Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Hunter paced the room repeatedly. Rory sat the on the bed flipping through a book she found at the library.

"Can you believe them?" Hunter asked to the third time. Rory nodded absentmindedly in agreement.

"It's like they were going to have sex right then and there."

"Uh huh."

"I can tell she was uncomfortable with what they were doing."

"You mean her moans were signs of discomfort?" Rory asked amusement tinged her voice.

"Hey I thought you liked him, it doesn't bother you that they were going at it while we were sitting across from them?" Hunter glowered at her.

Rory rolled her eyes at him and put the book down, "I think they did that to get rid of us."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"No, not really." Rory shrugged.

"Why not?" Hunter asked impatiently.

"Because of the way Logan talked to me before we interrupted you two in the library."

"What did he say?"

"I just have a feeling that they are trying to say goodbye to each other, in a weird, convoluted way."

"Are you sure?" Hunter looked at her hopefully.

"We'll see won't we? Just stop being all possessive about Addy, she's not your girlfriend at the moment." Rory advised him sagely.

"Fine. He just better not try to do what he did again. Or I'll pull him off of her myself." Hunter replied crabbily.


It was one in the morning. Addy and Logan were sitting in front of the TV watching infomercials. Logan pulled her closer to him and smiled in contentment.

Jess and Veronica walked hand in hand into the room and were not at all surprised at the other couple were still awake.

"You guys still awake?" Jess smirked at the two.

Logan kissed Addy gently and moved from his position. He stalked towards the other couple and punched Jess on his arm.

"What the hell?" Jess dropped Veronica's hand and clutched his arm while frowning at Logan.

Addy got up and walked over rolling her eyes at Logan's actions.

"Dude, be thankful that I'm being considerate and did not hit that face of yours." Logan snarled.

"Again, what the hell?" Jess glowered at the other man.

"Take a chill pill Logan." Veronica put her hand gently on Jess' arm.

"He's just a little upset that you sent Rory and Hunter here unannounced." Addy answered for Logan, who was clenching and unclenching his fist.

"I tried calling you guys but you weren't picking up." Jess replied impatiently.

Addy grabbed Logan's fist and he relaxed under her touch, "Be cool Logan. Jess Logan is upset because Rory and Hunter caught us in bad time." She smiled at Jess.

"Big deal, get over it you jackass." Jess barked at Logan.

"Bad time." Addy said the words slowly.

"Oh." Understanding dawned on Veronica's face.

"And you did it on purpose." Logan looked at Jess through narrowed eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Jess rolled his eyes at him.

"I meant what I said. You did it on purpose. You wanted the two of them to walk in on us."

"It's not my fault you two were caught in a compromising situation." Jess scoffed.

"Yes it was, you called Maura and told her to let them in without telling us first."

"You did?" Addy looked at Jess in surprise.

"Fine, I just think what you two are doing is incredibly stupid." Jess admitted at Addy's stare.

"Jess Mariano. You really shouldn't have done that." Veronica chided.

"What are you talking about? You were in on it too." Jess rolled eyes at his fiancée.

"Not cool." Veronica slapped Jess' arm. Jess yelped in pain.

"You two need to focus on your impending wedding and just ignore us. Please." Addy gave them a pleading look.

"Yeah, what she said." Logan nodded in agreement.

"I should just hit you both on the head with a frying pan and be done with it." Jess put his arm around Veronica's shoulder.

"Isn't that a little too cartoony?" Veronica grinned at him.

"I ought to…" Logan was about to punch Jess again.

"Chill Logan." Addy rolled her eyes.

"I think we should leave the two of them alone to resolve their testosterone filled banter." Veronica shrugged Jess' arm off her shoulders and grabbed Addy's hand.

"I think that is an excellent idea Veronica Mars soon to be Mariano." Addy smiled at the other girl and walked out on them.


"How long do you think it'll take?" Addy asked Veronica as she took out the ice cream from the fridge.

"It won't take long. Those two like trying each other's patience. That's what makes their friendship unique." Veronica replied as she took out bowls and spoons from the cupboard.

"I hope you're right. I would rather not hear Logan going on and on about Jess. I already had to stop him from thinking of another guy a few hours ago." Addy commented as she scooped some ice cream into the bowl.

"Hunter getting on his nerves?"

"Yep."

"So…"

"So what?"

"Was it awkward?" Veronica asked tentatively.

"Boy was it ever! Logan had the smart idea of making out in front of the two to get rid of them faster." Addy blushed rosily.

"You did what?" Veronica looked aghast.

"Oh please don't make me repeat it. I'm horrified enough as it is." She dropped her spoon and covered her face with her hands.

"Addy…"

Addy removed her hands from her face and looked at Veronica.

"I'm sure it wasn't so bad."

"You weren't there. It started with mild kisses and ended with him straddling me, giving Hunter and Rory a great view of his butt."

Veronica bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"It's okay to laugh. Logan did when Hunter and Rory ran out of the room." Addy pouted.

"That Logan." Veronica shook her head in amusement. "I think you two will be okay."

"Okay?" a puzzled look crossed Addy's face.

"Jess is worried that you two will get hurt at the end of this arrangement."

"I don't think so. Logan is coming to terms and I think he even has his eyes on Rory."

"That doesn't bother you?" Veronica asked skeptically.

"No, it really doesn't. I think spending time together and then finally clearing up some of our issues helped. Seeing him kiss another girl helped in a strange way. It made me realize how hopeless we were."

"And yet you two are pretending to be a real couple and from the way Jess is acting there has been copulation."

"Blame it on a year and a half worth of pent-up sexual tension. Logan said he is flushing me out of his system."

"And he is doing that by sleeping with you?"

"I don't know, I told Jess that Logan explained it better." Addy shrugged.

"So what happens when the arrangement expires?"

"I go on my merry way and he goes on his. I definitely think that he and Rory have a future."

"But Rory is still with Hunter."

"She isn't. They broke up."

"How do you know?" Veronica was very curious to know.

"Well if they were still together they wouldn't have gone here when you told them that bowling was our complicated way of saying that you need some alone time with your significant other. Then there is the lack of touching, no PDA's on their part."

"Yeah I noticed that too." Veronica ate her ice cream thoughtfully.

"Logan and I are just tying up loose ends."

"Jess gave me the impression that you and Logan will be done once we leave for the honeymoon."

"Yeah, we have a four day deal."

"He may be coming to terms but he needs more than four days."

"I know. I actually have a contingency plan."

Veronica nodded agreeably.

"You do know that when Logan and Rory start seeing each other that you will be seeing more of her too." Addy began as she scooped more ice cream. "Don't you think it's kind of awkward that your ex and Jess' ex?"

"I haven't thought of that. But if she is going to make him happy then I have no choice." Veronica shrugged. "Besides, I can't cut Logan out of my life just because my Jess dated his would be girlfriend. As long as he's happy with her I'm okay with everything."

"I think she will. Make him happy that is." Addy nodded with such conviction.


"Nice going jackass." Jess sneered at Logan.

"You're blaming me? You're the jackass." Logan glowered at the other man.

"If you hadn't punched me, this entire thing wouldn't have happened." Jess retorted.

"If you hadn't told them they could come here then we wouldn't have been humiliated." Logan snapped back.

"Who are you kidding Echolls? You never get humiliated when you are caught in a compromising situation." Jess jeered.

"I wasn't but Addy was. She had to hide behind me while she struggled with her clothes you ass."

At his words Jess finally looked guilty.

"You know how she likes to be cool and composed; well she is anything but cool when Hunter turned on the light. He is an even bigger ass than you." Logan glared at him.

"Look I didn't think-"

"That's right you didn't. You were fighting my arrangement with Addy so hard that you forget that she wants it too."

"Look man, all I know is that you have this inane ability to hurt her. I just don't want history repeating itself." Jess stated quietly.

"You forget she hurt me too." Logan uttered in the same tone.

"So why are you still doing this?"

"Because I love her and she loves me."

"She's in love with someone else."

"I know."

"And you are okay with that?"

"I have to be." Logan crossed his arms across his chest.

"Come on you a-hole. Let's go look for them." Jess rolled his eyes at him.

"They're probably in the kitchen." Logan glared at the other man.

"Eating ice cream?" Jess shot an amused look at him.

"Most probably." Logan started for the door. He turned and smiled magnanimously at Jess, "I have a thought."

Jess eyed him suspiciously, "Did it hurt?"

"No not so much. Anyway, we can finally find out the truth." Logan grinned.

"The truth?" Jess looked at him skeptically.

"About who is the better kisser. I know Veronica said you were. But come on, man she has to say you, because you two are together and all. Let's ask Rory and she'll probably say that I am the better kisser." Logan smirked at him confidently and then he ran for the kitchen.

"Oh that's right you better run." Jess shouted to the empty room and ran after him.


FRIDAY

"Good morning." Logan greeted Rory as she entered the dining room.

"Good morning." She smiled at him as she took a seat across from him.

"Pretty late start." He commented as he looked at the clock that said it was already ten in the morning.

"Yeah, I was up reading the books from the library." She replied as she buttered her toast.

"Books huh." Logan shook his head disapprovingly. "So are you ready for today? I heard Addy had the day planned out for you women folk."

"Yeah, I guess so. I think we're going to the spa after lunch and then from there we have a bunch of other activities."

"Well make sure Veronica doesn't drink too much of the alcoholic beverages. She tends to turn blotchy when she drinks. Wouldn't want her to be less than perfect for her wedding, would we?" Logan smiled fondly.

"I'll be sure to make a mental note of that. So where's Addy?" Rory looked at the door to the kitchen expectantly.

"She is busy with last minute wedding details." Logan took a drink of his coffee. "Where's Logan2?

"He's making calls upstairs. Making sure that the business will still be there when we go back."

"Okay. Tell me when you and Hunter are ready to go back to the Mariano Manor. I'll give you two a lift." Logan stood up and looked at her expectantly.

"It's just a ten minute walk to his house. And we actually drove here in Jess' car so…"

Logan was quiet and thoughtful, "How about we go to the beach? Addy's busy, Hunter's busy; might as well show you the real Neptune, CA. So next time you'll know not to come here." Logan grinned at his last declaration.

"Okay." Rory did not have to think twice before she answered. "I'll just tell Hunter that we're going out. But we have to be back before we have to leave for the spa."

"Don't worry about it. I'll call Addy and tell her to wait for you just in case." Logan took out his phone and pressed one number. "Hey, sweetums…"

Rory smiled weakly at him and then headed back to the staircase and tell Hunter about their plan.


"What's going on dad? I have to leave for the spa in two hours." Veronica stated as she sat down on the couch, right next to Jess.

"This won't take that long, besides Jess here needs to know that your old man doesn't flake on you without a good reason." Keith replied as he set down a big silver box on the coffee table.

"Really Keith it's completely unnecessary. As long as you are here for the actual ceremony I have no comment at all." Jess responded to his almost father-in-law's goading.

"Well I still have to do this anyway." He gestured to the box and waved goodbye to them.

"Where are you going?" Veronica asked loudly before he left the room.

"I'm only the messenger. Open the box and you'll know why I had to skip some of the wedding activities." Keith nodded and then left the two alone.

"Do you think it's a bomb that's DNA activated, my DNA to be exact?" Jess asked her warily.

"Oh don't be such a wuss." Veronica replied as she got up from the couch and started opening the box. She found a DVD case without a cover. She handed it to Jess, who popped it into the DVD player.

The two sat down on the couch and waited for whatever is on the DVD to start. Veronica leaned forward in surprise as she saw Duncan Kane.

"Hi Veronica. Yeah, it is me. It's been five years since we last saw each other. I'm now only breaking my promise not to contact you." Duncan smiled at the camera. "Two months ago I found out that you were getting married. That's why Mr. Mars had to run off these last two weeks. I wanted to send you something for your nuptials. When he said that your future husband was complaining about his absence to his face I knew you found your perfect match. I just want to say congratulations."

"Lilly is four now, she's beautiful just like Lilly and Meg. I just want to thank you for helping me with my daughter. I owe you my life" he looked serious as he said this.

"So you're probably wondering why I bothered with this. I wanted to send my congratulations and I hope that you'll be happy. You deserve it Veronica and I hope that Jess, your dad said that's you fiancé's name, will make you happy for the rest of your life." Duncan nodded at his declaration.

"By the way the box has my wedding gift for you two. And I hope one day I'll be able to see firsthand that you and Jess are happy. Again congratulations and can you tell Logan thanks for the champagne and that I'm glad that he understood." Duncan saluted and then the screen became black.

"So that's Duncan Kane." Jess commented after a long silence.

Veronica looked at him thoughtfully and smiled sadly, "Yeah that's Duncan alright."

"Why the sad face?" Jess inquired softly.

"It's not fair that he has to live a life on the run because of the awful Mannings." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Come on; let's take a look at what he got us for the wedding." Jess got up and tugged at her hand.

Veronica walked over to the box with him. Once they had it completely opened it revealed a toaster.

"An heir to billions and he gives us a toaster." Jess stated wryly.

"Come on, like you would accept something extravagant from him." Veronica laughed as she saw the look on his face.

"You're probably right. We can keep it up at the attic and never talk of it ever again." Jess nodded gravely.

"Unbelievable. But you would accept anything Logan gets us." Veronica shook her head in disbelief.

"Logan for all intents and purposes is my friend. Besides even if he has millions he tends to be cheap, I think Addy said he took a look at the wedding registry and picked the cheapest one from the list." Jess smirked at her.

"Logan's not a cheapskate. He's loaning us his house in Napa for a year. Add that to the present from the wedding registry." Veronica countered.

"Fine. It's just that Logan never gave you a fortune cookie that said 'True love stories never have endings." He muttered mockingly.

"Yeah he just called us epic. Which to my recollection you never let me forget." She tilted her head at him.

"You never would have fallen for such a cheesy gesture as the fortune cookie if it came from Logan." He reminded her.

"What are you talking about? I fall for your cheesy romantic gestures all the time." She smiled at him.

"You'd better." Was his only response as he proceeded to take her breath away.


"I can't believe I'm eating ice cream at eleven in the morning." Rory shook her head in disbelief as she got out of the car.

"Who are you kidding? Jess told me that you and your mother have a bad habit of eating junk all the time." Logan grinned at her.

"Fine, but we don't usually wait for an ice cream shop to open just to buy ice cream." Rory rolled her eyes at him.

There were already at Dog Beach walking along the shore as they ate their ice cream. The sea was calm and the breeze was barely noticeable.

"That was a first for me too. I usually just bribe my way through the doors and they'd let me in. Apparently the proprietor of that particular shop never heard of me." Logan stated in mock indignation.

"His loss." Rory smiled at him.

"Oh definitely. Anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of my company is severely lacking." He puffed out his chest confidently.

"You're funny." She shook her head at him.

"You only realized this now. Now Gilmore, you have to be constantly aware of all the great aspects of my being." He reprimanded her teasingly.

"I'll keep that in mind." She responded smilingly.

"Good and I'll be aware of yours." He gave her an appraising look.

"I suddenly feel very dirty." Rory laughed.

"Feeling dirty is good sometimes." He grinned at her.

"Why Logan Echolls are you flirting with me?" she asked him as she tried to hold back her laughter.

"If you have to ask then I ain't doing it right." Logan kept grinning at her.

"Well I'm flattered." The two of them looked at each other for awhile. He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear she smiled at him.

They've been quiet for a while. "So you and Hunter have been a couple for what? Nine years?" Logan asked her, a curious look on his face.

"Eight." Rory was curt in her answer.

"And still no ring on your finger?" he asked her with a trace of amusement.

"Well we are focusing on our careers."

"Jess and Veronica are focusing on their careers but they are getting married tomorrow."

"Why the sudden interest in me and Logan?" she asked him archly.

"I'm a curious guy." He shrugged.

"You want to know the truth? We broke up. Okay? I told him about our kiss and we decided that we are not for each other." Rory blurted out in her impatience.

"You did?" Logan raised his eyebrow at her.

"Yes we did. Logan and I are no longer a couple." She replied flatly.

"And yet he is still here, when he has no obvious reason to stick around for the wedding. After all Jess isn't exactly fond of him." He looked at her critically.

"What do you want me to say? He's here because this is the first vacation he's had in years." She countered.

Logan was quiet for a bit. Then out of nowhere he pointed to the other end of the beach. He told her about the adventure that he and Veronica had with the famous Kane siblings during their homecoming dance years ago.

"Why did you take me here Logan?" Rory asked her after he recounted his memory.

"I just wanted to hang with you." He replied easily.

"You want to know why Hunter is still here." Rory looked at him tiredly.

"Yes." He answered honestly.

"It's because of Addy." She replied just as honestly.

"Do you know why?"

"Yes."

"But you're not going to tell me."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it's not my place to say anything."

Logan looked at her and then at the water.

"What does she have that makes guys like you and Logan crazy?" she asked in her exasperation.

"Look Rory, I still meant what I said last night. Addy and I we're not going to work out. But the thought of her ending up with…" Logan raked his fingers through his hair unable to complete his thought.

"Ultimately it's her decision." She responded quietly.

"Come on. Let's head back." Logan touched her elbow gently and ushered her back to his car.

It started out great.

AN: The wedding is fast approaching so I'm trying to cram in as much as I can in each chapter. Hopefully it's not too overwhelming. Anyway, I'm almost done with the story. I had hinted that Keith has been away for some of the wedding activities and it was because of Duncan. I wanted there to be a complete certainty in terms of Jess and Veronica's relationship. By incorporating Duncan into the story, there is no doubt that Jess and Veronica are in for the long haul.

To my reviewers:

tylerhiltongrupie53: Thanks for the review. I'm glad that you like the way I write Logan. I wanted to show that the Townsends were not just monetary supporters of Jess. The book as a gift seemed like the perfect way to show that simple things can mean more than anything in the world. The map thing will come up later on. Thanks again for reviewing.

MHxxPAPER DOLL: I figured might as well make their plan straightforward, otherwise LH won't be able to win Addy back. I hope you liked the Rory and Logan moment here as well. As for LH and Addy, well the answer is in this chapter. What you said actually made a lot of sense, about them being right. Thanks for the review.

LoVe23: Thanks as always for the review. I'm glad you liked last chapter, Logan is so fun to write. And your reaction to that particular line is so gratifying, I was thinking that it would sound like something that Logan would say, he always likes to play with words. Anyway, as for the LH and Addy pairing, I couldn't help myself, I want happy ending all around. Although my plan for them- well you'll see. Oh and you're making me blush with your awesome words. I just have to thank you for keeping this fic going. On another note, have you checked out the CW site. It's great, they have this awesome features, they have a director's cut of VM and Gilmore Girls. Check it out. And the lounge they have all sorts of polls and discussions about the show. But the greatest part is the new myspace for each of the characters of Veronica Mars. It has Veronica, Logan, Mac, Dick, Wallace, the new characters, Piz and Parker. Anyway, it's so cute especially Veronica's and Logan's. Thanks again for the review.