Ω Ω Ω

Veronica tugged on the zip ties but they didn't budge. "Any luck?" she called over to Logan.

He shook his head. "We're screwed." He sounded defeated.

"Don't-"

The door opened and Duncan entered. Logan glared at him balefully but he ignored his former best friend. His eyes were on Veronica as he approached her. He crowded down next to her. "I'm sorry."

She ignored him.

"I really am sorry." He reached for her.

She recoiled away. "For what? Pretending you still loved me or signing my death sentence? They're going to kill us, Duncan."

He flinched from her gaze. "I had to do it. It was the only way to make sure Lily was safe. I'll talk to my father."

"That was you tell yourself to sleep at night?" Logan spat.

Duncan ignored him. "I didn't mean for it to be like this. I tried to warn you. You shouldn't have come."

"And left Logan to die?"

Duncan stood up, his face shadowed and full of malice. "I forgot. You guys are 'epic'."

Her eyes burned. "How do you know about that?"

He glanced at Logan then back to Veronica. "He mumbles in his sleep. He dreams of you a lot. Guess we still have that in common." He touched her cheek softly.

"Get away from her!" Logan growled, straining against his bonds, wanting to tear Duncan limb from limb. "Don't touch her. You don't deserve to touch her."

Duncan turned to reply when shouting came up the stairs. He went to the door and with one last glance at Veronica, he left.

Logan frowned. "What d'you think is going on?"

Veronica strained, rubbing her wrists up and down. She felt the friction of the zip ties as they started to give. "I cut the gas line. Someone must have tried to cook something." Stretching out her foot, she tried to hook her bag. On the third try, she was able to pull it towards her and shove it until it was near her hands.

"Hurry," Logan urged.

She dug through the bag, feeling for her switchblade. Her hand closed on it and she almost cried.

Smoke was starting to come in under the door.

She eased the blade against the zip ties and started sawing through the rest. They finally gave and she pulled her arms apart and rubbed her wrists.

"Veronica, come on..."

She stood up and grabbed her bag. "Alright, alright, keep your pants on." She smirked as she bent down to cut him free.

He all but jumped up and they started for the door.

Ω Ω Ω

The hallway was smoky and people were running all over the place, some yelling.

Veronica ran to Lily's room but it was empty. "Dammit."

Logan took her elbow. "Let's go. We have to get out of here..."

She opened her phone and dialled Mac's number. "Hello... Mac... we need an exit strategy. We're not going to make it on foot... okay, good luck to you too...bye." She followed Logan down the stairs and they peered around the corner.

People were running around, looking panicked.

Veronica looked at the door then back to Logan and his injuries. "D'you think you can make it?"

Logan nodded. "Yeah, sure."

She took his hand and they made a break for it. Halfway to the door, Logan was tackled by Duncan. Veronica lost his grip and tumbled against the fridge.

"Run!" Logan yelled to Veronica. "I'll be fine!"

"Like hell I am." She turned back, feeling in her bag for her taser. Someone grabbed her around the waist and threw her towards the door.

She turned, glaring at Dick's face.

He shoved her towards Mac's waiting arms. "I'll take care of him. Go!"

Mac pulled her towards the car. "Let's go."

Veronica watched through the car window at the house. It was burning and smoke was pouring out. They heard sirens. She stared at the door, praying for Logan and Dick to come out.

Mac was looking at her watch. "We have two minutes until the police get here. If they're not out in a minute and a half, we have to leave."

She clenched her jaw. "They'll make it. They better make it."

Two figures burst from the house and headed towards the car. Dick and Logan. As they got closer, she could see that Logan was carrying Lily in his arms. They piled in and Mac peeled away.

Logan let Lily squirm out of his arms and up into Veronica's lap. "I couldn't just leave her there," he replied to her questioning look.

She blinked. "What about Duncan?"

Dick grinned. "Logan kicked the crap out of him and we took him into a safe place. Don't worry, Ronnie. He'll be safe until the cops get there."

Veronica glanced at Logan guardedly.

He shrugged moodily, staring out the window.

Mac pulled up next to a black Range Rover and Logan and Dick got out.

"We'll meet you at the airport," Dick said, pulling Logan along.

He locked eyes with Veronica as if he were about to say something then shook his head, thinking better of it. They disappeared around the car.

Ω Ω Ω

She hitched Lily further up into her arms. "They're not coming."

Mac scanned the crowd. "They'll be here. Don't worry."

"Last call for Flight 241 to Los Angeles."

Veronica swallowed hard. "They're not here... they're not coming."

Mac bit her lip. What could she say to Veronica? What could she possibly say to make things better? "Maybe they decided it'd be safer if they took a private jet?"

Veronica felt that familiar ache in her chest. "What if they were caught? What if something's wrong? We have to go back."

Mac grabbed her arm and steered her toward the gate. "We have to get back to Neptune and get the story and the info back to your father."

"I know," the blond replied tiredly. "It's just..."

Mac nodded wisely. "I know..."

Ω Ω Ω

She leaned back against the cushions, flipping a page in her book. She could hear Piz in the kitchen, singing while he cooked. It was relaxing to listen to. She felt almost half asleep when there was a knock at the door.

"You wanna get that?" Piz called from the kitchen. "I'm in the middle of a very delicate process of creation..."

She grinned. "Sure." She was giggling as she opened the door. Her laughter died as she realized who it was. Her heart jumped into her throat. "Lo-Logan."

He shuffled uncomfortably in the doorway. "Hey Veronica. Can I come in?"

"Sure." She moved out of the way to let him through.

He smelled the air. "Smells good. You finally learned to cook?"

"Hey, Vro! D'you want basil heavy or basil light sauce?" Piz yelled.

Logan's eyes snapped to where Piz's head was poking out of the kitchen. His eyes clouded over and his face fell. "Oh," he said without emotion. "I see."

Piz's face broke into a grin. "Hey Logan. You want to stay for dinner?" He looked from Logan's stormy face to Veronica's pale one. Then without a sound, he disappeared.

Logan whispered furiously to Veronica, "What the hell is going on Veronica? You and Piz...?"

She shook her head. "Come outside, Logan. Don't make a scene." She took his hand and led him out on the balcony. "Piz and I are just friends, nothing more. Anyway, it's none of your business even if we were together. What do you care? You left me waiting at the airport remember? I'm surprised you even bothered to show your face here again."

His face was meek. "I can explain."

"Can you, Logan? I don't even know if I want to hear it. I'm tired of your stories and half-truths."

"I had to go back." He moved in after her but didn't try to comfort her. It would only make her more angry, more antagonistic. "I had to make sure Duncan was okay."

She clenched her jaw but couldn't help but ask, "Was he?" It had been all over the papers. The whole thing had been broken wide open by Keith Mars and Leo D'Amato. Jake Kane, Clarence Weidman, and others were named in a suit. Duncan, though, had disappeared, along with his daughter, Lily. She'd been returned to Meg's family then one night she just disappeared. Logan had remained missing for two months. "I thought you were dead." She said it quietly, as if saying it out loud might make it true and that he'd vanish like a daydream.

"Dick and I went into hiding. We tried to bring Duncan in but he disappeared. We had to wait until the Castle was dismantled."

"Convenient."

"Look," he approached her, put his hand on her arm and turned her to face him. "I thought about you every day. I wanted to call you but I couldn't because you would be the first person that they knew I would call. The only person. So I had to wait until the people responsible were taken in."

"I felt like I was dead too, Logan." She pushed against his chest without avail. "You scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry."

"That's not good enough. Not this time."

"Well, what do you want me to do? What can I do Veronica? How do I make it better? You and I have been on this merry-go-round of emotions since the tenth grade. I don't even know where you stand anymore. I love you, Veronica. I love you and that was never something you could come to terms with. You were always looking for the cracks." He took a step back and let his arms drop. "Do you love me?"

She stared at him, tears in her eyes. "I don't know. I don't know anything anymore."

"Look, I know this must be a huge shock for you and I'm just impressed that you even let me in the door. So, I'm staying at the Neptune Grand in the penthouse suite. Call me or come see me when you want to talk. If you want to talk." He moved forward as if to embrace her, to kiss her but then thought better of it and left, the apartment door clicking shut.

Veronica stayed outside for a while, her mind going a mile a minute. Piz set up dinner and leaned against the doorway to watch her out on the balcony.

"Dinner's getting cold."

She waved a hand absentmindedly. "I'll be in in a minute."

He stepped out and leaned against the railing, watching her out of the corner of his eye. "Veronica, when you left, it hurt. Even though you called me and talked to me, you were already gone. When we were together, you weren't there. I knew that but I wanted you to be mine so I ignored it."

She turned. "I wanted that relationship to work. I wanted so badly to want to be in that relationship. I just wanted to be done with the whole Logan thing. I don't know if I can do it anymore. If I'm strong enough to do it anymore. I don't know if I want to get back on the carousel."

He smiled knowingly. "Then why'd you spend two years of your life looking for him?" He dropped a kiss on her temple and squeezed her arm. "I'm going to take off. Enjoy dinner." And before she could protest, he was gone too.

She went back inside and moped over her plate. She had no appetite to eat alone. She took the plates back inside and was about to dump them into the sink when she caught her expression in the mirror. It was empty and drawn. She was so tired of being tired. With a sigh, she put the plates down and slid to the floor. Life sucked.

A knock came at the door and she rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Piz..." she muttered under her breath. Sure, he said he was going to take off and then-

But when she opened the door it wasn't Piz standing there, it was Logan. "Oh."

"Look, I know I said I'd give you time and space and whatever other crap I said but I can't. I'm sorry. I'm not built that way. I love you, Veronica Mars and I need you to tell me that you love me too. I thought about it and I figure that you must. Otherwise, why would you spend two years of your life tracking down my miserable corpse rather than joining the FBI, marrying Piz, and having shaggy-haired spy babies?" He folded his arms across his chest, daring her to protest, to prove him wrong. "So."

She almost laughed. "I saved you some pasta," was all she could manage.

He nodded. "It's a start."

The End

Gotta love the open endings... let me know what you think... :)