Weevil on his ass after the morning I've had.
She collapsed on her bed post shower, and was asleep in minutes.
Veronica was woken up by a brilliant smell coming from her kitchen, and stumbled down the hall to find the source. She found Alicia, Wallace and Darryl working busily in her kitchen.
"Hey." She said, softly, getting their attention.
"Hey." Wallace replied, giving her a hug. "Mom thought you could us a good home cooked dinner."
"Thanks, Alicia." She told her. "It smells really good."
"I hope we didn't wake you." Alicia said, stirring one of the pans on the stove.
"No." Veronica replied. Wallace lifted her chin and whistled as he checked out her eye.
"Damn girl, you got more lives than a cat." He said. She smiled.
"Wallace, don't swear in front of your brother." Alicia scolded. Wallace mumbled an apology as he grabbed some plates and set them out.
"How was school?" Veronica asked, extremely glad that Clemmons had given her a few days off to recover.
"Chaos." Wallace answered, helping his mom serve up dinner. "Reporters everywhere, and newspapers flying. You would not believe how exaggerated the story's gotten." He continued.
Yeah, I would.
"Sounds like I missed out." Veronica said, sitting gingerly on the couch in the living room. It was amazing how achy she was feeling now, compared to hours ago, when she'd barely felt her injuries at all. "How's dad doing?" Veornica asked Alicia.
"He's doing much better." Alicia said, getting out utensils and napkins. "His doctor thinks he might be able to get up on his feet by the end of the week."
"That's great." Veronica smiled, tears in her eyes. "Are you going back to the hospital?"
"As soon as I get you guys fed." Alicia replied. The Fennell family joined Veronica after a moment, Wallace bringing her a plate and a Skist. She smiled her thanks, as everyone started eating.
"Tell him I love him, and let him know I'll stop by first thing in the morning, ok?" Veronica requested.
"Of course. What did you do today, Veronica?" Alicia asked, taking a bite.
I had a second interrogation from Sheriff Lamb, a face-off with Celeste Kane, a trip to the impound lot which included a make out moment with Leo, two insane dreams about Logan, and oh, I found his possible suicide note.
"Not much." She said. "Slept mostly."
"Listen, if you want, Wallace can stay here tonight with you." Alicia offered for her son.
"Yeah, you shouldn't be alone." Wallace agreed.
"Thanks, but I'll be fine." Veronica replied. "I'm going right to bed as soon as I finish this." She gestured to her mostly eaten meal. "It's really good, by the way." Alicia smiled her thanks.
Dinner was a silent affair after that, and the clean up went even quicker. Veronica shut the door behind the Fennells with relief. She loved Wallace and his family, but it was nice to have some time just to herself. She turned and headed for her bedroom, intent on looking up a few things on line, when a knock sounded at her door.
"Wallace, what'd you..." Veronica began, opening the door and expecting Wallace to be on the other side.
That ain't Wallace.
"Duncan, what are you doing here?"