DISCLAIMER: Characters of Veronica Mars, the canon events of their storylines, and recognizable dialogue belong to Rob Thomas.
A/N:
Make sure you haven't missed anything posted recently:
* this chapter was posted on 5 June 2018 ... the SAME DAY as Chapter 12
* Chapter 10 was posted on 2 June 2018
[CH 10 = weekend at B&B]
* Chapter 9 was posted on 4 May 2018
[CH 9 = Homecoming dance]
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If you haven't read those chapters, click back to them before continuing to read below.
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When I decided to continue Stall as a series, I spent a significant amount of time considering what parts of canon I wanted to keep, what events I desperately wanted to change, and what I was neutral about.
As I outlined this series a year ago, I realized that in order for later plot points to fall into place, some things would still have to occur. As much as it pains me, Felix's death is one of those things. I did figure out a way to delay it for a while, but (for this fic, at least) it was unavoidable.
One of my "back burner" projects: working on a story idea where Felix not only survives, but has a long, full life. He deserves a happier ending than he got on the show.
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Portions of Chapter 10 and 11 happen "off screen" on purpose. The "missing scenes" will be revealed soon.
Chapter 11
By the time I got in my car and he got on his bike, we had talked things through – although more quickly than I would have liked – and he had called Letty to get an update. There had been complications and they had to open Felix up again. They weren't sure how long the surgery would take. And we weren't sure what we would find when we got there.
The hour drive back to Neptune seemed much longer than it actually was.
Not surprisingly, when I pulled into the hospital parking lot, his motorcycle was already there. I texted him to let him know I had arrived, but I didn't expect a reply.
It took me a few minutes to find out which waiting room everyone had gathered in. From down the hallway, I could see Letty sitting with Felix's mom, holding her as she wept. Then, I noticed the doctor who had just turned to walk away from them. Whatever news he had just delivered was not good. I just wasn't sure how bad it was.
Cautiously, I approached the group. Letty made eye contact with me. As she shook her head, her sad eyes told me what I had feared.
Felix had not made it through surgery.
I could see that the PCHers were in the midst of a serious discussion. I didn't want to interrupt, but I did want him to know I was there.
Moving toward him, I waited for a pause in their conversation before stepping close enough to talk. "Is there anything you need me to do?"
They all just stared at me, waiting for Weevil to respond.
His eyes were more angry than sad, though I knew there was grief underneath, fueling the anger. "What could you possibly do?"
Shaking my head, I said, "I don't know. But if you need … information about the investigation … or anything … anyway, I can try to find out for you."
"No need to investigate."
Dozens of eyes studied me as I asked cautiously, "What does that mean?"
He stepped toward me. In fact, he got right in my face. "It means: go home. We'll take care of this."
Lowering my voice, I said, "Tell me you don't mean that you intend to … please, don't ..."
Then, he turned his back on me, rejoining the group. "Go home, Veronica," he barked.
Several people in the waiting room flinched, including Letty.
Part of me wasn't sure what to do. The other part of me decided to walk toward Letty and to express my condolences to Felix's mother.
As I turned to leave, he briefly made eye contact with me. But he said nothing. He just let me walk out alone.
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After I left the hospital on Sunday, I didn't hear from Eli. When I woke up Monday, still no texts, phone calls, or voicemails. It concerned me for a couple reasons, but I knew I needed to give him some space right now.
Not only was he dealing with his own reaction to Felix's death, but also the others' desire for retaliation against Logan. Since Letty was helping Felix's mom with funeral arrangements, he wouldn't get a break from it, even at home.
When I got to school in the morning, he wasn't there yet. I was anxious to see him – partly because I needed to know he was okay, but also I needed to know that we were okay. Waking up next to him on Sunday morning – after the tectonic shift in our relationship Saturday night – was amazing, but our idyllic weekend had come to an abrupt end. After his harsh words and lack of communication, I needed reassurance. I needed to see him, to touch him. To have him touch me.
It was a long morning. I didn't see him until lunch.
I had just gotten to my usual table and was about to sit down. He walked over to me and wordlessly put one finger under my chin. My whole body responded to his touch; my entire nervous system lit up. In an instant, memories from the weekend floated up. With that subtle contact, he had gotten past my usual social armor and made me vulnerable. As he kissed me, I was aware that people were watching. Part of me didn't care. Another part of me didn't want a private moment being seen in public.
The tender, intimate time that we had shared this weekend had suddenly turned into a deadly serious situation. I wanted to go back to Saturday night when we were in the midst of bliss and Felix was still alive. But – having lived our lives in Neptune – we should not have been surprised that our bliss was short-lived.
When he broke off the kiss, I just stood there – staring at him, waiting for him to speak. But he didn't.
Finally, I said, "I have some pictures for Felix's mom. Could you take them to her?"
I could tell by his expression that he didn't want to play delivery boy this week.
Shaking my head, I said, "Never mind. I can take them to the house today after school."
His head tilted slightly and his eyes narrowed. "No. You don't need to do that. Give them to me."
He took the envelope, opened it and looked at the images I had chosen to print. Pressing his lips together, he nodded as he flipped through them.
Then, he turned to go back to his table.
His silence was unsettling – in large part because I didn't expect that we would see each other much this week. He had business to attend to. Between school, my work schedule, and my continuing need for rest, that didn't leave much time for anything else in my schedule. I wasn't sure how long it would be until we could have a real conversation about what was happening.
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When Logan returned to school on Wednesday, he kept following me around, trying to talk me. I kept avoiding him. Well, as much as I possibly could.
Finally, he managed to get me alone in the bathroom, by waiting for me and shooing away the other girls. He blocked the door until I would hear him out.
He wanted my help – "a favor for an old friend," he said – because he was being charged with Felix's murder.
"You have to believe me, Veronica. I didn't kill him."
"Even if I believe you, that doesn't mean I'm going to help you."
"Why? Because your boyfriend wouldn't like it? Maybe you need a new boyfriend."
When he finally allowed me to exit the restroom, I saw the PCHers watching from down the hall.
Reaching into my locker to get the books I needed for my next class, I felt breath on the back of my neck as hands grabbed my hips.
"Care to tell me what you and Echolls were doing in the bathroom?"
"Nothing. He wanted to talk. I tried avoiding him, but he cornered me."
"Try harder next time."
The low rumble of Eli's voice sent shivers through me and made my knees weak. The effect he had on me would be obvious to anyone watching us.
Just as I turned to face him, he stepped away from me and continued down the hall.
Logan had been watching our interaction. So had the PCHers.
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Duncan dropped by my lunch table to give me some info to pass on to my dad. At the moment, top priority was getting Grace and Lizzie away from their parents, but they were also working on a way to get Duncan up to visit Meg. Eventually, he intended to move up to Seattle to be with her and the baby.
His parents had gone through the roof when they found out that he had gotten Meg pregnant. He did not tell them that he had helped her disappear or even that he knew where she was. The Kanes thought that she had contacted him by email after she left, keeping him updated on the pregnancy.
For the minutes Duncan was sitting next to me, Logan and Weevil were both watching like hawks.
After Duncan went back to his table, Wallace commented that the PCHers seemed awfully interested in the company I kept. I glanced over to see that Thumper was saying something to Weevil. It looked to me like he was taking every opportunity to stir up jealousy.
Mac joined us near the end of lunch. "Mr. Pope let me know that Weevil dropped out of FBLA. Not that he needed to. Weevil told me himself. Anyway, I could use a new business partner, if you're ready to come back to FBLA. Did you talk to your dad about the P.I. license?"
"I did. Once. Didn't go as well as I would have liked. I'll try again soon. But that doesn't mean we can't start putting things together."
A devious smile spread across Mac's face. "Good. Because I kept the 'Get the Dirt' domain name I bought last year. And I've been working on the website. As soon as you have your credentials, we can go live."
"In the meantime, we use this 'fake business' as our FBLA project?"
"Yes, ma'am."
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Friday morning, I went to school to drop off an assignment before going to Felix's funeral. I got to St. Mary's Church early in case there was anything I could do to help. Letty was trying to handle things so that Felix's mom didn't have to deal with it all. She seemed to appreciate my assistance.
One of the things she had me do was arrange photos near the guestbook in the entry. Eli had delivered the photos I'd printed. His mom had decided to use a few of mine along with several others.
It was obvious that many people didn't want me there. With my pale skin and blonde hair, I was the minority in this situation. But he had been my friend, too. I hadn't known him as long as they had, but he and I had gotten close since last spring. I loved him. I was grieving too. And I had a right to be there, even if they didn't think I did.
I made Snickerdoodles to give to his mom. She smiled and said it would have meant so much to him that I did that. As she gave me a hug, she thanked me for the photos.
After I said a quick goodbye to Eli, I went back to school for the afternoon before going to work.
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When I finished work that evening, I walked out to the parking lot to find Logan next to my car. Even at a distance, I could tell he was drunk. I had been around him enough over the years that I could read him pretty well – drunk or sober.
"I'm in a hurry to get home, Logan. No time to grant favors."
"How about we spend some time together, Ronnie? Come on … for old time's sake. Get to know each other again."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not? Will your boyfriend get jealous? I hear he's not too happy about the amount of time you spend with Wallace. How much would he hate it if you started hanging out with me?"
"I wouldn't be able to measure it with existing technology."
As he continued to talk, his words slurred. "What does he have that I don't? First, Lilly. Now, you." He grabbed my arms and pinned me to the side of my car. "You never really gave me a chance, Veronica."
I tried to get my arm free so I could reach for my taser, but his grip was stronger than I expected. He leaned in to kiss me. As I turned my head away from his lips, he shifted just enough that I had room to lift my leg and knee him in the groin. While he was doubled over in pain, I took out my taser.
Leaving him crumpled on the ground, I got into my car and locked the door. As I started up the engine, I saw something move in my peripheral vision. There was someone standing in the shadows nearby. Judging by the height and the stance … if I had to guess, I'd say it was Thumper.
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The following day was a long one. When I had first gone back to work, I was only working one evening a week. Then, that had increased to two evenings. This was the first week that I was scheduled for a full eight hours on a Saturday. It would have been exhausting enough, but I had also worked Friday evening.
No matter how I tried to hide it from my dad, he knew that I was tired most of the time – my doctor would have used the word "fatigue." After using my brain at school, it was difficult to be around the constant stimulation at work – the variety of sounds and too many people. Not to mention trying to do tasks that should have been easy, but were still difficult for me. The doctor kept telling me that it was not uncommon for some symptoms to linger. Guess that's why they call it post-concussion syndrome.
When my brain was tired and I became overwhelmed by stimuli, the next step was usually for me to become frustrated. Mostly with myself. However, sometimes another person got caught in the crossfire. If, for example, someone wanted me to do a task faster – when I was having trouble doing it at all – I would get upset and have difficulty biting my tongue. I managed to not yell at customers, but my coworkers weren't always so lucky.
Sometimes, my dad was on the receiving end. I'm not sure that he completely understood how difficult it was for me dealing with the brain injury, but he did get that my symptoms – on top of the trauma of the bus crash, the survivor's guilt I felt, and the grief over losing yet another friend – were enough to cause a nun to have angry outbursts at the end of a long day.
This had been one of those days. By the time I walked out to my car after my Saturday shift, I just wanted to get home to our quiet apartment where cozy PJs and my favorite blanket awaited me.
Glancing around, I saw that Logan wasn't waiting for me tonight. For that, I was thankful. However, I did have a welcoming committee.
The PCH Bike Club had my car surrounded. Looked like I'd be having a little chat with the guys before I could pull out of my parking space to go home.
My keys were in my hand as I approached my car. "Good evening, fellas." I glanced at Eli, who was leaning against his bike.
He took a few steps toward me. "We need to get something straightened out." He was clearly upset and was speaking loudly enough for all to them to hear him.
"It's been a long couple of days … I guess I still need extra rest. Can we talk tomorrow, Weevil? All I wanna do right now is crawl into a comfy bed."
One of the guys said, "Yeah, I bet you do."
Eli reached for Thumper's phone and played me a video of Logan kissing me the night before. "Don't you think an explanation is in order?"
Being reminded of dealing with Logan in a drunken state was not my idea of fun. "As a matter of fact, I do. You see that, right? The look of surprise and disgust on my face? You see me struggling?" I watched his face for any reaction, but there was none. "You know, there was a time if one of your guys saw something like that happening to me, they would have been over there in an instant protecting me – not adding it to their video collection."
Without responding, he crossed his arms and stared at me.
Shaking my head, I took a few steps toward my car. "You ever want to have a rational conversation that involves facts, I'll be happy to take your call."
Before I reached my car, he grabbed my arm. "I'm not through talking to you, woman."
"Woman?! What's up with you tonight?"
"There was a time you understood that there are things I don't tolerate. Like any girl of mine spending more time with another guy than she does with me. But three guys?"
"Three?! You're talking about Wallace, Duncan, and who? Logan?"
"Even when I'm not around, my boys keep me informed of your … activities. Seems that at least one of them is always around. But flaunting Echolls in my face? That crosses the line."
"I told you he keeps coming up and talking to me. I have no control over him. And last night? He was drunk. If you'd have returned my call last night, I would have told you what he said."
"Me vale madres lo que dijo." He spat the words at me and then leaned in as he asked, "How long have you been seeing Echolls behind my back?"
"I'm not … I told you he was drunk. It should be obvious from the video that I did not want him to kiss me."
"No me mientas. Are we watching the same video?"
A few of the guys did a bad job of stifling their laughter. And I did a bad job of controlling my emotions.
Tears threatened to stream from my eyes as I replied, "Yes, but what it doesn't show is him falling to the ground after I kneed him in the nuts and tasered his ass."
"You're right. It doesn't show that."
Yelling and crying at the same time, words flew out of my mouth. "Is there any answer that would satisfy you? Are you planning to beat it out of me? Get me to admit whatever the hell it is you think I did? Think maybe I'll crack if you apply duress?" I had slipped my hand down into my bag. He didn't even flinch when I pulled out my taser, offering it to him. "Here. Use this if you like." Finally, I put the taser in his hand. "My answer will be the same. I didn't kiss Logan. And I'm not seeing anyone else."
For a long minute, we stood there in a tense standoff.
My heart was still racing, but my breathing had steadied and my tears had slowed down. Looking into his eyes, I said, "What do you want from me?"
"Nothing. Ya no quiero nada de ti."
"I'm not sure why you'd believe any of that about me. But I have enough going on right now. I don't need boyfriend drama too." I shrugged. "Believe me … don't believe me. After the day I've had, I'm done here." I reached toward the car door to put my key in the lock.
"Then, I guess we're done."
I turned to face him. He narrowed his eyes and glared at me as he dropped the taser into my bag.
A/N:
I'm guessing that most of you were screaming "WTF?!" at the screen while you were reading parts of Chapter 10 and 11. As I said, the "missing scenes" will be revealed soon. Chapter 12 (also posted today) will answer some questions.
I've been dreading the day this chapter would get posted. I can't begin to tell you how much I cringed when I saw that last scene play out in my head a year ago. It was so painful to write out that argument.
Please, hang in there with me. I know that Part 2 has some rough moments – some of the roughest in this series – but there are also some wonderful moments. Like Eli at her bedside in the hospital or their night at the B&B. There are more of those to come. I am a romantic through and through – and I believe that their happy ending in Part 5 will be all the more gratifying because of what they endure along the road they travel to get there. A different version of what Logan described as: "Spanning years and continents. Ruined lives. Bloodshed. Epic."
BTW … I borrowed the phrase "able to measure it with existing technology" from the 1987 John Hughes classic Some Kind of Wonderful.
Thanks so much for reading! Until next time …
~Jen
5 June 2018
me vale madres lo que dijo = I don't give a f*** what he said
no me mientas = don't lie to me
ya no quiero nada de ti = I don't want anything from you anymore