Disclaimer: I don't own Veronica Mars. The show and all its characters belong to its appropriate owners.The lyrics used are the property of the fabulous group Lifehouse and I claim nothing. I was merely inspired by a particular track and honored it.

Rating: R 'cause of well, da smut.

Spoilers: Anything goes considering I had to rewrite the whole thing due to the finale. Pairings: WeeVer, some LoVe but believe me, WeeVer all the way.

Summary: Taking that final step will change everything.

ChapterThree: Quasimodo

you could be right

and I'll be real

honesty won't be a pain

you'll have to feel 'cause I

don't need your approval

to find my worth lifehouse, quasimodo, track ten

She eats and listens to the family talk, smiling as they ask her questions, especially the youngest cousins. She finds that Esther is mother to three of the six children she saw first and her surprise must show on her face because Esther shrugs and says, "I was young and stupid. Not much else I can tell you."

"I didn't mean to," she begins to apologize but the woman laughs, waving her silver-bangled arms in the air as she says, "Don't trip honey. I've had people call and judge me all my life. It's cool; I love my babies and wouldn't give 'em up for anything."

Her babies were William, Lucas, and Elizabeth. The three of them were eight, four, and six, and they all greeted her with cheerful, "Hi Veronica!" and giggles as Weevil rolls his eyes and says, "Ignore 'em, they're annoying." as he leads her out to the front porch at the end of the night.

She smiles as she sits down on the stairs, him following suit. They sit together companionably and she peers up at the stars as the laughter and noise from inside has her remembering how it was before...

"Did you like the food?" Weevil asks and she blinks, looking at him. "What? Oh, yes, I did," she says and he nods before saying, "Good."

They fall silent again and she sighs inwardly as she studies the dark street and then looks back up at the sky. His voice startles her but not as much as his question.

"So, you going back now?"

"Excuse me?"

He glances at her, his eyes dark and molten chocolate. "To the 09-er crowd," he clarifies at the confusion on her features. "You going back to them?"

She is dumbfounded. She hasn't thought about the future, hasn't thought about what school will be like Monday morning, hasn't thought about what she'll do when she sees Duncan or Logan or anyone. She's merely been going through the days without a real sense of purpose and she finally says, "I don't know."

He nods and turns back to look at the stars. "At least you're being honest," he says and she frowns, demanding, "What does that mean?"

"I mean," he says shortly. "That now that you solved Lilly's death, you've got no reason to not go back. You're in again, V. Didn't you know that?"

She had but she was still frowning. "I don't want to think about this," she says and Weevil laughs as he digs around in his jeans before pulling out a cigarette. He lights it and she is awed by the light of the flame flickering over his features, highlighting them briefly. Inside the house, the radio warbles, "Love me tender, love me true..." as he places the cigarette to his lips, saying, "You don't wanna do a lotta things."

"When did you become an expert on me?" she asks irritably and Weevil chortles, saying, "Damn, calm down chica. Shit, I'm just saying what you're thinking in your heart of hearts. You don't know whether or not you can forgive Logan right? Saw him the night he tried to jump off the bridge. He's lucky I felt charitable."

She knows what he means; the news had covered Logan's attempt at suicide along with his father's trial. She studies the patterns on her jeans, cast by the light inside the house. Finally, she says, "He and I were together you know. The night I found the camera in the poolhouse. I thought I loved him but..."

"Love?" Weevil snorts as he blows smoke into the air. "Love isn't something you find like that-" he snaps his fingers "you gotta earn it, V. You gotta make it work, you know?"

"What do you know about love?" she snaps annoyance written in her voice. "I've never seen you with a girlfriend Weevil."

"I'm not the type of guy you bring home to your parents," he says lowly and she squints as she looks at him. His head is bent, the cigarette dangling from his lips as he adds, "Most girls just want some fun. I'm all for that."

Suddenly, the door opens and Esther pokes her head out, saying, "Eli. Grandma wants you."

"Yeah," he says and gets up brushing his jeans off. "Later, hey, V?"

"Sure," she agrees and he passes his cousin to enter the house. Esther steps out onto the front porch and she leans against the railing before saying, "He's sensitive, you know."

"Weevil?" Veronica says doubtfully, but there's no real heat behind the question.

Esther laughs. "Yeah," she says. "That's always his problem. He feels thing way too deeply. He cares for people way too much. I think it's a Navarro curse."

"What is?" Veronica asks and the dark-haired beauty smiles sadly.

"Falling in love real easy," she says as if that says it all.

"He's not in love with me," Veronica protest, remembering Lilly, remembering Weevil's words to the counselor.

'She's someone I could've loved...'

"And he was in love with Lilly Kane?" Esther scoffs and Veronica stares at her with surprise as the young woman explains at her expression, "I notice things; it's part of the job as a mom. I noticed how he was when he was with her. She drained him Veronica. She took everything that was good in him, the sensitivity, the romantic, and she drained him of it."

"I don't think she meant too," Veronica whispers but Esther smiles, sadness written in her face. Her eyes are older than her twenty-four years and Veronica is silent with guilt when the woman says, "Maybe. You were Lilly's best friend. Do you think she would've let herself fall for Weevil? Take that final step?"

Veronica looks away, guilt filling her at the truth that she knows in her heart of hearts. "No."

"Don't break him, Veronica," Esther says softly. "My cousin, he gives his heart away real quickly. If you don't want it, then don't pretend to care about it." She turns and disappears into the house, leaving her mind churning and her heart aching for something she can't put a name too.

Next Chapter Four: Sick Cycle Carousel...