A/N : I don't think there will be too much more of this story. It's best to end it soon since I don't really have any other direction for it and I don't want to get bored and screw it up... Anyway, here's the new chapter, hope you enjoy :-)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chaper 1)

Chapter 20 - We Are Family

Veronica couldn't stop smiling as she walked down the hall, flanked by her friend and boyfriend, the latter of which had a tight hold on her right hand, swinging their arms back and forth just to make the connection overly obvious.

"You two gonna be like lovesick puppies all day?" Wallace asked with a good natured, joking tone, "'Cause, y'know, third wheel ain't a good look for me"

"Hey, can I help it if I'm irresistible to our Miss Mars?" Logan shrugged, "It's a cross I have to bear"

"Oh, the tragedies you suffer" Veronica said with mock drama as they arrived at his locker, and the couple finally had to let go of each others hands.

The bell rang just as Logan finished getting the books he needed, and he and Wallace were forced to run off in the opposite direction to Veronica, Logan stealing a quick kiss before he disappeared. For a moment the blonde stood and watched them go, loving the feeling of warmth in her heart right now. She had a new best friend who was kind and decent, a boyfriend that loved her so much, and at home there was a father that had loved her all this time, in spite of only just now finding out she was really his daughter.

To be loved this much, and to feel as much love in return, it was almost overwhelming, Veronica realised. So far from when she'd felt so desolate, so lost to realise her best friend was a liar and a cheat, her boyfriend no longer cared for her, and neither did her mother, though these things were not necessarily recognised in the right order.

With a sigh, Veronica turned around to head to her next class only to come face to face with her ex and his new girlfriend.

"Duncan" she said too seriously, the sight of him taking her aback as a whole host of thoughts ran though her head regarding her ex-lover, almost-brother, epilepsy suffering young man, "and Meg" she added, forcing a smile, knowing none of what was in her head could be said in front of her.

"Hi, Veronica" the other blonde smiled, "I saw you before, with Logan. You look so happy"

"Really am" Veronica nodded, "There's kind of a lot to smile about lately, which makes a refreshing change" she rolled her eyes.

"It does" Meg also nodded in agreement of that statement, as Duncan stood awkwardly between them, "but we should probably get to class" she said suddenly, "We have English so..." she began, gesturing vaguely between herself and Veronica.

"Oh yeah, we do" she agreed, knowing she needed to speak to Duncan as soon as possible, and now would be as good a time as any, "but I have an appointment, dentist" she ad-libbed, "Could you maybe tell Miss Jordan where I skipped out to and maybe fill me in on what happened in class later?"

"Okay, sure" Meg agreed, leaning in to her boyfriend and kissing his cheek before hurrying away.

"Was that for real?" Duncan checked, "The dentist thing? Or do you have a case you're trying to crack?" he smirked, knowing she often helped out her Dad as Sheriff, or had her own little investigation going on regarding the school lunch ladies or rumours in the teachers lounge.

"It was a small, white lie" she admitted, "I need to talk to you"

"Veronica, if this is about yesterday..." he began, but she shook her head.

"It's not about... your condition" she said in a low voice, ever mindful of the few students that were still milling around the halls, "Come with me" she said, suddenly grabbing his arm and practically dragging him around the corner.

In moments, Duncan found himself in the girls bathroom, with the door being wedged shut from the inside.

"Veronica, what are you...?" he started to ask.

"What I have to say is private" she told him, "About your parents, and mine" she explained, "Specifically, my Mom and your Dad"

The way Duncan looked away from her so fast betrayed the fact he knew where she was going with this. He knew they might be related, he'd known for a few months now, and Veronica was certain that was why he'd had to end their relationship. She wished he'd talked to her about it, but she could see why he wouldn't. The damage it would've done, both to his family and hers, not only in the financial sense and with regards to reputation, but the tears and tantrums that would've burst forth, it could've been disastrous for so many people.

"Look, I know they used to date if that's what you mean" Duncan muttered, eyes still down.

"That's part of it" Veronica nodded, "but mostly I need to talk to you about us maybe being brother and sister" she said matter of factly, as Duncan's eyes shot up to meet hers, "It's not true, Duncan" she assured him, "My Dad had a DNA test done. I am his daughter, which means we are not related" she shook her head, her tone firm and even, and her eyes the same.

This was for real, the God's honest truth, just like Veronica always told him. All those fears, worries, nagging doubts were brushed aside. Duncan and Veronica were not related in any way, and that meant he no longer had to feel guilty about so much that had gone before, so many words, and actions, and even feelings that would be insupportable had she really been his sister, but she wasn't, and never had been.

"I don't know if you breaking up with me was related to you finding out about us and the connection we might have" Veronica went on to say, "And I don't want to know now" she shook her head, holding her hand up to silence him when he opened his mouth to speak, "Duncan, you were a wonderful chapter in my life. My first real boyfriend, my first shot at the true love thing, but for whatever reason it didn't work out" she sighed, "I guess it wasn't ever supposed to, because now I'm with Logan and... and I'm not trying to hurt you but I love him. I love him so much and I can't even begin to explain how that happened, but I do. My life has moved on" she explained, "and given the way Meg looks at you, I'm pretty sure she's head over heels for you too"

"Meg is great" Duncan agreed, "and I... I do love her, I think, but Veronica, what we had..."

"What we had was incredible, Duncan, it was" she nodded, tears forming in her eyes for reasons she didn't quite understand, probably just the sheer emotion of this situation and all related circumstance that had come before it, "but it's done now. We both moved on, and we can't go back. Would you really want to?" she asked, hoping he didn't make this neatly tied up situation suddenly messy by saying he did.

Duncan stood speechless for what felt like an eternity but was literally just a minute or so. He thought about what life had been, what it was, and what it could be. He'd survived all too easily without Veronica at his side. He'd expected seeing her with Logan to almost kill him, yet it had bearly made a cut. He'd not realised how much he could feel for Meg and yet so much emotion bubbled within him whenever she was around. Somewhere along the line he had moved on, just like Veronica had said. Would he ever want to be as happy as he was with her again? Yes, he'd like that happiness, but in that moment he realised he already had it, and without her as his girlfriend.

"You're right" he smiled, feeling emotional too, "We moved on"

"We did" Veronica nodded, "but that doesn't mean we can't be friends, right? We used to be, a long time ago"

"We never stopped" he promised her, as they reached to hug each other.

Veronica sighed with relief, and the smile she almost lost settled firmly back on her features, as she rested her head on her friend's shoulder and hugged him tight. It ought to make her nervous that everything was going her way. When one part of your life started going up this much, surely another part was just about due to take a fall...

"Yo, Veronica!" Wallace called as he caught up to her on the way out to the quad right after the lunch bell rang, "You seen Logan around? He got a call from the office in first period and I ain't seen him since"

"There it is" Veronica sighed, as they changed course together and headed for the Administrations office.

"There what is?" her friend asked with a frown, not getting it.

"The thing that just had to go wrong on my perfect day..." she said wearily as she spoke to the woman behind the desk, "Um, hi. Logan Echolls was called down here earlier, I'm a little worried because I haven't seen him since then. Did he leave school with somebody or...?"

"Do you really think that's your business, Miss Mars?" Mr Clements asked as he appeared behind her and the blonde spun around with a grin on her face that she reserved especially for her favourite principal.

"Mr Clements, I was just concerned over Logan" she told him, "You know he's been through a lot lately and I just want to know he's okay"

"Since I just saw him sitting out on the quadrant, all alone at a lunch table" the Principal explained, "I'd say all he's suffering from is lack of friends"

"That's our cue" Wallace smiled, before steering Veronica away from the desk and out of the doors, "I guess maybe he just felt like skippin' class"

"Maybe" Veronica nodded, though she wasn't convinced laziness was her boyfriends only problem as she spotted him at the table with his head down, flipping his cellphone over and over in his hands and staring at it as if it held life's answers.

"Penny for your thoughts" the blonde offered as she slid onto the bench next to him.

Wallace decided maybe three would be a crowd right now right now and responded to the calls of his friends on the basketball team, going over to sit with them instead.

"Lets just say today's good mood took kind of a thoughtful dive off the pier" Logan sighed, taking hold of Veronica's hand and squeezing it.

"Okay" she nodded, "Once again with a little less cryptic would be good" she advised, half-smiling at her own joke, not sure yet if jokes were even appropriate in this situation.

"My Dad got picked up for drunk driving" Logan sighed, "He almost hit another car, they had to swerve and they got a little bashed up. Nobody seriously hurt but Daddy Dearest has a couple more lines to add to his 'Why I've Been A Naughty Movie Star' list" he sighed, "Doesn't exactly make a son proud, does he?"

"I'm sorry" Veronica said honestly as she put an arm around her boyfriend, "I really wish I knew what else to say but..."

"But nobody does" Logan said with a wry smile, "Honestly, even I don't know what to say, and that has to be something worthy of front page news" he joked.

"I'll tell them to stop the presses" she joined in the laugh that didn't quite get the chuckle it deserved, not right now.

"It's okay, y'know?" Logan sighed, "The faster my father is out if my life and my Mom's life, the better it'll be for all of us" he reasoned, thought it was obvious he was less than thrilled to realise that every last good part of his parent was vanishing before his eyes.

"I can't argue with that" Veronica told him, "but y'know you're not alone, Logan" she reminded him, "You still have your Mom, and your friends, Wallace, and me"

"I'm not sorry about that" he agreed, though the intensity in his eyes as he looked into hers suggested it was mostly the part about having her that meant most to him, "It's not the most romantic of settings, and I should've said it before but... I love you, Veronica" he said softly, sounding almost nervous about saying the words.

It was strange to think that this young man, son of two movie stars, heir to a fortune the like of which Veronica almost couldn't imagine, could look almost scared of saying what he really felt, when those feelings were love. Still, he had no need to worry. Veronica felt just the same as he did, and had told him so just yesterday, still it bore repeating.

"I love you too, Logan" she promised him, as she leaned in and put her lips to hers.

"So, how much trouble do you think I'm going to be in with the Sheriff for whisking you away right after school and not bringing you back til now?" Logan checked as he pulled the car up outside the Mars residence.

He'd needed to get away, do something different and off the wall once school was out, and Veronica had agreed to go with him, knowing her Dad would be working for a good two or three hours after she was done with school. They'd been even longer still than she'd anticipated, when Logan had dragged her down to the beach where she'd watched him surf a while, before they'd gotten something to eat, and later lost complete track of time making out under the boardwalk.

"Hmm, let's see" Veronica sighed in fake thought, "I'm guessing you'll be somewhere between a stern telling off and 'now where the hell did I put my gun?'" she said as seriously as she could manage, before busting up laughing.

Logan joined in chuckling at her joke as he hopped out of the car and opened the passenger door for his girlfriend.

They walked up to the house hand in hand, still laughing and joking, til they reached the door where Logan leaned in to give Veronica a kiss goodbye. As she leant back against the door to steady herself, it gave way behind her, obviously having been left not quite closed. The young couple laughed as they almost fell on top of each other, their laughter quickly dying when they heard audible gasps and looked across the room.

There on the couch was Veronica's father and Logan's mother, her lipstick smeared on his lips, and their clothes rumpled.

"Oh my God" the blonde gasped at the sight, as the adults tried to straighten themselves out and sit properly.

"Yeah, my God too" Logan nodded once, both he and his girlfriend wondering what the hell was going on here, but fearing the answer they might get if they asked.

To Be Continued...