Veronica absently poked at her pasta salad with a plastic fork, her attention focused on a table across the quad, more specifically on Duncan and Meg. She found herself doing this much too often for her liking. Her mind wandered, searching out the memory she had tried so desperately to repress.

"Meg's pregnant."

Veronica's head shot up. She studied his face carefully, taking in the dozens of wrinkles that seemed to have appeared on it overnight. "You're serious."

He nodded, reaching out and taking her hand in his own.

"How – how far along is she?" Veronica forced her herself to ask, her voice coming out as a croak.

"Five months." Off Veronica's dubious look, he hastily added, "I swear, Veronica. I didn't cheat on you."

Veronica nodded. She believed him. She had to believe him. "We'll get through this," she promised him.

Duncan didn't respond. She knew he tended to be the silent type, but she had expected at least a 'yeah' or an 'of course, Veronica.'

"Duncan?" she asked tentatively, staring at him until he finally lifted his gaze to meet hers and she saw it in his eyes, knew what was coming. He burst into tears, pulling her close. She hugged him tight and tears leaked out of her own eyes.

"I'm sorry, Veronica," he sobbed into her shoulder as she made comforting shushing noises. "I'm so, so sorry."

"I understand, Duncan. It'll be okay. It will," she added, more to comfort herself than him.

"Yo, space cadet! Snap outta it."

Veronica tore her gaze away from her ex and smiled at her best friend. "Hey, what's shakin', bacon?"

"I aced my U.S. History exam," he told her with a grin.

Veronica's mouth formed an 'O' and she placed her hand over it in mock surprise. "You? Ace an exam? But I thought you were a homeboy, Wallace. Homeboys don't study!"

"It's called skills, V."

"Oh, of course. Silly me."

"So, what time are you getting back from that field trip tomorrow?" he asked as he unpacked his lunch. "I thought maybe you could come to the game, you know, since you're the reason I'm playing."

"Actually, I'm not going on the field trip," Veronica told him, sneaking a glance over at Duncan and Meg. No way was she going to force herself to spend six hours in their company.

"Why…" his voice trailed off as he followed her gaze and sighed. "Damn, V, this really sucks. If wasn't for such a good reason, I'd kick his ass."

Veronica sighed. "I know the feeling." Then, to change the subject, she gasped loudly and reached her hand into Wallace lunch bag. "Is this a pudding cup?"

Wallace snatched it back, blushing slightly. "Yeah, momforgets I'm not five anymore."

Veronica grinned. "I think it's sweet. Wallace and his pudding cup," she added, sounding as if she was talking to a baby.

Wallace turned and tossed the pudding cup into a nearby garbage can.

"Nice shot, Fennel," Veronica congratulated him. "Bet the team is glad you're back." Logan walked past the table, brushingagainst her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small white square drop into her bag. She waited a minute until Wallace was distracted before unfolding the note in her lap and scanning it quickly.

"Wallace, I gotta go to the little girls' room and then I'm off to do some investigating. Call you later?"

"Yeah, talk to ya later, V."

---x---

Later that day

"Meg!" Lizzie skidded to a stop just outside her sister's door.

Meg looked up in annoyance. "What is it, Lizzie? I'm not feeling well."

"Just come downstairs. There's something on the news you should see," Lizzie ordered.

Meg sighed but obeyed. She could tell something was wrong. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she followed the sound of the television to the living room. "What's so important?"

"Shh, just watch!"

Meg flopped onto the couch and glanced at the TV. Her eyes grew wide and she sat forward. The headline read "Neptune High Teen Commits Suicide."

The news anchor looked grim as he said, "Now, if you're just tuning in, we recently learned the identity the Neptune High student that died when her car went over a cliff earlier this afternoon." Veronica's yearbook picture appeared on the screen. Meg cried out and her hand flew to her mouth.

The news anchor continued, "Police have identified the driver as Veronica Mars, daughter of former Balboa County Sheriff Keith Mars who is known for solving the murder of Lilly Kane, daughter of streaming video pioneer Jake Kane.

Meg heard her sister calling her name, but it sounded distant and unreal. Her vision grew blurry and she slumped back against the couch. The last thing she heard was Lizzie yelling, "Grace, go get Mom."

---x---

Meg's eyes fluttered open and she blinked to clear her vision. Duncan's concerned face hovered above her. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," he whispered back. "How're you feeling?"

Her hand instinctively reached up and touched her growing stomach. "I'm okay. Is the baby all right?"

Duncan smiled. "She's perfect."

Meg tried to smile but couldn't. Something was wrong. It came back in a flash that tore her heart in half. Veronica was dead. "Duncan, have you…did you see…?"

Duncan nodded, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "I saw it on the news."

"It just can't be true," she said softly, remembering her friend. Veronica was a fighter. She had been through too much to give up now. There was no way Veronica killed herself and she told Duncan as much.

"I know," he said. "It's hard to believe she would do this, but you never know. Maybe she just got tired of fighting. Maybe it all got to be too much."

"Duncan, that's a load of crap and you know it!" Meg yelled. "I'm going to find out what really happened to her, whether you want to help me or not."

"Meg, no. Veronica killed herself. There is nothing we can do for her. And I won't allow you to put our baby in danger just to prove some crazy theory."

"Get out," she told him firmly.

"Meg…"

"I said get out!" she screamed.

Duncan threw up his hands and backed out of the room, leaving Meg to speculate on how to go about solving the murder of Veronica Mars.

---x---

Six months later, Meg told Duncan that she intended to solve Veronica's murder and there was nothing he could do to stop her, now that their daughter, Lillian Faith, had been born. Duncan had protested, of course, claiming that she was crazy. But that didn't deter Meg from her mission. It consumed her, kept her steady during the painful months following Veronica's death. On the surface, everyone accepted the suicide explanation, but how many of those who believed it actually knew Veronica Mars? So Meg had spent the last few weeks sounding out those who had known Veronica and found most of them didn't buy the police's suicide ruling. Wallace Fennel, obviously. Mac Mackenzie and Logan Echolls, Cassidy and, surprisingly enough, Dick Casablancas. She suspected that many more, Duncan included, felt the same way but for one reason or another wouldn't admit it. Maybe it was fear of Veronica's murderer, or, as in Duncan's case, denial. Before her friendship with Veronica had fallen apart, Meg had often asked about Veronica's cases and how she solved them. Veronica had been more than happy to explain some of the more common methods of investigation, especially during those awkward times when Duncan accompanied Meg. Unfortunately, none of those would help her get her investigation going. For all her fervor and determination, she had no clue what to do.

She needed help. Duncan was obviously out of the question. He wouldn't have been much help, anyway, being just as clueless as herself about Veronica's P.I. life. There was no way she could go to Keith Mars. Veronica's death had devastated him. It was the last straw. Two months after she died, he finally gave up and left town. There was one person that she knew Veronica relied on more than anyone, including her father.

"Wallace, hi."

Wallace looked up and Meg's breath caught in her chest. His heartbreak and utter despair was reflected in his deep brown eyes. "Hey, Meg," he answered despondently.

"Can I sit down?" she asked tentatively.

He nodded, staring back down at his pudding cup. For whatever reason, the packaged dessert seemed to depress him.

"She didn't kill herself," he said softly after several awkwardly silent minutes. "You know she didn't."

Meg nodded. "I do know that. I'm going to find out what really happened."

That got Wallace attention away from his pudding cup.

"I waited until the baby was born." She glanced across the quad at the 09'er table. "Duncan thinks I'm insane," she said with a humorless laugh.

A warm hand closed over her own. Meg looked back at Wallace and was both surprised and comforted to see a shadow of that trademark grin upon his face. "Join the club," he said softly. He surveyed her, realizing her resolve. "You're serious about this."

Meg nodded.

Logan took a seat next to Wallace. "Hey, Meg. Would you mind giving Wallace and me a minute? I need to talk to him about something."

"Meg's with us now, Logan."

Logan looked slightly taken aback, but not completely surprised, for whatever reason. He recovered quickly and studied Meg for a moment. "You sure you can handle it?"

"I gave birth to a nine pound baby. I can handle this."

Logan nodded. "Okay, then. Meet us after school. We've got a lot of work to do."