A/N: I know this story is kind of different to the usual LoVe fics, but I'm glad you guys are enjoying reading it because I love writing it ;-)

(For disclaimer, etc - see chapter 1)

Chapter 9

Logan woke with the uncomfortable feeling of cramp in his limbs, and hard ground beneath his back. This was not his bed, this wasn't even inside a house. It took a while for him to remember what had happened as he opened his eyes to the view of woods on one side and a precipice not to too far away in the other direction.

A smile curved his lips in spite of the fact he was in some pain and almost wishing he was elsewhere. He changed his mind immediately when he turned his head and realised that his lack of comfort was worth every second of being here. At some point his arms had ended up around Veronica who was still there snuggled up beside him in a deep sleep.

She really was beautiful, his very own Sleeping Beauty in this moment. When awake she was adventurous, cunning and clever, sharp-witted and sharp-tongued. These were all things that made him like her anyway, but he couldn't help but be a man and find her attractive like this too.

Any one of his friends would have said she was a serious hottie and they wouldn't have been wrong, and yet at the same time she was so cute lying here beside him, it was hard to believe she could be so snarky and sexy with her eyes open. All these things rolled into one was Veronica, who Logan had learnt to love in some strange way in just a few short days together.

The thought occurred then that with one simple move his lips could be on hers and he could be kissing her. She couldn't protest if she was asleep, though if she awoke at the feeling she was like as not to taser him for being so bold. Maybe she wouldn't, Logan considered, maybe she'd just kiss him back and their odd friendship would kick up a notch to an unlikely romance. Sure, she was three years older than him, but age didn't have to matter so much. They were both adults and she never once treated him like a kid, not like everybody else he knew.

With Veronica, Logan was himself, he had a name and an identity. She didn't know him as Aaron's son or Lynn's son, just as Logan and he loved that. He loved this entire trip and all it stood for, and more than that, he was fast starting to realise that he may in fact be falling in love with Veronica.

Throwing caution to the wind, knowing he may never get this chance again, Logan did what he'd been thinking about doing these past few minutes. He reached out tentatively to push stray hair from Veronica's cheek and then leaned in ever closer to press his lips against her own. The moment lasted all but a few seconds as she began to stir, the contact enough to wake her from her slumber, like the heroine of a fairytale having some kind of spell broken, by what Logan hoped she saw as the dashing prince in all of this.

Opening her eyes to the light of day and the realisation that she was not alone, it took a minute for Veronica's brain to catch up to her. She sat up quickly, releasing the arm Logan had long since realised was going to be dead awhile. He pulled himself up too, hardly daring to look at her as she pushed her hair from her face and got her bearings.

"Morning, sunshine" he joked though he glanced at her so briefly she might have wondered if he was even talking to her, if not for the fact they were the only two people here right now.

"I was having the weirdest dream..." said Veronica, staring instantly at Logan til he felt that he just had to look back at her, "Logan, did you...?" she began to ask, her fingers going absently to her lips as she thought on the last part of her dream that had seemed so very real.

"Did I, what?" he prompted when she went silent on him, sure he knew what she was going to ask and wishing she just would already so he could deny everything and they could move on.

"Nothing" she said with a shake of her head as she got herself up from the ground, dusting herself off.

Logan let out a breath he barely knew he'd been holding. He could use Veronica not asking him about that kiss right now, after all, he had no way to explain it. He didn't want to come off like some freaky pervert who mad moves on women whilst they slept, especially when they were out here all alone and everything. The last thing Logan wanted was for Veronica to get spooked and decide this adventure was very much over; he would hate that. Unfortunately, it seemed that might be out of his control as he heard her gasp behind him and turned to see a cop car pulling up by their own transportation. No strike that, not a cop car, Logan realised, this was a Sheriff.

"Now, what do we have here?" the guy asked as he got out of his vehicle and strode on over to where the supposed young couple stood, "You kids know there's a law against sleeping in your car up here?"

"We didn't..." Logan tried to explain, but apparently the law man was not willing to listen, putting up a hand to silence him.

"Save it" he told him, then turning his head to speak into the radio device attached at his chest, "This is Sheriff Lamb, we've got a couple of possible runaways up here in the hills" he said, at which point Logan and Veronica shared a worried look.

"Please, sir" the blonde said suddenly, throwing herself into Logan's side, glad to feel his arm slide naturally around her shoulders, "Please, don't take us in" she begged, getting into a real state, "You don't understand, we had to run, we had no choice" she told him, and immediately Logan tried to pick up the story they had spun at the hotel the day before.

"It's true, Sheriff" he lied almost as well as his partner in crime, "Our families just don't understand, and I had to be with Veronica, I just had to" he said with such a passion as she looked up and met his eyes, that the blonde herself almost believed he was in love with her.

"That's a compelling tale, son" said the Sheriff, with a roll of his eyes that was almost audible somehow, "but it doesn't change the fact..."

"We just didn't have enough money for a hotel room" Veronica tried, tearing her gaze from Logan's own a moment to look beseechingly at Lamb, "It was our wedding night" she flashed the plastic ring she wore in the Sheriff's face, "We couldn't even afford a real ring"

Veronica knew they were fighting a losing battle with this guy. Though she couldn't imagine he was all that smart (he certainly didn't look it) he was sharp enough to know he was being fed a fake sob story. How they were going to get out of this, she had no clue, especially since the Sheriff's next question was likely to be about ID. If he figured out who Logan was, this whole thing would be over, first because the press would have a field day and second because he would no doubt come to realise her true profession.

"It's okay, Veronica" said Logan, trying at comforting for either the sake of the character she was playing or the real her, she really couldn't be sure, "It'll work out, I promise"

Sheriff Lamb opened his mouth to say something else then, but never got the chance as a fourth voice broke into the conversation.

"Excuse me, Sheriff, I just…" the man called as he appeared from the edge of the wooded area, looking from the man to the couple and back, his expression shifting, "Sheriff Lamb, thank you so much" he grinned suddenly moving towards Veronica, "You've found my cousin"

"Mr Kane" Lamb reacted with evident surprise, "I didn't… You're welcome, sir" he forced a smile as the man he called Mr Kane grabbed a hold of Veronica and hugged her tight.

She was startled but hugged back, unsure what else to do right now as the mysterious Mr Kane whispered in her ear.

"This guy is an ass, I'm here to help" he said quickly and quietly, "So, I'm Cousin Duncan"

"Okay" Veronica muttered a reply as they parted at last, "Duncan, how did you know we were here?" she asked in a normal volume as Logan and Lamb both looked baffled by the turn of events.

"I didn't" he told her, "I guess I just got lucky. Y'know Uncle Bob is going out of his mind worrying about you since you ran away with... him" he said, with a look of apology to Logan since he had no idea of his name.

The poor guy looked genuinely baffled and it occurred to Duncan that maybe he didn't realise that he was playing a part here. If he didn't know his runaway girlfriend as well as he thought, maybe he had no idea if Duncan really was her cousin or not. This was going to get out of hand if they didn't soon get away from the Sheriff, who still didn't look like he was ready to give in entirely as Duncan turned to face him.

"Sheriff, thank you for your help, but I'll take it from here" he told the law man with a gesture of his hand that pretty much said 'dismissed', "I'm sure my father will be all the more generous to your department after this" he smiled.

Veronica made up pleasantries to say to Duncan as out of the corner of her eye she watched Sheriff Lamb give in and go away. She guessed these Kanes must be pretty rich since Duncan's Dad being generous to the department seemed to mean so much. Right now she didn't care, she was just glad of the help to get out of a jam.

Once they were sure the Sheriff was gone, Logan looked between Veronica and Duncan, still unsure of what the situation really was here.

"Okay, is he your cousin?" he asked the blonde outright.

"Not that I know of" Veronica said awkwardly as she moved a little closer to the guy she had faked a marriage too, encouraging his arm around her back, "Thank you for your kindness, sir" she said, apparently still playing a role even now the man of the law was gone, "My boyfriend... sorry, husband" she corrected herself as she looked up at Logan with longing and love combined, "We're having a really rough time right now"

"I heard a lot of what was said from back there" Duncan gestured back the way he'd come, "I just thought I could help you out. I mean, we all know what an ass Lamb can be so... Oh, and I'm not some freak out of the woods, in case you were worried" he added with a nervous laugh when he realised what it might look like, "I just come up here to get away from things sometimes, take a walk around, breathe some fresh air"

"Hey, thanks, man" said Logan genuinely, offering out a hand to shake, "You really helped us out" he told him, suddenly realising what a mess they might of been in if not for the help of a stranger, and feeling brave enough to speak now he knew what roles everyone was playing, "You okay, babe?" he asked Veronica, holding her deliberately close and smiling down at her.

"So long as I'm with you, I always am" she said, fluttering her eyelashes.

This girl was a pro when it came to faking a scene in order to get out of trouble, but Logan didn't mind at all. Her acting skills, wherever they came from, were proving very useful on this crazy trip. Besides, having her act this way with him, fake or not, was kind of amazing. He never had a woman look at him quite the way Veronica did sometimes, and as much as she had proved to be a fantastic actress, it did make him wonder just how much she was faking, and how much she might actually like him.

"So" said Duncan, breaking the moment between the supposed happy couple, much to the annoyance of Logan in particular, "You guys seem like you could use a place to go for a while so how about you follow me over to the house?" he gestured into the distance, "Running water, a decent meal. Sound good?"

"It really does" said Veronica with a sigh, running her fingers through her hair that still had all kinds of crap in it from sleeping on the ground last night, "but we couldn't..."

"Yes, you could" their unlikely saviour and newest friend insisted with a grin, "Come on"

Logan and Veronica shared a look, eventually resulting in both of them deciding at almost the same moment that they may as well take the risk of this guy being genuine. With twin shrugs, they set about packing up their stuff and getting ready to drive off behind the mysterious Duncan Kane to whatever place he called home.

To Be Continued...