"Isn't it better, like this?"

"So much better."

"This is how it's supposed to be."

"Totally."

"And this is how it's going to be, from now on. Right? Lilly?"

"You know how things are going to be now, don't you? You have to know."

"Just like this. Just like this."

"Don't forget your big sister, Veronica."

"I could never."

Veronica started awake just as Duncan was turning the engine off. "Huh?" she asked as she lifted his head off her brother's shoulder.

"We're here, Veronica."

Glancing at the clock at the dashboard, Veronica realized that it was just after three in the morning now that they had finally arrived back at her apartment. "Sorry, did I drool on your shoulder?" Veronica yawned.

"Nah, well, only just a little. It'll come out in the wash. And anyway, it's not like I don't have plenty of blue shirts. Veronica? Have you gone back to sleep already?" Duncan unbuckled Veronica's seatbelt, got out of the SUV, circled around to Veronica's side, opened the passenger door, and gently lifted his sister out of the vehicle. Kicking the door shut behind them once Backup had scrambled out, he started toward the Mars' apartment with the dog following.

"I don't suppose you could get the door, huh, boy? My hands are kind of full," he explained, hoisting the sleeping form of his sister slightly higher in his arms for emphasis. "No, huh? Well, it looks like there's still a light on inside, so maybe…." With that, Duncan tapped at the door with one foot.

"Veronica!" cried Lianne Mars as she flung the door open. "Duncan."

Duncan stood there gob-smacked for several seconds. "Mrs. Mars, h-how are you?"

"Is she all right?" Veronica's mother asked, extending her hands forward as if to touch her daughter's face, only to pull back.

"Um, yeah, no, she's fine, she's just, you know, exhausted. Uh, Veronica," he went on, gently shaking her slumbering form.

"Huh?" she answered, rousing a little.

"Did you, uh, know that your mom is home?"

"Did I not mention that?"

"Uh, no."

"Duncan," cut in Keith from inside the apartment, "don't just stand there, why don't you bring her inside?"

"What? Of course, right."

"I think you can put me down now," said Veronica once they were inside.

"Oh, sure," he answered, lowering her feet to the floor and helping her upright. "So, uh, Mrs. Mars, when did you—"

"Veronica!" interjected Lianne, racing to hug her now fully wakeful daughter, "your dad," at that, Veronica, who had not returned her mother's embrace, stiffened so slightly that only Lianne noticed, "told me what happened. Oh, thank God you're all right. You are all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered, pushing her mother away from her.

"Duncan," Keith interrupted again, "would you like to sit down? Can I get you anything?"

"Oh, thank you, that's really nice of you Mr. Mars, but, you know, it's been a really long night, and you probably want to talk to Veronica, and, you know, I should probably go talk to my mom, let her know I'm okay, so…."

"Duncan," Keith answered as Duncan backed toward the door, "Thank you again."

Once Duncan had left, Veronica wheeled on her mother and said "so, how'd rehab go?"

"Veronica, I know you're upset, but I had to come back early—"

"You had to? Why? So that every penny I had saved for college would be completely wasted?"

In tears, her mother answered "I saw the ads your father placed in the paper. I knew I had to get back before, before…."

"Veronica," Keith interjected, "your mom and I have been talking, and she's going to start attending AA meetings here in town—"

"I will, I swear! I've already got a sponsor and everything, and, and, I'm going to get clean, I promise!" Veronica's expression began to soften. "I know you're disappointed in me sweetie, and I'm so sorry, it's just, I was afraid I was going to lose you, and I just, I just…but I'm going to do better, and I'm going to pay you back, I promise."

"Dad, could I talk to Mom alone for a minute?"

"Sure honey. I'll just take Backup out again; it looks like he's getting a little agitated."

"What is it honey?" asked Lianne after Keith had left.

"How could you Mom? How could you cheat on him?"

"It's over, I swear. I'm going to do better now sweetie, I promise."

"That's not what I asked you!"

"It's complicated."

"Use small words then."

Lianne sat down on the couch. Her daughter stood before her with her arms folded across her chest as she began her tale. "After, after Jake and I broke up, I was heartbroken, I, I thought it was the end of the world. After a while though, I thought I was finally over it, it didn't hurt anymore. I was seeing your—I was seeing Keith by that point."

"My father. He's still my dad."

"Your father. And then I heard that Jake was getting married, and I just, I just broke down crying, and it all just came back again. About a month later, your dad asked me to marry him, and I guess I just figured, I don't know, that if I got married, that would have to mean I'd finally moved on, right?"

"How'd that work out?"

"It did work at first. We really were happy for a while."

"And then?"

"I ran into Jake, at the grocery store of all places. And we just got to talking, and it was as if nothing had ever changed, and, and all of a sudden we were making out in his car like we were still in high school."

"Thanks, there's an image I wanted stuck in my head."

"You said you wanted to know what happened."

"You're right, keep going."

"There's not much more to tell. He asked me if we should get a room and well, I guess I said yes, and—"

"You guess?"

"I said yes, okay? So we drove over to the Camelot, and well, after that it just became a regular thing."

"And what? You were just okay with that? You didn't feel the least bit guilty?"

"Of course I felt guilty! I hated myself! Why do you think I started drinking? Do you think this is how imagined my life going when I was your age? That I'd be explaining to my daughter why her mom is a worthless cheating drunk who—"

"Stop it!" cried Veronica as she dove into her mother's lap, throwing her arms around her. "Don't say that!"

"Oh honey, I'm just so sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Dad."

"I will, I will." After a pause she asked "do you hate me?"

"No, Mom, I love you. Just promise me things are going to be different from now on."

"I promise, sweetie, I promise," she answered, holding Veronica against herself, stroking the back of her daughter's head. "I won't ever let you down again. When your dad told me what happened tonight, I just, I was so frightened. I couldn't bear to lose you."

"Thanks for giving me a lift to the marina, man," said Logan as he got into the Mercedes. "I could have just sent our driver to pick it up or something."

"No problem," answered Duncan. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Well, I think my condition has been upgraded from 'crappy' to 'lousy.'"

"Under the circumstances, lousy sounds pretty good."

"Stupid circumstances. Say, did you talk to Veronica today?"

"Yeah, I spoke to her this earlier this afternoon. She said she was sorry she wasn't going to make it today, but that she wanted to stay home with her parents. Her mom's home you know."

"I know. She said she and her parents, I mean, you know what I mean, were going to try to work things out."

"Wait, you knew her mom was home? When did you find out?"

"I talked to her on the phone this morning."

"Wait, then why'd you ask me if I'd spoken to her?"

"Because, I wanted to know if you'd spoken to her."

"Stupid question, I guess," replied Duncan. "So, what did the two of you talk about?"

"Nothing much, really. I just wanted to talk to her. She's really your sister, huh?"

"Yes, Logan, she's really my sister."

"That's got to be weird."

"You are just a font of profundity."

"Did Lilly know?"

"Yeah, she was so pissed at me after I broke up with Veronica, I had to tell her."

"How'd she react?"

"What do you think? She was really weirded out by it."

"Still though, it's like, the two of you, you and Veronica I mean, you avenged your sister. That's really something, you know."

"Yeah, I guess it is."

They were silent for a few minutes before Logan spoke again, "so, is there going to be, like, a paternity suit now or something?"

"Oh, I'm sure my parents will just settle out of court, if only to avoid the publicity."

To be continued….