Chapter 4: Birthdays and Other Surprises

The day of Veronica's 18th birthday started out like every other day had lately. After a quick breakfast with her father, she changed his bandages and headed for school in the used Ford Escape Weevil's uncle had sold her. The LeBaron hadn't been salvageable after it had been crashed into the tree. Fortunately, Weevil's uncle had found himself in need of some detective work done so combined with the insurance money from the LeBaron they'd been able to work out a deal that benefited both parties.

Walking up to her locker, she shot a grin at Wallace who was already standing at his locker next door. "Hey there, BFF. How's it going this fine morning?"

"Would you please quit calling me that," Wallace groaned? "People might hear you and I've got a rep to protect."

Veronica couldn't hold back her snort of laughter at that statement. "Sorry. I'd feel terrible if I were to destroy that macho image you have going there."

"Dang straight girlie. By the way, Happy Birthday. So what are your big plans now that you're no longer a minor? My mom said we were supposed to be going out to dinner with you and your pops tonight."

"Yeah, my dad said something about dinner to me too," Veronica responded as she opened her locker. "I thought after dinner I might go grab some booze, pick up a few hookers and head for the be-," she was struck mute as she glanced into her locker and saw something that hadn't been there when she'd left last night.

Glancing over when she suddenly stopped talking, Wallace noticed a look of pure shock etched on her face. It was a look he hadn't seen on her face very many times. Little surprised Veronica Mars these days. Looking into her locker, Wallace saw what had caused her to freeze up. Sitting there in her locker was some kind of beanie bear sitting atop a small white box wrapped in delicate pink ribbon. "What's that? Who put that in there?"

Reaching out with a shaky hand, Veronica pulled the bear to her first and examined the image sewn on the front of the bear. It looked like some kind of warrior carrying a sword but it had wings like an angel. Tucking the bear against her chest, she snatched up the box hoping there was some kind of explanation in there. Opening the box, she found another package that obviously contained jewelry of some sort. Inside the jewelry box, Veronica found a small heart dangling from a delicate white gold chain but still no explanation of what all this was or who could have left it. Looking back to her locker, she saw a small envelope that had been hidden under the box, on the front of the envelope was simply the letter V. The envelope contained a small card with balloons on it. Inside the card she read, "Happy Birthday. The little guy is St. Michael the Protector also known as the patron of policemen (and women). He's here to protect you on your adventures. The heart is simply a reminder." There was no signature on the card. Passing the card to Wallace she stared back down at the necklace and the bear clutched in her hands.

Puzzled, Wallace quizzed her, "There's no signature. Who left this here?"

"Logan."

"Logan? As in Logan Echolls? The guy who supposedly feels nothing for you, Logan?"

"That would be the one."

"Wow. Just wow. For a guy who supposedly doesn't feel much for you, those gifts sure took a lot of thought. Those aren't just casual, just grabbed it, kind of gifts."

"I know." Reaching up, Veronica removed the necklace she'd put on that morning. Passing Wallace the necklace she'd removed from the box, she asked, "Hey Wallace, can you fasten this for me? Thanks." During the entire exchange, she had kept glancing down to Logan's locker but he'd yet to appear.

Noticing what she was doing, Wallace answered the question she had yet to voice, "He's already come and gone this morning. He took off right before you got here."

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess I better get going to class. I'll catch you at lunch."

As she started to walk off, Wallace called out, "Hey V. Are you going to carry that bear around all day? People might begin to wonder about you."

Glancing down, she became conscious of the fact she was still clutching the bear tightly to her chest. "Yes…yes I am."

Shaking his head with laughter, Wallace watched her flounce off down the hall. That girl really was nuts.

Joining Veronica at the lunch table she'd grabbed, Wallace was relieved to not see the bear anywhere. He'd started to get worried he was going to have to eat lunch with that damned bear staring at him the whole time. Glancing over at V, he noticed that her bag was setting on the bench next to her and saw it. She'd somehow managed to secure the bear so its legs and part of the body were in bag but his head and arms were sticking out letting him look around like he was surveying the courtyard. The girl had really lost it.

"You know you're seriously going to destroy my rep. What are people going to think when they see me eating lunch with a girl and her stuffed animal?"

Reaching down to pat the bear on the head, she grinned up at Wallace, "They'll think you are the luckiest guy around. The girls will think you are all sensitive and charming. It just might be the next rage."

Eyebrows raised, Wallace just stared at her disbelievingly. Sometimes he really should just keep his mouth shut.

The rest of the lunch period was spent exchanging their usual banter and discussing dinner that evening. So far they'd managed to avoid most of their parents' efforts to have 'family time' but this was one instance they weren't going to be able to avoid.

Duncan stopped by their table briefly to wish her a happy birthday. After an awkward exchange of how are yous and how are your parents, he hastily took off to join the rest of the 09ers. Most of their exchanges were uncomfortable anymore. They'd tried to date briefly during the summer but Veronica had quickly called a halt to it. It was obvious, at least to her, that Veronica 2.5 was not compatible with either Duncan 1.0 or Duncan 2.0. He had wanted Veronica 1.0 back but she had been permanently retired.

By the end of the day, Veronica still had not seen Logan. When she asked Wallace if he'd seen Logan during the day, she was shocked by his reply. "He's gone. He checked out at 2:15."

"He left already? Where'd he go?"

"I don't know. I imagine the same place he goes to every Friday afternoon."

"You mean he leaves early every Friday? But how is that possible, doesn't he have to be in class?"

"He must have worked out something with the school. His last class is Independent Study so I guess he can make that up anytime. He comes in every Friday to see Clemmons promptly at 2, goes into Clemmons' office for about 5 minutes, gets a piece of paper signed and is out of there no later than 2:15. I never thought of Logan as a guy worried much about punctuality but you could set your watch by him on Friday afternoons."

Lying in bed that evening after a surprisingly fun evening consisting of burgers at her favorite restaurant and a round of miniature golf, Veronica mulled over what she'd learned that afternoon. Where did Logan go every Friday? She'd never known Logan to worry about being on time to anything so it must be important. Could he be going to visit his dad? Nah, she dismissed that thought quickly. From what she'd heard through the grapevine, Logan had yet to go see Aaron. Finally, exhaustion allowed her to drop into a fitful sleep with her new bear clutched to her chest, her new necklace resting safely on the nightstand.

At 8 o'clock Saturday morning, Veronica found herself parked outside Logan's gate trying to work up the courage to buzz the house. She'd woken up that morning with an overwhelming need to see him. After she'd gotten dressed, she'd put on her necklace, grabbed her bear and practically run out the door. He probably wasn't even awake yet but that was just too bad she thought as she buzzed the house. She was shocked when Mrs. Navarro, Weevil's grandmother, answered the call and buzzed her through the gate. She'd had no idea Mrs. Navarro was still working there. She didn't think any staff was still employed. Mrs. Navarro let Veronica in the foyer and told her to wait there and she'd go get Logan. After a minute spent nervously pacing the foyer, she heard footsteps coming near her.

Surprisingly her visit wasn't Logan's wake up call. Watching him walk towards her with no shirt, sweat glistening all over his body and a water bottle clutched in one hand, it was evident she had disturbed his workout. Wow, if she'd thought his arms looked good, they had nothing on his abs. She was pretty sure her brain had just melted in to one big pile of goo. All thought of what she'd wanted to say were gone.

Scowling down at her, he asked, "What are doing here? What do you want now Mars?"

Without a word, Veronica suddenly launched herself at Logan's body and attacked his mouth. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard a water bottle hitting the marble floor. Logan's hands quickly wrapped themselves around the back of her thighs and hiked her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist. Stumbling a bit, he pressed her up against the wall and proceeded to wholly take over the kiss. His tongue sought and received entrance into her mouth while his hands roamed possessively over her jeans and under her shirt. Veronica wasn't sure how long they remained like that but all too soon Logan separated their mouths so they could both breathe and he could run his lips and tongue over her neck. A moan escaped her when his mouth swiftly found that spot around the base of her neck. Pulling his lips away, he buried his face in her neck.

"What was that for?"

Veronica shook her head trying to clear the roaring in her ears so she could hear what Logan had just said. "What?" He repeated his question. "I wanted to thank you for my birthday presents. I really loved them."

For a minute he hesitated and she was sure he was going to deny leaving them. After a minute, he simply said, "You're welcome. They reminded me of you. I haven't made it to many ring tosses lately so I'm afraid your bear was store bought."

She laughed breathily as the reference hit her. "I think I can live with that."

"Now what are you really doing here? I know it wasn't just to thank me for some silly bear and necklace."

"They aren't silly. I just…I wanted…I needed to see you, touch you, even if only for a moment," she answered truthfully. She tightened her arms and legs around him as if reinforcing her statement.

She could feel him nod against her neck before he pulled back to look in her eyes. The next kiss was slower, gentler, but no less passionate. The first kiss had been all about passion and possession; whereas, the second kiss was about unspoken feelings and meaning.

Logan was once again the one to pull back first. Leaning into her ear he whispered, "In just a minute here, I'm going to have to set you back down. When I do, I'm going to give you one last kiss, then I'm going to grab my water and head back to the gym. I'm going to ask you to let yourself out the door and go back home."

"Nooo," she cried pitifully. She tightened her hold so that he feared he would have to have her surgically removed. "Don't make me go. I'm sorry. Please, I—."

He quickly shushed her. "No, don't apologize. This isn't about you or anything you've done. I'm not trying to punish you. I'm begging you to do this one thing for me. Please V; I really need you to help me with this. I'm not strong enough to continually resist you without some help. I just need more time. I'm still a mess and I need to work this all out before I can be any good for you."

"Why do you have to do it alone? Maybe I could help?"

"No, V. This is one mystery you can't solve. These are problems that your sleuthing can't fix. I can assure you that I'm not totally alone. I have quite a few people helping me but right now it's not something you can help me with," he finished.

"When will we be able to move past this?"

"I don't know. I can't give you an exact timetable but I hope soon."

With one final inhalation of her scent, he untangled their limbs and set her back on the floor. Veronica couldn't stop the tears that were flowing down her cheeks unchecked. Logan placed a series of kisses across her eyelids, cheeks and nose before resting his forehead against hers. Leaning back, he stared into her eyes with tears clouding his own vision. Cupping her face in his hands he tenderly kissed her lips. His hands soothingly pushed her hair away from her face before placing his lips against her forehead and mumbling five words. Turning hastily, he grabbed the water that had fallen and walked away without a look back.

Stumbling to the door, Veronica let herself out but as soon as the door shut she fell heavily against it and sunk to the ground. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she lowered her head and sobbed brokenly. The words he'd said against her forehead reverberating through her head. "I love you Veronica Mars."