Logan called, of course, just like Veronica had known he would. Called and texted and left messages, all of them like arrows through her heart. Only the tightly-held conviction that she'd done the right thing kept her from drowning in pain and regret. Only the knowledge that the hurt she was suffering now was less than the misery that would have eventually been her lot had she and Logan gotten involved again.

She tried to focus on her normal routine and just… tough it out. But somehow, that was harder this time. Eventually, she realized that every other time they'd parted, it had been with some degree of anger, or disappointment, or resentment. Something she could hold onto, hug to herself, use to cushion the pain.

But not this time. This time, Veronica could claim no anger or disappointment.

In fact, for a while there, when she'd learned he was living in Neptune, she'd had the crazy notion that maybe the two of them could be… friendly exes. See each other occasionally for coffee, chat on the phone. But they hadn't lasted twenty-four hours before they were tearing each other's clothes off. So that had turned out to be just another impossible fantasy.

No, there was nothing she could reproach Logan with, except for reminding her that she was still in love with him. This time, Veronica had gone directly from bliss to heartache, so when he sent text after text asking what he'd done wrong, she had nothing to say.

After a while he gave up, and she'd known that would happen, too. His final message was a text sent a week after the wedding that said: I don't know why you're doing this Veronica but I do understand it's a waste of time trying change your mind.

Veronica had avoided Mac, too, after a quick text to reassure her that everything had gone smoothly on Moa Moa, and that her and Dick's marriage-of-tax-reduction was a go. Mac might have guessed that something else happened on the island, and she was probably clever enough to figure out what that was. But she was also too good a friend to press Veronica on it.

So when Mac left her a message in early February saying she needed to speak with her urgently, Veronica figured it must be important and called her right back.

"Hey, Mac, what's the matter? Sick of married life already?"

"Uh, not exactly, V."

The tension in Mac's voice was evident from even those few words, so Veronica rolled back on the quips.

"So… what is it then?"

"Um, I don't think I'm really the one who's best-qualified to explain."

"Okay, now you're just scaring me. You're not… sick or anything…"

"No, no, nothing like that… but… uh… do you think you could stop by Cliff McCormack's office about three tomorrow afternoon?"

Now here was a puzzle.

"Cliff? What's he got to do with it?"

"Honestly, Veronica, I'd rather you just talk to Cliff. That would… be best."

"And it's important."

"Yeah, it… really, really is."

Veronica waited for some further explanation, but none was forthcoming.

"Okay, Mac. Tell Cliff I'll see him tomorrow at three."

Mac's sigh of relief was audible.

"Thanks, V. And, uh, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for wha…"

But Mac had already hung up.

Business at Mars Investigations had been brisk lately, and Veronica had to shuffle some of her work around the next day to even make it to her appointment with Cliff. So she was running a little late by the time she took the stairs to his second-floor office in a somewhat tired-looking downtown building.

Her mind was on a planned stakeout later that night, so just at first Veronica didn't notice the figure ahead of her on the stairway. Not until they were right outside Cliff's office.

When she saw who it was, her heart began to pound.

"What… what are you doing here, Logan?" Her voice sounded faint in her ears.

He looked down at her, a medley of emotions chasing each other across his handsome face.

"I was just about to ask you the same question," he finally said, his voice tight.

She frowned. "So… you didn't set this up?"

Logan sighed. "I think you could give me a little more credit than that, Veronica."

"Okay. Then… what is this?"

He shrugged and knocked on the office door. "I think maybe we should find out."

"Enter." Cliff's smooth baritone was, as always, unmistakable.

They opened the door to find him seated at his desk, and he looked surprised when he saw them.

"Ah! You came together?"

Veronica opened her mouth to reply but Logan got there first.

"No," he shook his head. "We ran into each other just outside your door."

"I see. Well, no matter."

"Cliff, what the hell is going on?" Veronica had had enough with the mystery. It was getting a little old. And with her nerves frazzled by Logan's unexpected appearance, she just wanted to get whatever this was the hell over with.

Cliff waved to the two chairs across the desk from him. "If you'd care to sit, I'll explain."

She and Logan barely looked at each other as they slid into the chairs.

Cliff rested his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers beneath his chin.

"So… I believe you both traveled to Moa Moa a couple of months ago to act as marriage proxies for Mac Mackenzie and Dick Casablancas."

They nodded. That was hardly news.

"That's right," Logan said. "They decided to get married for some kind of… business reason, and we… we both… wanted to help them out."

"Which we did," Veronica added. This was getting them nowhere.

Cliff frowned. "Ah, but therein lies the problem. As it turns out, Mac and Dick are not actually married."

"But that's… impossible." Veronica was first out of the gate this time. "We did everything we were supposed to do, signed all the papers, went through with the… the ceremony…"

"Yes," Cliff agreed. "Nevertheless, when I was gathering the paperwork to file their business taxes, I requested the records from Moa Moa. Only to find that Mac and Dick aren't married after all."

"But…" She and Logan glanced at each other with puzzled frowns.

Cliff sighed, moving his hands to clutch at the edge of his desk.

"But you see, the bigger problem isn't that Mac and Dick aren't married. The bigger problem is that… the two of you are."

Veronica gaped at Cliff, certain she must have misheard him.

"What did you say?" Logan asked quietly.

Cliff gave them a sympathetic look. "I know it's… unexpected, but according to the island records office, it was Veronica Mars and Logan Echolls who got married last December. Naturally, I checked into the whole situation — even spoke to your officiant — and it appears the problem was that there were two proxies, and only one is allowed."

"But I asked the guy about that very specifically. And he said it wasn't a problem."

Logan was quietly adamant, and Veronica couldn't help being surprised at how calmly he was dealing with this.

"Well, it turned it he was wrong. So when the marriage certificate was eventually filed with the proper government office, the participants reverted back to the people who were actually there, the ones who took the vows and signed the documents. In other words… you."

Veronica was still trying to wrap her head around this, but Logan had another question for Cliff.

"And this marriage… it's legal? Here in the States?"

"Most definitely."

Veronica took a deep breath and asked the question that seemed to her the most pertinent.

"Okay, so what do we do about this? How do we get out of it? It was a mistake, so there must be a way to dissolve it. A divorce? Or maybe even… an annulment? Give me something here, Cliff."

Cliff nodded. "I anticipated you might want that information so I looked into it. And under the circumstances, they'd be very sympathetic to an annulment. But about some things…well… they're a little old-fashioned. So you can have the marriage annulled so long as it was never… ah… consummated. Post-ceremony, that is. If you can both swear to that…"

Veronica could feel the heat crawling up her neck, feel her face flushing. She ventured a look at Logan out of the corner of her eye, but he'd turned his head and she couldn't quite see his face.

Neither said anything.

"I… see," Cliff said, his face impassive. "Well, you'll be happy to know that their divorce laws are fairly simple. The only stipulation is that the parties must have been married for at least six months. They apparently aren't interested in becoming the haven for, ah, quickie marriages followed by even quicker divorces."

Veronica's head snapped up. "Six months? We have to stay married for six months before we can do anything about this?"

"I'm afraid so, Veronica. But I'm sure the time will pass quickly…"

Veronica stared at him blankly, and suddenly found it impossible to sit there and calmly contemplate spending the next five months knowing she was legally bound by an accidental marriage to a man she was desperately in love with.

She leaped to her feet. "I just… I need to think about all of this."

And before the others could react, she was across the room, out the door, and racing down the stairs.

Only seconds later, she heard Logan pounding after her, his longer legs finally catching up with her in the parking lot just as she was opening the door to her car.

"Veronica." He tugged at her arm, forcing her to stop, to turn and face him. "This doesn't have to be a problem if you don't want it to be. I'd be willing to sign an affidavit… or whatever… that the marriage was never consummated, and then we can get the annulment." He heaved a sigh. "If that's what you really want."

She stared up at him for a moment, then finally shook her head.

"It would be perjury, Logan. And while I haven't been practicing lately, I'm still a member of the California Bar, and I'd rather not be disbarred."

He gazed at her, his expression unreadable. "And that's the only reason?"

"Of course," she said with more conviction than she felt. Was it the only reason?

Veronica took a quick breath and her next words tumbled out before she could stop them.

"Maybe we should… talk about this sometime."

What the hell was she saying?

"Anytime you want, Veronica. You know that."

"Okay. Can you, uh, maybe come by my office tomorrow, around six?"

A small smile lit his face. "I think I can do that." He cleared his throat and fidgeted with his hands. "Uh, could we maybe… get some food at Mama Leone's while we talk? I mean, I wouldn't want you to go hungry."

She could see his Adam's Apple bobbing up and down as he waited for her answer.

She should say no. She should definitely say no.

"I suppose… as long as I can have the lasagna."

Logan's smile grew. "Lasagna it is. I'll see you tomorrow night."

And then he was off with a quick nod, heading towards a dark-blue Beemer parked on the other side of the lot.

Veronica slid behind the wheel, her hands suddenly shaking.

What the fuck had she just done?

Something really stupid, she told herself, as she finally put the car in gear and drove out of the lot. Something she was certain to regret.

But in that case, why the hell did she feel happier than she had in weeks?

XXXXXXXXXX

At work the next day, Veronica had a hard time focusing on anything. After a while, she began to think she shouldn't have bothered to come in at all.

Her father called in the early afternoon. "You doing okay, Veronica? I haven't really seen much of you since you got back from that island. What was it called? Mama Mia?"

Veronica laughed. She could always count on Keith to boost her spirits. "Moa Moa, Dad. I'm fine, and so was the trip to the island. I was just doing Mac a favor — and I got a mini-vacation out of the deal."

"Okay, if you say so. So how about having some dinner with your old man tonight? This semi-retirement is for the birds and I could use a little company."

She frowned into the phone and considered how much to tell him.

"Can't tonight, Dad. I've got a… a business dinner. How about tomorrow night? We can go to The Steak Loft. My treat."

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"You sure you're all right? You sound a little… off?"

Damn the instincts that made her father such a great detective.

"I'm fine, really. Look, I gotta go, Dad. I'll call tomorrow to let you know what time I'll be by to pick you up."

She hung up then before he could probe any further.

By late afternoon, Veronica had given up on any semblance of working, and changed into the clothes she'd brought in to wear for her non-date dinner with her faux/real husband. She'd had a hard time deciding what was appropriate, finally settling on dark jeans and a lacy white top. And then hedged her bets by throwing a black blazer over the whole thing.

By five-thirty, she was too fidgety to sit still, and was relieved when Logan showed up fifteen minutes early.

"Sorry for being so early," he said, as soon as he opened the door to her office. "But I, uh, I couldn't…" His voice trailed off as if that sentence had no possible ending.

Veronica smiled and got up to shut off the lights.

"No problem. I'm ready to go."

It felt strange to once again find herself tucked into the passenger side of Logan's car… and yet not strange at all.

"I like this one better than the SUV you used to have," she offered, snapping in the seat belt.

He shrugged as he started the car and pulled out of the lot. "With some things, like cars, my tastes have changed over the years. With other… things, not so much."

It was early, and the restaurant wasn't crowded, so they were able to get a quiet corner booth in the back.

"So, Veronica…" Logan began to speak as soon as they'd given their order and settled in with a couple of glasses of wine.

"You gonna explain about the mystery now?" she interrupted quickly, convincing herself she wasn't just putting off any discussion of their current situation

He looked at her in confusion. "Mystery?"

"Yeah. I seem to remember you saying that once we got back to Neptune, if I still wanted to hear about your mystery projects, you'd explain."

"Oh, that." Logan gave a little laugh. "It's not really much of a mystery. Pretty sure you're going to be severely disappointed…"

She cocked a brow at him. "I think I'll decide for myself."

"Okay. Well, I've, uh, been working with the city to help provide some needed…services."

"With… Neptune? What kind of services?" This wasn't at all what Veronica had expected.

"Yes, for people who have nowhere to go, and might need a little help. Women. And… children."

She stared at him for a moment before it suddenly clicked into place.

"You've opened a shelter. For battered women… and kids."

"The city's opened one. I'm just on the board. A sponsor…"

"You mean you're funding it." She was suddenly so certain that she didn't even phrase it as a question.

Logan frowned. "You asked me… on the island, you wanted to know… what I'd been doing lately, and this place takes up a lot of my time. But I'm not the only one contributing…"

"Logan, why are you downplaying your role in this? I think it's great. And considering… everything… it makes sense that you'd chose to get involved."

Logan peered at her over the rim of his wineglass before draining it and placing it back on the table.

"It's taken me a lot of years… and a ton of therapy… to figure out a way to be a useful member of society." He huffed a laugh. "Because I wasn't exactly brought up to think that should be a life goal, right? So at first I thought… join the Navy, fly the jets, protect the country, do something worthwhile for once in your life. And for a while it was great. You know that."

She nodded, recalling all the ways the Navy had helped Logan.

He shrugged and kept going. "I made friends, got to feeling better about myself. But after a while, it all began to seem a little… unreal, and I realized I wanted a different life, a quieter life. That's why I didn't re-up this last time. I thought eight years was enough. But still, I didn't want my life to just be all about me, either. You know?"

Veronica didn't have much time to respond because their dinners arrived just then, but she felt like she knew exactly what he meant. She could've continued to climb the corporate law ladder back in San Diego, but instead she'd taken over at MI after her father had his heart attack. And she'd never once regretted it.

"I understand," she said softly, just before she dug into her lasagna,

Somehow, as they ate, the subject of their marriage never seemed to come up. Veronica told herself she didn't want to talk about something so private in such a public place, anyway. But the truth was, she wasn't sure what she wanted to say.

But now they were back in Logan's car, about to head to her office, and it felt like the clock was ticking.

She cleared her throat and plunged in.

"Before we go, I guess maybe we should discuss this… accidentally married thing. I mean, that's why we're here, right?"

"Okay," he nodded. "I'm listening."

"No, no," she insisted, "you go first."

Logan stared at her for a moment and then his lips tugged up into a wry smile.

"Okay. Well, then, I propose we do nothing at all."

"You mean… just let the next five months run out and then file for divorce?"

"No, I mean we do nothing at all."

"As in…?"

"As in… we stay married." He took a deep breath. "And we make it a real marriage."

The air suddenly felt thick as Veronica's heart began to hammer.

"Logan…" She sighed. "How many times have we tried since we were in high school?"

"None of that really matters now. I thought maybe I'd gotten over you, but all it took was one look back at that airport, and I knew I'd been kidding myself."

Veronica closed her eyes against the expression on his face, tried to protect herself from how his words were making her feel.

"But those feelings… they've never seemed to be enough."

"Dammit, Veronica! That's because it was never the right time. Christ! When I was 17, I was too young and too stupid to understand how I should treat you. But," he swallowed thickly, as though screwing up his courage, "you had your own issues back then, too. We were two kids with big problems, both of us with too many jagged edges to ever fit together. So we kept hurting each other. And then later, when we started learning to deal with those problems, it was all about the timing. Law school for you, the Navy for me. Long separations that we had trouble coping with…"

"You mean that I had trouble coping with." She heard the bitterness in her voice, much as she tried to conceal it.

"That's not what I said, and it's not what I meant. It was me, too. I'd be gone for six months, or nine months, and when I came back, I'd expect you to be in exactly the same place you were when I left. But of course you never were. You'd moved on a little. Everyone does. But somehow that little bit was enough put us out of sync, and I stupidly resented that. So it definitely wasn't just you."

He sighed with the effort of getting it out.

"The thing is… I love you, Veronica. That's a truth that will never go away. Thirteen years and however many breakups later, I love you more than ever. And… I think you love me, too. And now, finally,it seems like we're both in a good place, in the right place to be able to make it work. So this… craziness of finding out we accidentally got married? For me, that was just a sign from the fates that we're getting another chance, and that we need to grab onto that chance with both hands. Because this time we can make it."

He stopped suddenly, and took a shuddering breath, and Veronica knew the long emotional speech must have been difficult for him.

She knew she should say something, that Logan was waiting for some kind of response, but in that moment, she had no idea what she wanted to say.

The silence lengthened until finally Logan shifted in his seat, clicked on his seatbelt, and pressed the ignition. But instead of putting the car in gear, he turned toward her with a final plea.

"Sorry, Veronica, to just… throw everything at you like that. I know it was a lot. But can you at least promise me that you'll think about what I said?"

Veronica turned and nodded, giving him a small smile.

"I will, Logan. I promise."

Indeed, she didn't imagine she'd be able to think about much else.