Beta credit goes to Sarah and Joey.

Chapter Two

"So... you guys like the house?" Wallace asked Veronica as he took an empty sippy cup from his toddler's chubby little hands. Noah then climbed onto his father's lap.

It was Friday night and dinner at Wallace and Shae's seemed like a perfect end to a head spinning week. Logan was on his way after a long day at a political rally where Maloof had given a speech. As they waited for him, Veronica and Wallace chatted in the living room while Shae took a call from her father in the bedroom.

"Well, it has two bedrooms, a newly renovated kitchen, and a pool," she replied, sitting down at the opposite end of the sofa. It had been only twenty-four hours since the house showing, but Veronica and Logan agreed that the ranch seemed to be a right fit for them and in a reasonable price range. They were set to make an offer.

Wallace smiled. "Two bedrooms, huh? Do I hear the pitter-patter of little feet, V?"

"Only if the pitter-patter is Pony's paws. Come to think of it, Pony could use her own room." Veronica tapped her chin with her index finger.

Her friend shook his head and laughed. "Defensive humor will only get you so far, Veronica. It's just a matter of time for you, though."

She sighed. "You seem so sure about that."

Before Wallace could respond, Noah cupped his father's cheeks and looked him straight in the eye. "Wanna more juice, Daddy."

"Okay, little dude," Wallace replied as he gently removed Noah's hands from his face. "Feels like we need to wash someone's sticky fingers too."

The little boy giggled.

"We'll be right back," Wallace told Veronica as he stood up with his son perched on his hip.

As she watched the daddy and toddler duo stroll to the kitchen, she was struck right smack dab in the heart. No, it wasn't the pitter-patter of a biological clock, but it was a maternal pull, a pull to help another little boy.

And it wasn't the first time.

She'd asked her dad several times for updates on the Ethan Anderson case. So far, Keith had made little progress. He'd gone to talk to Ethan's paternal grandparents and of course, they'd stated Donna's claim that they planned on fleeing to Russia with her son was crazy and absurd. In fact, they had said that their friends moved back to the states six months ago.

Veronica glanced down at her phone. It was only 6:35. Damn, she wanted to know what Lieutenant James Anderson had to say. He was supposed to meet her dad at Java the Hut at seven. Apparently, it was the only time the distraught father could come and talk to a PI trying to find his missing son. After all, isn't that how all distraught parents "fit in the time" for their missing child? There had to be more to that story if—.

"Where are the guys?"

Snapping out of her mental diatribe, Veronica whipped her head around as Shae came into the room.

"Sorry, did I startle you?" the other woman slightly smiled, sitting down on the sofa.

"Mind on a case," Veronica simply said and then asked Shae about her call. "How's your dad? He lives in Chicago, right?" It was three years since Shae and Wallace had said their big "I dos." Wallace had only known Shae three months before popping the question. At that time, the determined spinster in Veronica had thought that was way too fast, but the more she'd gotten to know the easygoing attorney, the less she'd objected. Not only did her best friend find a lifelong partner, but she found a good friend.

But she hadn't always been a good friend to Wallace and Shae, Veronica realized. That had become abundantly clear after the bombing and during Logan's hospitalization. With every visit and shoulder to lean on, Veronica was reminded of every time she'd treated their get-togethers like a chore to be done.

Shae nodded. "Yeah, they're having one of those freak April snowstorms and he just fell on some black ice. Of course, you know, he refuses to go get checked out even though he hit his head. I swear men can be so stubborn and bullheaded when it comes to seeing a doctor no matter their age."

"True, although not all men. Logan has become a health nut, especially since joining the Navy. It's kinda refreshing"

The doorbell jingled.

Veronica smirked. "Speaking of the devil himself." As she stood up, her phone rang in her hand. Yeah, it was her dad. Something must have happened. She looked over at Shae who was already headed toward the door.

Veronica answered the phone. "Hey, let me guess, Lieutenant Anderson's gonna be a no show."

"Nope," Keith replied, "That would be me. I'm gonna be the no show."

"What—what does that mean?" Veronica looked at the time again. "Dad, he's meeting you in ten minutes."

"I'm on my way to the Mexican border. Cliff wants me to track down a bail jumper."

"Now? Tonight?" She scoffed and then the light bulb switched on brightly in her head. "Wait, you want me to go in your place. This is your way of forcing me to take the case!"

"Honey, who are ya trying to kid?" Keith replied softly, the fatherly affection ever so evident in his voice. "We both know you're already on this case. I'm just giving you one last push. Now you only have nine minutes to get to The Hut. Chop-chop," he said before the line went dead.

"Dad?"

Shit, he hung up. There were two options, Veronica thought. She could call her father back and protest like a scared child. Or she could take action and find a missing child.

Cheerful voices drifted into the room as Veronica grabbed her purse off the coffee table. When she turned around, the corners of her mouth tugged up at the sight of Noah sitting atop Logan's shoulders. Wallace and Shae walked on either side of them.

"Logo, you funny." Noah chortled, trying to lean over the top of Logan's head to see his face

"I get that all the time," Logan said, his gaze falling on his wife, "Just ask your Auntie Veronica."

She gave a nod. "Yeah, Noah, your Uncle Logo's the Superman of Funny. He makes me giggle all day every day."

Logan smirked at her before lowering the toddler to the floor.

"How about we order Chinese now?" Shae asked the group.

"Sounds good to me." Wallace glanced at Veronica's purse over her shoulder "Going somewhere, V?".

"I'm sorry, my dad decided to take the role of bounty hunter tonight. I have to go talk to the lieutenant"

Logan lifted both his brows. "Do you need some backup and my naval expertise?"

Veronica gave a small smile. "Maybe later. I wanna first have a one-on-one chat with this guy."

"Does this mean you're fully back in the PI game?" Wallace asked with a hopeful tinge in his voice.

Without really thinking it over, Veronica replied, "Yeah, for now."

….

Veronica found the lieutenant as soon as she walked into The Hut. Even in his civilian jeans and button-down shirt, he wore the same passive expression on his face that he had in the Navy photo that was plastered all over social media and the news. His thumb drummed on the plush armrest of his chair like he wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere else, proving that he wasn't as passive as he tried to appear.

"Hey, Lieutenant Anderson? Sorry, I'm late," she said when she reached his side. "I'm Veronica Mars."

He looked up at her coolly. "I know who you are. I thought I was meeting your father."

"An emergency came up. He apologizes." Veronica took a seat in the armchair across from the lieutenant.

"Glad to hear that my son is a priority."

Well, wasn't this chat starting off just right? Veronica thought wryly. For a guy who practically had to be lassoed to come to talk about his missing child, he sure knew how to play the wronged party. "That's not what—.

"Look," Lieutenant Anderson cut her off, "The only reason I agreed to meet is to make it perfectly clear that this is a sham. My wife hired you as a distraction, to make herself look innocent."

"And you're sure she's not?"

He scoffed. "If she didn't harm Ethan, she knows exactly who did."

"Who would that be?"

"Her boy toy," Anderson bit off as if he tasted a rotten lemon. "Joey Balotelli is a criminal. All it would take a simple background check."

"What type of criminal?"

The lieutenant popped out of his seat quicker than one of those Jack-In-the-Box toys. "Does it matter? I'm not about to do your job for you, Ms. Mars. All I know is that I'm not involved in Ethan's disappearance and neither are my parents. I would appreciate if you'd leave them out of this farce of an investigation." He started to step away.

Veronica jumped out of her seat. "Wait, lieutenant, how can you be positive that Ethan was harmed?"

He stopped in his tracks and for the first time, his arrogant shell cracked. "I'm not," he simply replied before walking away.

Veronica stared after him for a long minute. She wasn't sure what puzzle the lieutenant was trying to put together, but many of the pieces just did not fit.

She followed him out the door.

Logan helped Wallace clear the table of dirty dishes and empty Chinese food containers while Shae read a second bedtime story to Noah upstairs. Logan gave the kid credit on how he used his sad puppy dog eyes and fixed pout to have his mother read two books to him before bed. "How long did it take Noah to learn how to manipulate you guys?" He asked with a grin as he took two bottles of Budweiser out of the Fennel's refrigerator.

Over the last few years, Logan had stopped thinking of Wallace as Veronica's BFF and started thinking of the guy as his own comrade. They'd grown beyond their high school and college personas that had them on opposite sides more often times than not. Now they were both just hardworking men, trying to maintain respect in the grownup world.

Wallace opened his mouth as if to argue, but then he smiled. "I think the little dude runs this household now," he said, putting the last plate in the dishwasher and closed it. "I don't know when it happened, but he's becoming a whole person with his own unique personality." He laughed, grabbing a beer from Logan. "Watch, you and Veronica will know sooner or later."

"I don't know about that, man," Logan said before taking a swig. "I don't think we're ready for the baby carriage just yet. I'm just glad to see her back doing what she does best, you know, at least for now." He wasn't an idiot: he knew Keith had to do some clever maneuvering to get Veronica to go all in on this case. All Logan cared about, though, was seeing the fiery determination that he loves so much back in her eyes.

At least it was one more positive to add to the list. The first being that they were on the verge of buying their very first house. Maybe his life wasn't one fucking gigantic curse after all. Maybe, just maybe his life with Veronica was finally on an upswing, Logan thought as he followed Wallace into the living room to watch the last five minutes of one of the final games of the season between the Lakers and the Knicks.

Logan wasn't that big of a basketball fan, but he made a friendly bet with Wallace. And of course, when money was involved everything became more thrilling. The leading score bounced back and forth between the two teams, keeping the game pumping with anxious anticipation in the final two minutes.

"No, no, no block him!" he hollered at the screen the thrill quickly fading as Lebron made a jump shot at the buzzer, giving the Lakers the win by three points.

"Yes! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Wallace chuckled. "Okay, man, pay up."

So maybe it wasn't a big upswing, Logan amended his thoughts dryly as he handed over fifty bucks.

. …..

"Poor baby, you lost fifty bucks," Veronica said in a feigned sympathetic tone as she climbed into bed later that night. "I always knew that Wallace would be a bad influence on you." She smiled and shook her head.

Logan snickered, pulling back the comforter on his side and crawled in next to her. "So tell me again how badly your meeting went with Anderson to make me feel better, heal my wounded ego?" He adjusted his pillow against the headboard and sat back.

Veronica gave a quick smirk, then turned serious. "Like I said, it wasn't necessarily bad, but it was odd. For a lieutenant in the Navy, he really wasn't acting clever in his strategy. God, I mean, he didn't even act concerned about Ethan or show hope that his child could be alive. His only objective was to point fingers. He seems too sure that Joey Balotelli's involved"

As soon as Veronica had come home, she'd done a quick background check on Balotelli. Yeah, the guy was indeed a criminal, but it wasn't as simple as Anderson probably intended it to sound. Balotelli had done time for manslaughter when he was just twenty-two. Apparently, he had a change of heart about holding up a convenient store and a gun accidently went off in the midst of an argument with his accomplice. He'd served two years, but it would appear he'd become a productive member of society as a paramedic for the past fifteen years.

Still, Balotelli needed to be checked out more thoroughly. What exactly was his relationship with Donna Anderson, Veronica wondered, and where did their relationship stand at the time of Ethan's disappearance?"

Her mind switched back to earlier that night when she'd tailed Anderson home to his apartment, which was only a couple blocks from where his estranged wife and son lived. She had an urge to stakeout and snoop, but it was so late. It would be better to go back when the lieutenant wasn't anticipating her next move. And she just knew he was anticipating her next move.

"Well, I don't have any personal experience with Anderson," Logan replied, "but I've heard that he likes to play mind games with new recruits."

"What kind of mind games?"

Logan shrugged. "Not sure, just some hazing type of things. I don't know specifics."

Her lips slowly perked up in a smile. "I don't suppose you can do some digging on the lieutenant. You did offer your naval expertise earlier."

"But I'd be risking being accused of disloyalty to my fellow officer," he argued, then his mouth turned up in a mischievous smile. "But I'll do it."

"I had no doubt," she said, leaning over closer to him and capturing her mouth with his in a soft kiss that quickly turned feverish. His arms wrapped around her back, pulling her on top of him as her tongue slipped between his teeth and—.

Her phone rang.

They pulled apart, letting out mingled sighs.

"It could be my dad." Veronica said regretfully, moving back over to her side of the bed.

"Well, that's a mood changer," Logan replied dryly.

She gave him apologetic look as she snatched her phone off the nightstand. Her eyes widened as she glanced down at the screen. "It's Wallace."

Logan sat up straighter and narrowed his eyes.

She accepted the call. "Hey Wallace, what's up?"

"Veronica, I hate to bother you this late at night," he replied in a rushed and troubled voice.

"It's okay, Wallace, just spill."

Her friend sighed. "Shae's dad collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. We're taking, uh, the next flight out to Chicago. My mom is on a business trip until Tuesday and we need someone to watch Noah. I hate, uh, to ask, but can you—?"

Veronica cut in and simply replied, "We'll be right over."

"What happened?" Logan asked when she hung up. "Where are we going?"

"We're on babysitting duty."