A/N: Thanks to lex and forcedmovement, my muses. Their inspiration knows no bounds. Italics are VMVO. As always, Feedback is a lovely, lovely thing.
Veronica rapidly backed away from the bed, her skin crawling. Logan's scream was...
Inhumane.
"Logan, what happened?" She managed to ask, drawing his now silent gaze. She shivered, and then jumped when his hospital door opened. The Police officer stood there, his look accusatory.
"What is going on in here?" He demanded.
"He woke up." Veronica replied, reminding herself that while Logan may or may not have recognized her under the disguise, the Police officer hadn't. "I'll go get a doctor." She continued, knowing she had to get out of there before Duncan and Meg got back. Veronica slipped out into the hall before the cop could stop her, and briskly headed for the girls bathroom. She ducked inside, and glanced at the bottoms of the stalls to make sure it was empty. One stall was occupied, housing feet encased in black basketball sneakers.
"Like, Oh my God! Those shoes are to die for!" Veronica put as much valley girl into her accent as possible, and was rewarded with an ear-to-ear grin from Wallace, who'd opened the stall door and peeked out. "I owe ya one." She promised. He gave her a look.
"Girl, if I started collecting on all the favors you owe me, you'd be working for me for the rest of your life." Wallace smirked, handing her her bag. Veronica went into the neighboring stall, and started changing as Wallace headed for a counter and hoisted himself up on it to sit. "So what happened?" He asked, swinging his feet.
"He woke up, if you can believe it." She answered, slipping her shirt over her head and dropping the scrub top on the floor.
"Did he recognize you?" Wallace wanted to know, glancing around the bathroom.
"I don't think so." She said, fumbling with her jacket zipper. "He was too busy screaming." Veronica sighed,exiting the stall.
"I don't want to know." Wallace replied, smiling at her. She shot him a look, fluffing her hair and giving her reflection a once over. "You know, with as much time as I spend with you in the girls bathroom, you think I'd date more." He remarked, eliciting a smile from Veronica and effectively dropping the subject. He knew she'd tell him everything later, anyway. She handed him the wig and the glasses, which he tucked into his tracksuit jacket, before slinging her bag over her shoulder and leaving the bathroom.
Veronica headed quickly for the uniform closet, slipped inside after picking the lock, and replaced the uniform pieces just as she had found them. She left the closet to a still empty hallway, and set off for Logan's room.
It was chaotic, just as she'd expected. Duncan was standing outside the room, watching the goings on intently. She approached him warily, making sure to notice the doctors and cops in Logan's room through the glass.
"What is going on?" Veronica asked, managing to incorporate genuine surprise, shock and concern.
"Logan woke up." Even though she'd seen it first hand, hearing the news from Duncan actually brought tears to her eyes.
"He did?" She choked out. At Duncan's nod, she broke into an ear-to-ear grin and wiped away the tears with her fingers.
"I guess you'll be going back to him." Duncan asked, not looking at her. The hurt in his voice was clear. She paused a moment, long enough to get his attention, before replying.
"If he'll have me." It came out as a whisper.
"He's a jackass if he doesn't." Duncan replied. She appreciated his attempt at humor, but she could tell it was false. Duncan, who'd spent the last year in a fog of anti-depressants, had lost some of his ability to hide his emotions. In short, she could read him like a book.
"I'll tell him you said so." Veronica responded, sad smile touch her lips. He finally turned to look at her.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked one more time. "We could be something."
"We had our shot, Duncan. It's not meant to be." Veronica tried to let him down gently.
"The other night?" He brought up quietly.
"A mistake." Her tone was light but firm. "I think you know it too." She said. "You can't try to hold on to me because it's suddenly ok to have me, Duncan. You moved on this year, and so did I." She touched his arm, and he finally met her gaze. "And I realized something."
"What's that?" His tone was gruff.
"You have to let go of the past." Veronica imparted the lesson it had taken a year and a half to learn.
"That's funny, coming from you." He seemed to resent her advice.
"Look at where finding Lilly's killer got me, Duncan." She pointed out. "My dad's in the hospital, I was nearly baked alive by the same man who killed my best friend and just happened to be my boyfriend's father, and I may have ruined my chance at a great relationship." She said, sounding angry with herself. "You know what I realized? That it doesn't even matter, because Lilly is still dead. None of this got me anywhere, because Lilly is still dead, and she's never coming back, and we have to deal with it."
"I get it." Duncan stopped her tirade. Veronica was going to reply, but the sound of Logan's hospital room door opening silenced her as she and Duncan turned to face the doctor standing there.
"He's asking for you both." The doctor said, slipping his hands in his lab coat pockets. "Keep it short, we don't want to tire him out." They both nodded mutely, sharing a glance. Duncan slowly reached for the door handle.