All bets are off

Fuck you

You taste like toxic poison

I wash my hands of you

--Why don't you come over? (Garbage)

Logan was toweling his hair off with a t-shirt when he pulled the door open.

"You are beautiful!" He said and leaned forward and planted a sloppy kiss on Duncan's cheek.

Duncan gave him a shove and swung the garment bag in front of him less he try it again. Logan cackled and took the bag from him.

"You're saving my life," Logan said, unzipping the bag and tearing the suit out of it. "Who knew you had to pick these things up? When I lived at home I would have found this puppy laid out on the bed."

He pulled his t-shirt off, careful not to disturb the bandage on his arm, and pulled on the crisp white dress shirt.

"You know the other day I got out of the shower and reached for a towel and I realized I didn't have any. I had to air dry."

Logan kept talking while he pulled on the pants. He was nervous as hell and couldn't stop himself from babbling. It didn't help that Duncan was being sullen. Not that he could blame him.

"So are you ever going back home?" Duncan asked.

"At least not until Trina and I work out our differences."

"So when hell freezes over."

"That's it."

Duncan nodded and glanced around the room. Logan started tying his tie in the silence.

So," he finally said, pretending to concentrate on his tie. "You never told me why you brought me back."

"Veronica was miserable," he said.

Logan smiled and shook his head.

"You always do the right thing?"

"I actually thought she'd dump you."

Logan's fingers froze on the tie.

"You realize you said that out loud don't you?"

Duncan nodded.

"After what you did I thought--"

"I didn't do anything." Logan said, his voice rising. "We had a misunderstanding. If you're going to eavesdrop you really should invest in some spy equipment."

They stared at each other.

"I love her," Duncan said quietly.

"Well so do I," Logan replied and he realized saying it out loud caused a strange lump in his throat. He swallowed hard. "And I don't want to bring up the obvious, but you had your chance and you dumped her."

"I thought she was my sister."

"I'm sorry, you mistook her for Lilly?"

"No, my dad and her mom….you know."

Logan needed a second to connect the dots.

"And I thought my family was dysfunctional." Logan chuckled but he wasn't amused. Far from it. "So I take it she's not your sister after all or you wouldn't be standing here contemplating incest."

Duncan looked down at his feet and his cheeks flushed. Logan realized suddenly that at one point--at Shelly Pomeroy's party--he'd thought that's exactly what he'd done. And the day that Logan had caught Duncan attacking his dad flashed before him. Suddenly everything became crystal clear. And it made him feel sick. The reason he and Veronica broke up no longer existed.

"So what now?" He asked. "You wait in the wings hoping for us to crash and burn?"

"Pretty much."

OK now I'm pissed.

"You're going to wait a long time," he said.

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Logan still felt sick to his stomach when he pulled up to the county courthouse. He tried to drive through quickly but the paparazzi recognized him and flooded in front of his car. He really wanted to plow through them given the mood he was in but he waited until the police herded them out of the way.

Camera lights still shined in his face as he made his way inside. Questions were shouted at him and he did his best to ignore them. The head prosecutor met him and escorted him in and he could hear the sound of hundreds of camera shutters going off. Logan was the last witness for the prosecution and aside from Veronica, the most anticipated. The celebrity-weary judge was allowing Logan's testimony about his history of physical abuse. It was a decision that left Logan both grateful and sickened.

The prosecutor was going over, for about the sixtieth time, what Logan was going to say but Logan was only half listening. His eyes were roaming the corridor for Veronica. He wasn't sure she would be there given that she'd already given her explosive testimony and he couldn't blame her if she wanted to be as far away from this circus as possible.

They hadn't been able to talk much in the passed few weeks. They'd played a lot of phone tag when she was being prepped for her testimony or he was. He'd also had meetings with lawyers over his situation with Trina, trying to avoid her becoming his legal guardian. Then he'd found the ominous message on his voice mail: "My dad got a bill from the lab about one of my blood tests. It's probably wise if we don't talk for a few days."

He hadn't talked to her at all but he did sit in the courtroom while she testified. He would rather have had nails driven into his eyes then listen to her description of what happened but he wanted to be there for her. And when she was done he had made sure that he stood up and hugged her in full view of the jury. He remembered how precise and confident she had been on the stand and how when he hugged her he could feel her quiver in his arms. She was emotionally drained and he had just wanted to keep holding her but Keith came up, smiling for the jury but with undisguised fury in his eyes, and whisked her away.

Logan had no doubt Keith Mars knew exactly what the blood tests were for and that the only reason Logan hadn't woken up with a shot gun to his head was because he was going to be the final nail in Aaron Echolls coffin.

Logan sat down in the gallery and tried his best not to throw up in his lap. It was a new suit after all. He contemplated putting his head between his knees but so he didn't look like a total idiot he settled for leaning forward a little.

"Are you going to be sick or are you just happy to see me?"

Logan looked up and Veronica was smiling down at him. She crossed in front of him and sat down next to him. He was about to speak when Meg followed Veronica into the row. She smiled and gave him what looked like an apologetic little wave. Mac came up behind her and gave him a thumbs up. Wallace was next and gave him a nod. Finally Duncan walked silently by, but sat down at the end of the row nonetheless.

Logan was speechless. Everyone of them had been there for Veronica's testimony but he couldn't imagine why they'd be there today.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"You didn't think we'd let you do this alone did you?"

He didn't know what to say. They were her friends but she had rallied them to be there for him as well. Veronica slipped her hand into his and he felt his nausea subside.

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"So Mr. Echolls, did your father, Mr. Aaron Echolls, ever hit you?"

Logan felt his stomach clench. They had asked him all the routine questions about his relationship with Lilly, and he knew this one was coming but it still felt like a slap.

"Mr. Aaron Echolls did, yes."

He stared straight ahead, not looking at his father at all. He wasn't sure if the sight of him would make him angry or sad.

"Now would you describe this as ordinary parental discipline?"

"Only if you consider a black eye, two broken ribs, lacerations to my back, a bloody nose, and several trips to the emergency room as ordinary parental discipline."

The prosecutor frowned slightly. Logan has gone off script.

"How long would you say this abuse went on?"

There was an objection to the word "abuse" from his father's lawyer and the prosecutor reworded the question. It felt like it added an hour to his sitting in the spotlight.

"For as long as I can remember," he replied, his throat dry.

He could see an artist sketching his picture.

"Your father is a very famous man, Mr. Echolls, why is there no record of his actions until now?"

"Because my father is a very famous man." Logan replied. "The emergency room doctor who took care of my ribs asked my dad for his autograph before discharging me."

"But there is documentation of the latest incident…"

Logan watched as the prosecutor walked over to the screen set up in the corner. He looked down at his shoes. He heard several gasps and knew the picture of Logan's jaw or the fingerprints on his arms or the bruise on his back were up on the screen. He didn't want to look. He'd been there already, after all.

He looked over the faces in the courtroom. The Kane's were there, looking horrified right on que. Trina was sitting, shaking her head. Duncan was rubbing the bridge of his nose. Then he finally allowed himself to look at Veronica. For all the world he wished she wasn't there. Wasn't listening to what he had been so ashamed of his entire life.

She wasn't looking at the pictures. She was looking at him. There were tears in her eyes but she wasn't letting them fall. She smiled reassuringly at him and he felt himself smile back. For all the world he was so glad she was there.

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When Logan finally stepped off the stand he felt like all of his bones had been replaced with jelly. His ankle actually twisted a little when he stepped down. It had felt like he'd been testifying for weeks. Veronica was there to meet him like he had been for her. She hugged him fiercely and he felt limp in her arms. All of her friends were gathered behind her. His friends now too, he guessed.

"So would it be inappropriate to go out and celebrate?" Wallace asked.

Everyone looked at Logan. He smiled.

"Let's party like it's 1999."

He offered his hand to Veronica and she laced her fingers into his. He had already won, he decided.

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Author's note: OK, this chapter was mainly cleaning up some loose ends. Sorry it was not too exciting. The next chapter will be the conclusion and it's called 'Sex is not the enemy' if that's any indication.