A/N : Apologies for the shortness of this chapter, there is still plenty of Logan & Veronica content! Loving receiving all your reviews :-)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 4 - Sunday Morning After

A clatter in the kitchen woke Veronica with a start. A glance at the clock told her it was nearing lunch time and she vaguely wondered why her Dad hadn't woken her for school when suddenly two thoughts occurred to her; one, it was Sunday, not a school day, and two, her best friend had almost died last night. The memories flooded back into her head with such a force she almost had to physically hold herself steady on the bed, and Veronica processed everything before her mind went back to the crash out in the kitchen that had first woken her up.

With her Mom staying with her aunt for the weekend and next week, and her Dad likely to either be still at the Sherrifs office or sleeping off a long night of work, that only left...

"Logan?" she was surprised to realise he was the person making noise, after all he'd probably slept less than she had, and she doubted he ever cooked his own meals. Seeing him as he was now, wearing her Dad's apron over his clothes, and nothing on his feet, looking guiltily at two eggs that'd smashed on floor, it was more than a little bizarre.

"Y'know they cook better in the pan than on the linoleum, right?" she checked, giving him a look.

He managed a crooked smile as he responded.

"People say that but have you ever tried it this way?" he asked her, his words dripping sarcasm, "Could be the next big thing"

"Let's try it the old fashioned way" she suggested as she came into the kitchen, getting what she needed to clean up the spill and directing Logan to where there were more eggs which he should try cooking the proper way this time.

It hadn't really occurred to Veronica as she pottered around in the kitchen with her friend, that she wasn't exactly dressed or prepared for the occasion. She was still wearing the pyjama pants and vest top she had slept in, her hair sticking out in random decorations, and nothing on her feet. Logan had noticed of course, the fact he could see more of her skin than on a normal day, and what he couldn't actually see was pretty visible from certain angles when the light shone through the fabric of the clothes she wore. She was a distraction, he realised, as he almost burnt the food he was attempting to cook. He hadn't looked at Veronica in that kind of way, not for years really. She was just Lilly's friend, Duncan's girlfriend, and whilst he liked her and was not so blind that he didn't see she was pretty hot, he took little notice of it til now. She was beyond cute in her pastel coloured nightwear and mussed up hair, and she'd been so great last night when he really needed someone...

"Morning, kids" Keith's voice from the doorway caught the attention of both Logan and Veronica, and the boy looked somewhat guiltily back at the stove when he realised Mr Mars had probably caught him scoping out his daughter in her nightwear, "Now, imagine my surprise when I came home and found Logan Echolls asleep on our couch" he continued as he came over to the counter and hugged his daughter who was pleased to see him, "Of course there are worse places I could've found him..."

"Dad!" Veronica gasped, face going redder than a tomato as Logan smirked.

Him and Veronica doing anything like that was kind of a crazy notion, though perhaps slightly less nuts this morning than it would've been a couple of days ago.

"So, whose idea was the full on breakfast?" Keith asked as he sat down on a stool by the counter, loving the smells of egg and bacon that assaulted his nose.

Lianne only allowed this kind of food on special occasions, claiming it was all unhealthy and bad. With her away, and a guest in the house, it seemed the rules were being bent a little.

"Mostly Logan's idea" Veronica explained when her friend didn't speak up, apparently still lost in thoughts.

"Well, thank you, Logan" Keith said, finally gaining the boys attention, "You'll have to come and stay more often" he smirked at his own joke as the food was served and the three under-dressed persons all sat around the counter together to eat.

"How long does the awkward silence go on before you tell us what happened with my father?" Logan asked five minutes into breakfast as he picked at his eggs.

"He was pretty mad last night, not exactly in a fit state to talk to me" Keith explained, "I left him to cool down in the cells, get his lawyer and everything. Looks like I'm gonna be spending a lot of my weekend getting to know Aaron better"

"Well, y'know you don't have to worry about me, Dad" Veronica assured him, "I mean, I can hang here with Logan a while longer" she suggested, "If you wanted to" she offered and her friend nodded once.

"That'd be cool" he agreed, not exactly with enthusiasm, but then given the topic of conversation a few seconds ago it was unlikely he was going to be jumping for joy over anything in particular.

Logan was actually very glad of Veronica's offer to stay with her. The thought of home still didn't appeal, though he knew he ought to check on his mother at some point. The only other places to hide were at the Kane's house, which so wasn't an option given last nights events, and over at the Casablancas' place, except Dick would be all questions and rumours that he couldn't bear to face. Veronica was just... a friend, there was no better description than that. She understood, she didn't judge, and every time she smiled at him this morning the world felt a little less bad. He could deal with spending time with just her for a while, til some of the badness blew over.

So many hours in front of the TV soon bored Veronica and Logan. Though they liked each others company well enough there was little they could find to talk about that didn't involve either the mention of his parents or moreover the Kane family. Everything was a sticky topic, an area of conversation neither wished to venture into right now, and it made for a lot of awkward silence.

"Maybe I should head home, check on my Mom" Logan said, checking his watch and realising it was well into the afternoon.

Sitting here in near-silence in front of a movie he'd seen twelve times already was only letting his mind wander onto topics he'd rather not be thinking of; his girlfriend, his father, the activities they'd enjoyed together, and the events of the night before.

"Oh, yeah, I guess maybe you should" Veronica agreed, though in all honesty she was a little surprised to hear him speak at all.

Logan hadn't been that talkative for the past couple of hours and she doubted that was because the TV was occupying his mind.

"Will you be okay by yourself?" he checked as he got up from the couch and checked his wallet and keys were still in his pockets.

"I won't be by myself" she smiled as she petted Backup who was laid out by the couch as if he was watching the TV too.

"Right" Logan smiled as her realised what she meant and he moved to leave.

Veronica got up to follow and the two of them hovered awkwardly by the door. He wanted to thank her for being there for him, and she wanted to thank him for the same, but neither was sure how.

"This is kind of crazy" she said, with a nervous laugh, "We've known each other for years and this is probably the most time we ever spent alone together"

"Yeah" Logan agreed with a nod, not yet offering to leave and yet not knowing what he was going to say or do if he stayed longer.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, at school" she said just wanting this weird moment to be over.

Logan nodded once again and turned to open the door. A second later he turned back sharply, taking Veronica by complete surprise as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. After a moment of shock, she hugged him back.

"Thanks, Veronica" he said softly in her ear, before kissing her cheek and letting go of her.

He slipped from her embrace and was out the door in a second before she had time to answer or even take in a breath to try.

"You're welcome" she said as she watched him walk to his car and then drive away.

Logan wasn't exactly surprised to find his mother curled up on the couch with a drink in her hand when he arrived home. She was flicking channels on the plasma screen, and every single news bulletin and entertainment gossip show had the same story or a variation on the theme at least; Aaron Echolls Arrested. Movie Star's Sex Scandal With Minor. Hollywood Heart-Throb in Attempted Murder Suspicion.

It wasn't a surprise of course, Logan had expected this, after all he'd had to drive through the crowd of press at his gate, wanting a picture and a comment, neither of which they got very successfully.

"Dad will be so pleased to know the camera got his good side as he got dragged into the Sherrif's station" he sighed from behind the couch.

His mother looked back at him and forced a smile, though the trails of mascara on her face showed she'd been crying before.

"Logan, sweetheart" she greeted him, "I'm so sorry"

"What do you have to be sorry for, Mom?" he asked her as he walked around the couch and sat down beside her, picking the remote from out of her hand and flipping off the TV, "So it turns out my Dad and my girlfriend were cheating behind our backs" he said, "It'd make a hell of a movie script, wouldn't it?"

Lynn looked pained as she leaned forward and hugged her son. As much as she'd once loved Aaron, she hated him doubly now. He'd given her enough reasons; the verbal abuse, the violence, the humiliation, and now this. The physical damage he'd done to herself and her son, that was bad enough, but they'd endured it. Now he'd ruined them, he'd hurt them beyond compare emotionally, and he'd made them look like fools. For these things, Lynn would never forgive her husband, or the Kane girl, for what she'd done either.

"When Keith called me, he told me you were with Veronica" she said as she released her son, "She was there when...?"

"Yeah, she probably saved Lilly's life" Logan sighed, "Honestly, she's been amazing"

"I always liked her better" Lynn told him, and though it could easily be construed that she'd made her judgement just now, based on what she knew, Logan knew the truth of the matter.

His mother had always preferred Veronica to Lilly, and had actually encouraged him to get closer to the Sherrif's daughter rather than the billionaire's child. Logan, being a young boy with certain urges, was quite easily led away from the nicer girl by the older, more experienced, Lilly. Now he was starting to wish he'd taken his mother's advice.

"Yeah, well" he said, rolling his eyes, "Maybe next time I'll listen" he nodded, the room falling into silence again, as both mother and son realised they just didn't know what to say for the best.

The only sound was the melting ice clinking against the side of Lynn's glass, as Logan wondered if coming home had been the best of ideas. A part of him so wished he was still at the Mars house with Veronica.

To Be Continued...