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I LoVe You So I Told You A Lie

Keith heard the light knock on his room door and smiled. He was expected a visit from the kids before they went to school. He talked to Veronica the prior afternoon, but he missed seeing her. He knew Logan was taking good care of his daughter, but the sooner he was out of the hospital and Veronica was home, the better Keith would feel. "Come in," he said happily as he laid the newspaper he was reading on the table beside him. Veronica was looking up at Logan as they walked in, saying something Keith didn't quite catch. He prepared to ask her if she'd gotten enough sleep. She'd sounded so tired when she called to let him know she left school early. But before he could ask, she swung her head towards him and Keith got his first glimpse of her bruised cheek and forehead. What came out instead was, "What the hell happened to you?!"

Next to her, Logan stopped short, his eyebrows immediately furrowing and his mouth tightening into a thin line. "You said you told him!" he said accusingly.

Veronica stepped closer to her father's bed and away from her angry boyfriend. "I said I called him."

Logan invaded her personal space, taking full advantage of the foot that separated their heights to tower over her. "You said you told him what happened yesterday."

Veronica took another step back, bumped her shins on the bedrail. Her guilty retreat was obvious, but her voice was even. "You assumed I told him. I never said that."

Logan's voice got louder, echoing through the small room. "Semantics, Veronica. You knew I thought you told him. You knew and you didn't say a word!"

At this point Keith raised his own voice, cutting into the kids' argument. "Will someone tell me what happened?"

Logan arched his eyebrow at her in challenge. When she remained silent, he answered instead, but he kept his eyes firmly on his girlfriend. "She took a header down a flight of stairs at school."

Veronica put her hands on her hips in annoyance. "I wouldn't call three stairs in the quad, a flight." She turned to her dad, her expression softening. "I'm fine. It was nothing."

"Nothing!" Logan practically growled. "She hit her head. See? The bruise is bigger." Veronica gave him a dirty look, but he continued. "And she scraped the hell out of her hand and her wrist. I wrapped them this morning for protection. She hurt her shoulder and she landed on her hip, the one that's already hurt."

Keith did another quick visual inspection of his daughter, this time noticing her bandaged hand. He folded his arms across his chest, Logan's anger contagious. "You told me you left school early because you were tired."

"I was tired... after... what happened," Veronica finished weakly. She sat on the edge of the bed, doing her best to project confidence in her words. "It's not the bid deal Logan's making it out to be. I took a hot bath when I got home, and I slept with a heating pad on my hip. I'm a little sore, but I'm okay."

Keith stared at her for a minute, then his eyes slid to her boyfriend for confirmation. He heard Veronica huff next to him, but he ignored her. Logan reluctantly nodded. "I made sure she didn't have a concussion before I let her sleep. I checked her shoulder. It's giving her a little trouble, but she can raise her arm above her head. She isn't limping, so I don't think there's any permanent damage to her hip. And the scratches on her hand aren't deep. I applied Neosporin to them last night and again this morning before I put on the bandage."

Keith was impressed; the boy was thorough. But then all those years living with an abusive parent, Logan was probably used to doctoring his own injuries. Satisfied with the medical report, Keith shifted his focus back to his daughter. "Why didn't you tell me?" His voice tight as he tried not to yell.

Veronica dropped her eyes to the blanket and picked at a loose thread. "I didn't want you to worry." It came out as more a question than a statement.

Keith wanted to tell her it was his job to worry - he was her father - but he decided it would be wasted breath. Veronica was Veronica; it was too late to change her now. She was always finding new ways to get into trouble. At least he had company in his misery. Logan was as exasperated with her antics as he was. Still, it wasn't like her to be clumsy. Maybe her injuries from the incident with Aaron were bothering her more than she let on. "Were you feeling okay? Did you get light-headed? Is that why you fell?" Keith watched as she shifted nervously on the bed, not looking at him. "Veronica," he said her name as a demand for an answer.

Again, it was Logan who answered, as if he assumed she wouldn't tell her father the truth. "I wasn't there, but Dick saw the whole thing. He told me one of the '09ers tripped her. She grabbed the railing to try to steady herself, but it was too late. He said she went down hard." He eyed his girlfriend, the frustration in his voice clear. "Neither one of them will tell me who did it. I think she threatened Dick's manhood if he gave me a name."

Yep, trouble. Most fathers would be surprised that their pint-sided daughter could instill fear in a full grown male. Not Keith. He didn't know everything that happened at Neptune High, but he knew a good portion of it. Generally Veronica managed to avoid detention, but he'd had several phone calls from Vice Principal Clemmons concerning her behavior. And Rebecca James referred to her actions as 'unhealthy coping mechanisms' on more than one occasion. Veronica wasn't going to let Logan retaliate, smart move on her part, but Keith was sure something would happen to whoever had dared touch her. For now, he decided not push. He was fairly confident Logan would rat her out if the situation escalated. "Maybe you should stay home today."

"No!" Veronica said adamantly as her head shot up, her nervousness gone. "No, I'm going to school. You were right. Finals are in two weeks and I need to be there. Besides," she stuck out her determined chin, "I won't let them win."

Logan rested his hand on her shoulder. She leaned back, her head touching his chest. Seconds ago they were on opposite sides, but now they formed a united front. It was one of those moments in a daughter's life that filled her father with both joy and grief. She found someone to support her, to protect her, to understand her. But that had always been Keith's role and now he had to share it with Logan. For all Veronica's independence, it was the first time he truly felt her growing-up and slipping away from him.

Veronica continued to talk. "I really am fine. Nothing's broken. It's just a couple more bruises. And I got plenty of rest." She tilted her head up to look at her boyfriend, her first real smile since entering the room spread across her face. "Logan wouldn't let me do anything last night. He practically tried to spoon feed me dinner."

Logan did his best to look at her harshly, but his own smile peaked out. "What happened yesterday isn't going to happen again. I'll make sure of it."

Under the words, a silent communication past between them, and once again Keith felt left out. It was turning into a terrible visit. His assertion that he was the most important man in his daughter's life was being challenged. If they didn't leave soon, Keith knew he was going to say something incredibly ridiculous. He was already fighting the urge to tell Logan to remove his hand from her person. "Fine, go to school. But if anything happens, I want to know about it first thing. And I want to see you this afternoon. You call me, try to avoid seeing me, and I'll know something's wrong."

"We'll be here," Logan assured him. "Three thirty on the dot. I promise."

--- VVV

Once they were alone in the elevator, Veronica reached up and gave Logan a kiss. "You did good. You're a better actor than your dad ever was."

Logan snorted. "Like that's difficult." He wrapped his arms around her, keeping her close. "I told you he'd buy it. Dick's story was good; it just needed a little embellishment. Knowing someone did this to you on purpose was enough to distract your dad from asking too many questions." Logan wanted to tell Keith the truth, mostly because he wanted an ally. Someone else to yell at her for not reporting Tad to the police. Someone she might actually listen to. But Veronica wanted to keep her dad in the dark. They'd argued about it until Logan finally caved. And if she hadn't been sitting on his lap, fresh from her bath, nuzzling his ear, they probably would have argued all night.

"I hate lying to him." Veronica raised her eyes to his, not surprised to see the skepticism in his expression. "I'm not saying I don't do it, I'm saying I don't like doing it. When I lie because of a case, it feels different. Lying to him about personal stuff always bothers me. I know I'm the one who insisted we couldn't tell him the truth, but I don't have to like it."

"Technically, only I lied. Everything you said was true, just like we planned." Veronica was chewing on her bottom lip, and Logan could see what he thought was guilt in her eyes. "Look, I've never had a problem lying to anyone's parents, but I told you I didn't want to do this. Your dad's been really good to me, and if you're having second thoughts -"

"No, no, that's not it." Veronica shook off the last of her indecision. Logan was right; it went exactly as planned. Keith couldn't read Logan as well as he could read her, not yet, so they decided Logan would supply the fake explanation and she would stick to convincing her dad she was okay. They incorporated as much fact as possible, both knowing that was the basis for all believable lies, and they made her nervousness and her reluctance to talk about what happened work for them. Starting the visit with a fight set up the whole thing. "We both knew we had to tell him something. He was going to see I was hurt. But if he finds out about Tad, he will ask more questions. This is my dad we're talking about. He'll put two-and-two together."

"Maybe you should have thought of that before," Logan said. The elevator doors opened. The couple walked through the hospital lobby towards the parking garage, mindful of the stalkerazzi who could be hiding anywhere. Logan kept his voice quiet, whispering close to Veronica's ear. "We can't do anything about it now, so there's no use worrying. Hopefully, whatever Weevil did, he kept it low-key."

--- VVV

"Car jacked?" Veronica asked incredulously as Logan sat down at her lunch table. Tad Wilson had temporarily bumped them from the number one spot on the Neptune High gossip list. Stories were flying all through school. She'd barely made it to homeroom before the bell rang; Logan's SUV getting waylaid by reporters when they drove into the school parking lot. But students were whispering all through morning classes, so she didn't miss any of the gossip. During computer class, she read the Neptune Register's report to find out what was semi-true and what was rumor. Tad Wilson was found by a waitress outside a restaurant along the PCH. He was on his way to San Diego to visit a couple of surf shops, when he stopped to get gas. While at the pump, he was jumped and dragged into a field behind the restaurant. He was severely beaten - broken nose, broken arm, broken ribs, broken fingers - and his car was stolen. According to the police, the restaurant-slash-gas station was old and didn't have video surveillance. Mr. Wilson didn't get a good look at his attackers and no one in the restaurant saw the incident. There were no immediate suspects. Veronica had to give Weevil credit. The restaurant was close enough to San Diego to throw suspicion off the PCHers.

"Mugged and car jacked," Logan corrected. After the previous days fiasco, he gave up on sitting with the '09ers. Besides, he wanted to be with Veronica anyway. "I heard he's in really bad shape."

There was such a happy undertone to his words, Veronica was tempted to smack him. For all practical purposes, she'd ordered the beat-down and that didn't sit well with her at all. Meg told her Tad deserved whatever he got, but she still felt guilty. At least Weevil kept his promise; Tad wasn't dead.

"Are you talking about that Tad guy?" Wallace set down his lunch tray as he joined them. "I heard it was bad too. He's going to be in the hospital for a couple of days."

Logan pushed Wallace's tray out of the way. "That stuff will kill you. Here." He tossed him a plain white waxed paper bag.

As Wallace opened the bag, the smell of steak hoagie filled his nostrils. "Where were you when I was forced to eat meatloaf surprise?" He pulled the sandwich out, took the chips Logan offered. He surveyed the edible lunch, then looked over at Veronica, true delight in his face. "Can we keep him, ma, can we?"

Veronica clued back into the conversation, adding the required response. "Only if you clean up after him, son."

"Ha, ha," Logan deadpanned. He split his sandwich in two, giving half to Veronica, then placed a salad in front of her. "There may be brownies, but I'm not making promises."

Veronica picked up her fork and started eating. "Since when does Delvecchio's deliver?" She recognized the food as coming from a sub shop near Dog Beach. She hoped the question would divert any further discussion of Tad.

"They don't. Dick went surfing this morning. He called and asked if I wanted anything before he came in." Logan nudged Veronica's arm and pointed to the '09er table across from them. "Actually..."

Dick was staring at her, the same kicked puppy dog expression on his face she'd seen in the suite the night before, accept this time there was a hopefully note to it. He pointed to himself and then at her, then made a walking motion with his fingers. Veronica groaned. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I told him it was up to you, but he really doesn't want to sit with them." Logan stuck out his bottom lip, batted his eyelashes at his girlfriend. "Please?"

She was too concerned about the other thing to really care where Dick ate his lunch. "Fine, but he makes one jackass remark and I'm sending him back." Logan waved his friend over. The big blonde practically leapt up from the table. And he wasn't alone. Veronica's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my god, we're being invaded."

Wallace looked over his shoulder to see what Veronica was talking about. Along with the Casablancas brothers, whom he officially met the day before when they'd walked Veronica and Logan into school, was another '09er boy Wallace didn't know. "What's going on?" he asked cautiously.

Soon, the table was filled with people. Some Veronica didn't mind having around, others she wished would stay on their own side of the quad. Casey Grant, Dick and Beaver. Meg showed up at one point. And Mac, although Mac was as uncomfortable with the new arrivals as Veronica.

Casey was talking basketball to Wallace. Dick was telling Logan about the surf that morning. Mac and Beaver were discussing some computer program. Meg was engaged in conversation with another member of the cheerleading squad who'd wandered over. Everyone was getting along peaceably, but Veronica felt claustrophobic. She was squeezed between Logan and Dick, and although Dick was being... not-Dick, she wasn't happy. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. She stuffed her trash into a paper bag, and bolted.

It took Logan seconds to catch up with her. "Hey, where are you going?"

Veronica crossed her arms over her chest protectively. "I didn't sign up for this, Logan. I didn't..." She knew they were being watched, and she didn't want to fight, but she was antsy and uncomfortable, and she knew he was going to push.

Logan ran his hands up and down her arms in a comforting gesture. "They're my friends, Veronica."

"Then you go sit with them," she snapped before walking away again.

In two steps Logan was back beside her. "Is that what you want?" he asked, his voice tinged with anger and hurt, a mix he did so well. "You want me to sit with the '09ers?"

Veronica kept walking until they were out of sight from prying eyes, confident he would follow. "No, you shouldn't have to put up with them, but I shouldn't have to -" She hesitated. "Just pick another table. There are plenty of open ones. You don't have to sit at the '09er table."

"So I can either sit with my friends or sit with you, but I can't do both? Is that what you're saying?" Logan ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "They're standing by me, Ronnie. They've got my back. In case you haven't noticed, not many people do right now."

"I do," she said softly. Veronica didn't understand how he could forgive them so easily. Yesterday he was screaming at them because of their behavior, and his friends, Dick included, had said nothing. No one had stood by him then. "What Dick did for me... I can't begin to thank him. And Casey and I, we have an understanding. But that doesn't mean I'm comfortable being around people whose mission for the past year has been to make me miserable. My emotions don't flip on a dime. I'm sorry, but I can't... I won't sit with them. I'm not ready to forgive and forget. I'm not made that way."

"I accept Wallace," Logan pleaded. "I accept Mac."

"When did Wallace or Mac write slut on your locker? When did they egg your car? When did they throw trash at you while you were walking down a public street? It's not the same and you know it!" Veronica dropped her head, trying to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. Maybe her dad was right; she should have stayed home. "If you and I broke-up tomorrow, they'd start doing it all again. I don't feel safe around them."

As Veronica said the last part, Mac approached them. "Veronica, you got a minute? I need your help in the computer lab." Before her friend could respond, Mac gently grasped her elbow and escorted her away from Logan, who was wise enough not to follow. When the doors of the school closed behind them and they were alone in the empty hall, Mac dropped her hand. "Are you okay?"

"People have been asking me that a lot lately," Veronica quipped. She held the side of her finger to her eye to catch a tear before it slid down her cheek. "Thanks for the save." They walked together down the hall, Mac periodically glancing in Veronica's direction, not sure what to say. As they approached the computer lab, Veronica asked, "Do you really need help with something?"

"Na, but I found more faculty personal adds on-line. Watching a few might cheer you up. I know they make me laugh." Mac smirked. "In a completely skeeved out, how-do-I-look-these-people-in-the-eye-ever-again sort of way."

Veronica pasted a bright, but obviously fake smile on her face. "Sounds like fun."

"For the record," Mac began as she pushed open the door to the classroom, "I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did."

--- VVV

Veronica waited for Logan by her locker. She waited as long as she could before heading to journalism. She was a little disappointed he hadn't come to her, but she wasn't mad at him. It was a non-fight, really. It wasn't until the end that she said what she should have said at the beginning, and she hadn't stuck around to hear his response.

She'd become so accustomed to not having friends, she forgot what that felt like when it first happened. Sure, she had Wallace now. And Mac and Meg. Weevil too. But so many months went by where it was only her, where she was the only person she could count on, she forgot how difficult the sudden isolation could be. She didn't have a choice. When she sided with her dad, the rest of her world dissolved into something unrecognizable. But when it first happened, if someone had offered friendship, she would have glommed onto it. Logan's life was in a tailspin. He was angry with his friends, but a few had extended an olive branch. She could understand why he accepted it. And really, she didn't want him to go through what she went through. If his friends were willing to let him back in, she wanted him to take advantage of it. But she'd lived in her own corner of the world for so long, she was wary of sudden change. And she was skeptical of people's motivation.

She didn't want Logan to give up his friends, but she'd be damned if she'd play nice just to please him. Obviously she needed to do a better job of explaining. She was confident once he saw her point of view, he'd understand and they could figure it out together. They'd been doing a pretty good job of that so far.

She walked into class to find him already seated at a table. She put her books down next to him. "About earlier -"

"They won't be eating with us tomorrow," Logan cut her off. "I choose you." Then the bell rang before Veronica could respond.

Once the teacher took attendance and students got to work, she tried again. "I don't want you to choose." Logan opened his mouth, but Veronica shook her head. "If you want to go surfing with Dick, or play video games with Beaver, or go to TJ with Luke, I'm not going to stop you." She rethought the last part. "Okay, maybe not TJ with Luke. The whole steroid thing." The corner of Logan's mouth turned up. "I'm not giving you an ultimatum. I'm not going to break-up with you because I don't like your friends, but I'm not going to hang-out with them either."

After she left with Mac, Logan finally heard what she'd been trying to tell him. They were working through their problems of the past year, but Veronica had issues with other people and he couldn't force her to renew old friendships. It was her decision, and it would have to be done on her timetable. He brushed her hair away from her face, hooking a few strands behind her ear before running his finger down the side of her throat. "I pushed you into that today, didn't I?"

Veronica shivered at the gentle touch, but leaned into it just the same. "You didn't know." Under the table, she grabbed his knee and dug her nails into his jeans. "But now you do, so don't do it again," she finished threateningly.

Logan pried her hand away, entwined their fingers together, then rested their joined hands on his thigh. "I'm sorry I forced you to choose between us and your dad." Veronica blinked at him in surprise. Looking back, Logan realized it was the worst thing he'd done to her and he'd never apologized. "You believe in him. I didn't understand that, how you could believe in him. I didn't understand a lot of things about the relationship the two of you have. But I've seen it now, up close. You had to stand by him. He'd stand by you, no questions asked."

Veronica glanced around the room as she dropped her voice to a whisper. This was fast becoming one of those conversations she didn't want to have in public. "You were hurt. You lashed out and I was a convenient target."

Logan grasped her chin between his fingers, forced her to look directly at him so their eyes connected. "Don't make excuses for me, Veronica. You never have before." She slowly nodded in agreement and he let her go. "We can talk about the rest later, but I... I wanted you to know now that I'm sorry."

Veronica squeezed his hand. "Apology accepted." She smiled at him, happy that they were good again. She knew he'd understand.

--- VVV

"So school was boring." Keith picked through the Chinese food Veronica had smuggled into his room, thankful he was spared what the hospital laughing called dinner. "That must have been a nice change for everyone."

Logan munched on an egg roll while watching his girlfriend with amusement. She was devouring a carton of cashew chicken. She ate lunch, so he knew she couldn't be that hungry. He nudged Wallace who was sitting next to him, pointed at her. The other boy nodded in agreement while rolling his eyes.

Veronica missed it all. "I wouldn't complain if the rest of the year went by in a similar fashion," she said around a mouthful of food. "I knew things had to settle down eventually, but I didn't expect it to happen so fast."

"Take advantage of it while it lasts," Keith reminded her, knowing another storm was right around the corner. He looked over her shoulder at Logan. "Did you hear from the DA today or the federal prosecutor?"

Veronica told Wallace about the tapes, but only after asking Logan if it was all right. Logan knew it would come out eventually, and Wallace had been pretty cool with things, so it didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. "They haven't called, but I did talk to Cliff while Veronica was getting the food. He hasn't heard anything from the feds either, but he wants me to call him the minute they get in touch with me. He doesn't want me talking to them or helping them unless he's there. He did talk to the Neptune DA though. They're going to wait for the doctors to release Aaron before officially pressing charges. It's not like Aaron's going anywhere anytime soon and the longer they wait the more time Burrows has to gather evidence. Once it happens, there'll be a bail hearing. Cliff said I could make a statement to the court if I wanted. He's not sure if it'll help, but I think I might do it."

"No way he gets bail." Wallace glanced around, looking at the room's three other occupants for confirmation. "I mean, there's just no way. All those charges? They have to consider him a flight risk."

Keith wished the system was impartial, but it wasn't. Aaron was a high profile defendant, but he had money, and that changed things. "I'd like to say it's not possible, but you never know for sure. The judge could decide setting a high bail and confiscating his passport is enough. I don't think that's likely, especially with the federal charges looming, but truthfully, it wouldn't surprise me. Aaron doesn't have a record. And there's no hard evidence connecting him to Lilly's murder. The tapes show motive, but there's nothing linking him to the scene."

Wallace glanced at Logan, whose eyes were focused on the floor, before he continued. He figured there were going to be a lot of uncomfortable conversations like this before it was all over. "Even though he attacked you and Veronica trying to get those tapes back. It still won't be enough?"

Keith also saw Logan physically withdraw from the conversation. He knew how difficult it was for the boy, but he wasn't going to lie to make Logan feel better. They'd all deal with the truth together. "I want all of you to be prepared, because in all honesty, I don't think the murder charge is going to stick. Convincing a juror that Aaron killed Lily is going to be difficult. There's no physical evidence. Veronica's testimony about what he said isn't going to be enough. His defense attorney will try to throw blame on anyone else with a motive. Duncan's epilepsy will be made public, so will Jake and Celeste's attempt to destroy evidence. Logan's alibi is blown. They'll say he went off in a jealous rage. All of that helps to create reasonable doubt. Aaron could easily be acquitted. At this point I'm counting on the feds. If Aaron goes to jail, it will probably be because of what they find on those tapes."

Connecting Aaron to the scene. There'd been a whisper of thought running around Veronica's mind for days. Suddenly it clarified into an actual idea. "There are two traffic cameras between the Echoll's place and the Kanes. Like the one that caught Lilly and put her time of death into question. Did you ever pull the data from them?"

Keith sat in stunned silence for a few seconds. "Damn, honey. I didn't think of that." He lowered his container and his fork as he arranged the puzzle pieces in his mind. "I pulled the information, but we didn't know the time of death was wrong until recently. I never looked at the other data."

"And there's no way Lamb ever thought to look," Veronica supplied, a smile hovering on her lips.

Keith picked up the phone excitedly. "Burrows might not know those cameras exist. He won't know to check them."

Logan sat up straight, a small spark of hope coming to light in his eyes. "Could we get that lucky? Get proof of him driving to or from the Kanes house at the time Lilly was killed?"

"It would place him in the area," Keith said as he dialed. "Every little bit helps at this point. One piece of evidence layered on top of another, that's how you build a solid case." Someone answered on the other end of the line. "This is Keith Mars. I need to speak with Captain Burrows."

Logan turned to Veronica, the spark shining bright now. "Aaron drives fast, he always has."

Veronica's smile widened as she stood up to walk towards him. "And if he was trying to get away from the scene of a crime..."

"He might be speeding," Logan finished. He knew it was a long shot, but it was something. He needed to see Aaron convicted of Lilly's murder. It wouldn't be over, not truly over, until he heard a jury say the bastard was guilty.

Wallace stretched out his legs in front of him. "You know the best part? We don't have to break in to the sheriff's department. Your dad makes a phone call, and, Bam! It's taken care of."

"I don't know," Veronica said, her voice laced with humor. "The smoke bomb worked so well the last time." She grinned at her partner in crime as she sat down in Logan's lap. "And the delivery device was, dare I say, inspired."

"You do get props for that." Wallace met her eyes, making sure not to look at Logan, or crack a smile. "Not many people would think to put a smoke bomb in a bong."

Logan looked at Veronica, then Wallace, then back at Veronica. "I always knew that was you."

---TBC