Other people probably would not make cemetery visits after sunset, but Veronica Mars was not like other people. Getting out of the car carefully, so as not to damage the flowers she'd just purchased, she made her way across the well-tended grounds to the grave she'd not visited in seven years.

Lilly's funeral was the first and last time she'd stood in this spot. It had been a typically sunny California day, with clear blue skies and fluffy white clouds that somehow seemed offensive to her. Pretty, sun-drenched days were for tanning at the beach or frolicking in a pool, not for burying the best friend you'd ever had.

As she stood looking at the white marble headstone engraved with Lilly's name and the brief span of years in which she'd lived and made her mark, Veronica could still easily see that day. She'd stood with her parents on either side of her. Her father had his arm around her shoulder, as she buried her face into his coat and cried uncontrollably. Her mother simply stood, pale and teary-eyed as she looked across at Jake Kane and his family. Logan stood next to Duncan, immobile with a grief of his own. She can't recall a word of what was said during the ceremony. Everything else was a blur to her.

As she recalled that day, the grief welled up inside of her so suddenly and powerfully that it was easy to forget how many years have passed. She sat down beside the headstone, lay the three lilies on the grave, and cried. 'Twice in one day…I really am a marshmallow,' she thought, as her sobs died down. She began to speak out loud, softly, even though there is no one around to hear her.

"It's not fair that you've been doing all of the visiting for the past few years, so I thought it was time that I came to visit you. Even though I know you're not really in there. Maybe I should have come sooner. Maybe you've been right. Maybe my father is right, and Sasha is right. I thought I'd put it all behind me, but I really just tried to run away from it. I should have known better."

"What do you mean, maybe I was right? When am I ever wrong?" Lilly demanded.

Veronica smiled. "I also should have known better than to expect you to stay quiet and let me talk."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"I know you like hearing me say it, so I came to say it: You were right, Lil," Veronica went on, determined to say what she came to say. "I need to stop running. I never really let go of the idea that once I put everything behind me, life would go back to the way it was before you died. And that's just stupid. There's no going back. And I'm not sure that I would want to be that girl anymore. Who's to say that life would have turned out better in the end? The only better part would have been having you with me."

"Life was going to have to change anyway, V. No one stays 16 forever. Eventually we would have gotten older, fatter and been forced to have facelifts."

Veronica laughed. "I wouldn't have been able to afford the facelift. You'd have paid for it, so that you wouldn't be ashamed to be seen with me."

"What can I say? I look out for my friends."

"Yeah, you really do. Thanks for looking out for me, Lilly. And for this most recent bite in the ass."

"Are you saying goodbye now?"

"For now. But if I screw up royally, I'm expecting you to come back and tell me."

"Don't forget me, V."

"Don't forget me, either."

She sat alone next to the marble headstone, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Maybe here was the peace she'd been searching for. All she'd had to do to find it was come back. She kissed her fingertips, pressed them to Lilly's engraved name, and rose to her feet. Turning back towards her car, she stopped and stood still.

Standing in front of her, clutching a bouquet of large, brightly-colored tropical flowers, was the one person she hadn't quite found the courage to face. She blanched, then flushed, and then tried to find her voice. All she could manage to say was his name, and it came out in a whisper.

"Logan."