A million things seemed to happen in an instant. Logan and Veronica charged breathlessly into the hallway. Lamb and his deputies knocked the door down. And Aaron was deciding whether it was worth it to pull the trigger when…

A bullet pierced him near the middle of his chest. Aaron collapsed and dropped his weapon, Lilly ran out into the hall and-in the haze of confusion-no one really knew who had fired the wounding shot. Lilly darted to hug her brother, who was completely and totally out of it by this point. Duncan's hand was stuffed down his pocket. Veronica hugged her dad while Lamb called for an RA and prepared to arrest Aaron Echolls. And Logan just stood there, whispering to himself in disbelief, "Dad?" Was his hateful and abusive father-who yet remained the only family Logan had left in this world-about to die right before his eyes?

Lilly approached Logan from the side and spoke softly, directly into his ear: "Don't be too upset. He told me he killed your mother."

"What? Lilly? What?" was all Logan managed to gasp out as his back hit the wall and he almost involuntarily slid to the floor. His mother was dead? She wouldn't come back for him if Aaron was gone? His dad had killed his mother and then acted as if everything was normal? Aaron really was a psychopath-not that there was ever any doubt but Logan had wanted to doubt. Logan continued to take in gulping breaths of air even as the paramedics took his dad, handcuffed to the stretcher, out of the hotel with most of Lamb & Co in tow. Aaron was unresponsive.

"Keith, is he going to live?" Logan asked the air, not even bothering to look in Mr. Mars' direction. Logan felt like he was losing both parents at once. He took out his flask and took a drink. Nobody said anything about it.

"I don't know, Logan. It might have hit his heart. I'm sorry, son. We'll have to wait and see."

Logan nodded, tears running down his face as he sat on the floor with his knees pulled to his chest, still unable to move. Veronica rushed over to sit next to him and put her arms around him. Lilly looked on in sympathy but she was also thinking, 'see, it all worked out.' Duncan appeared more shell-shocked than Logan did but no one outside of his sister paid him much attention. Logan was vaguely aware of Veronica touching him, of his dad leaving, of… everything but mostly he was aware of the hallway carpeting at the Neptune Grand. It was brown with flecks of blood.

The remaining deputy kindly asked the mayor and the teenagers to vacate the crime scene. Logan looked back at his "home." No chance to grab any of his stuff, he guessed. Not that any of that mattered. Lilly, for what she had just been through, was easily the cheeriest person of the bunch. She excitedly recapped some of her conversation with Aaron, but only Veronica and Keith were really listening. She could tell it all to the cops later. Lilly and Duncan's parents were out of town and still not fucking answering, so Keith did the protective grown up thing and insisted they all go back to the Mars house. Logan had nowhere else to go anyway, but he was itching to run. To go somewhere new and start life over.

Logan couldn't even decide if he wanted his father to live or die and he just felt sick inside. Veronica was looking at him through a cloak of pity-she knew he fucking hated that because she hated it too. But she just couldn't help it and he couldn't help but get angry. Yet he remained silent. There was no way to put into words how he was feeling. He wanted to sleep for the rest of his life, but instead accepted fresh coffee when Keith gave it to him. Logan had to at least remain awake to see if his father had lived or died. He guessed he owed him that much even though the truth was he obviously didn't. Anyone could see it.

Veronica put her hand on Logan's as they sat on the couch, drinking coffee. He neither rejected her nor made any notice of her at all. She rubbed his hand. "What are you thinking?"

"I can't talk, Ronnie. I don't want to cry."

Veronica felt her eyes tear up. He was breaking her heart. Meanwhile, Lilly was trying to break Duncan out of catatonia and Keith was looking at all of them like he was sad they had to grow up before their time. It was almost just another day for Keith but it was life-changing for Logan. Logan closed his eyes and pretended to sleep; Veronica took his Irish coffee and placed it on the table. Then she took his head and placed it in her lap, not caring what her dad would think. She ran her fingers through Logan's hair and finally allowed her tears to spill until Duncan spoke for the first time: "I did it. I shot Aaron."

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"Keith, I'm going to need to talk to everybody."

Keith nodded at Don. "Well, who do you want first?"

"Give me Lilly then Duncan. Logan and Veronica can take a walk or something."

Veronica nodded at the sheriff-who clearly thought she and Logan had nothing to add to the investigation because they were neither held hostage nor shooting to protect the hostage-and pulled Logan by his shirtsleeve. Logan dutifully followed Veronica down the hallway and to the coffee machine.

"I swear, Ronnie, one more cup of coffee and my heart's going to burst through my chest."

"We can't have that, can we?" Veronica agreed, piping out a watery French vanilla cappuccino for herself and leading Logan outside. She knew he was understandably out of it and he needed someone else to take charge.

The Southern California sun shone brightly, mocking Logan as he sat on the grass and buried his head in his hands. Veronica wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight. "Are you mad at Duncan?"

"No. He was trying to protect his sister," Logan said automatically. Then he added, as an afterthought: "I bet his dad can use some influence to get him off."

"Are you mad at Lilly?"

"No one's ever mad at Lilly."

"Are you mad at your dad?"

"Do you think he really did it or he was just fucking with Lilly? Oh well, I guess if he lives I'll get to ask him."

"You might have to get in line for that one… Behind the cops, I mean. But, Logan, my dad said forensics is testing the hand."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry. I know how you feel. I know it's hard."

"I know you do. It's just-all this time she's been gone-I just thought she left me. I mean, she left before; she just took me with her. I never thought someone took her away. And I kept thinking, if he left-or if he, you know, died-maybe she would come back. I just missed her, you know? She wasn't perfect but she was my mom and she didn't deserve to die. And neither did yours."

Veronica was getting choked up but Logan was refusing to cry again. It took everything he had, but he held it all inside. He leaned over and kissed her forehead and they sat there on the sheriff's office lawn, holding onto each other for dear life or until Keith got them for questioning.

Lamb didn't know quite what to do with Lilly.

"I understand you've had a near death experience, Ms. Kane, but any details you could provide would be helpful." And that was about as nice and patient as Don Lamb ever got.

"Every day is a near death experience, Sheriff Lamb. Should I have a lawyer? My parents?"

"You're not being charged with anything, Lilly. Your parents are on their way."

"Is Duncan being charged with anything?"

"I can't answer that."

"'Cause I can call a lawyer for him. You know he's allowed to possess that weapon AND he was just trying to protect me."

"Duly noted. A sixteen-year-old with a concealed weapon sounds perfectly legal... So why did you go over to Aaron Echolls' hotel room, Lilly?"

"Shits and giggles."

"Lilly-"

"What? I'm being serious. I just wanted to ask him a few questions, kind of like you're doing here."

"Was he as cooperative as you are?" Lamb could be such a smartass.

"No, not nearly. But I knew he liked me so I figured he'd stick around."

"And when you say he 'liked' you...?"

"He wanted to have sex with me, Sheriff. It was appallingly obvious." Lilly clutched at her nonexistent pearls.

"I see. And did you have sex with Aaron Echolls?"

"Is he still alive?"

"I can't answer that."

"Because you don't know yet-so that means he is, doesn't it? Shouldn't you let Logan go see him?"

"Do you think Logan wants to go see him?" Lamb was reluctantly getting swept up in Lilly's shenanigans. Oh well, he really couldn't question Duncan until his lawyer got there, so he might as well play along.

"I don't know. You should ask Keith; he'll know."

"Just a few more questions, Lilly, and you'll be on your way." Ten minutes later, Lilly and Lamb reemerged from their soundproof, videotaped room. Lilly darted outside to find her friends, unaware that Duncan was being held in another room by one of the deputies.

"Keith…" Lamb started as soon as he could track him down. "You think that kid wants to go see his dad? I can talk to him later."

"Logan? I don't know, Don. Would you?"

"I'm the wrong person to ask…" Lamb trailed off without providing any additional information other than a weak little shrug.

"I'll go outside and ask him." Logan and Veronica were still hanging out front, now with Lilly.

Lilly jumped up upon seeing Keith. "Mr. Mars, where's my brother?"

"He's waiting for his lawyer. Don't worry, Lilly. Everything will be ok."

"I'm not worried," came Lilly's standard reply. But there was a tiny voice in her head saying that if the charges against Duncan were to stick it would be all her fault. Keith nodded briefly before turning to his daughter. "How're you guys doing, sweetie? Sorry I've been stuck inside. The paper's picked up on the story and the mayor's office needed to have a comment ready."

"Sure," Veronica said. She didn't know what else to say.

"Look, the three of you can go if you want. Lamb says he can talk to you later."

"Uh uh, I'm not leaving my brother."

"Ok, well I'll stay here with Lilly and you guys can go home." He paused. "Head back to our place," Keith clarified for Logan's sake. "Take a shower, take a nap. Or… You can go to the hospital if you want. I think your dad's still in surgery."

Logan hadn't even looked up until Keith said the word 'dad.' Did Logan want to see that man again? No, he definitely didn't want to. But did he need to? What if he could be sure it was the last time? Although he almost hoped Aaron didn't die just so that Duncan would be in less trouble… Suddenly Logan was painfully aware of three sets of eyes boring into his skin.

"I, uh, what do you think Veronica?"

Veronica sat up straighter, shocked that he had really just asked her advice on this. Without much hesitation, she replied, "If I could have seen my mom one more time, I would have done it."

"Me too," Logan said, breaking her heart for about the thousandth time in twenty-four hours. "But Aaron- Even if he's ever conscious again, I don't know if I have anything to say."

Veronica kissed and hugged her dad and Lilly and then started leading Logan away to her car. Logan was lost in his own head. "Hey, Logan, the hospital's near my house. Let's just start driving and you can make up your mind the closer we get. Just think about it."

"Do you think it's wrong if I want to say goodbye? Because, even if he lives, it's goodbye. I won't see him again."

"Oh Logan, of course not. It's natural to want closure." Veronica didn't mean to sound like a shrink, but she did mean what she said.

"Ok," Logan said after several more minutes of driving. "Let's do it. I'm never going to be ready so let's just go and see if the bastard's still alive."