Keith Mars shook his head and pulled his daughter close. He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head.
"Dad!" She blushed as Mac smiled at the two of them.
"Don't tell me you didn't expect this." He told her. "You're lucky I'm not installing bars on all the doors and windows just to keep you in."
Mac blushed a bit herself.
"Come on Dad, go get dinner!" Veronica playfully pushed her father away and reluctantly, he went.
Veronica sighed. "Sorry about him."
Mac shook her head. "He's entitled." Then she swallowed. "You know… I had the strangest dream the other night."
"Yeah?" Veronica asked. "What about?"
"I'm not real sure… I think David Muran was in it. And maybe Aaron Echolls…" Mac looked down. "It was very strange. Like we were looking for something together."
"Did you find it?" Veronica queried.
"I don't know but… I woke up pretty happy, you know… Just to be alive and all."
"Yeah. I've had that moment a couple of times this week. And some dreams too…" Veronica suddenly looked distant and deep in thought. "I was hallucinating in that refrigerator."
"Really?" Mac hushed and waited.
"Yeah… I thought that Meg was telling me to find her baby and keep her safe… But that her baby wasn't really her baby. It was Lilly."
"Oh God, Veronica, that must have been intense." Mac held her breath with the thought of it.
"Actually…" Veronica smiled, a soft and lopsided expression of nostalgia and whimsy. "Now, I kind of think it's comforting. What if Lilly was back? If Duncan had her and was going to raise her as his daughter? I mean… Wouldn't it be awesome if love actually swayed the world like that?"
Mac felt her eyes tear up at the idea. "You know what I like best about an idea like that Veronica?"
"What?"
"No one in the world can ever disprove it."
The monitor flickered twice and went out.
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Aaron shook his head as Veronica and Mac flickered off the screen. "Damn it!"
Laughter seemed to come from all around him despite being alone.
"Lilly's back." He realized. "On Earth."
He exhaled softly. "And worse yet… I needed Veronica Mars to spell it out for me."
And the laughter intensified and echoed.
Aaron sighed softly and shook his head as the laughter proceeded and the monitor flickered occasionally but refused to work properly. "Hell sucks." He decided out loud.
And the laughter echoed louder all around him.
Authors Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I loved hearing from you and hope you enjoyed the fic. And in response to the question about Aaron's status in the story – I kind of thought of him as a prison trustee. He had duties but was still on a short leash and had to return to hell come the end. As for why he got this status – I don't personally question God's design or casting choices and as we know – he gave Lynn the cast list. - Gestalt