Surprised to see an update from me? Yeah, so am I. I really lost my inspiration and decided I wasn't going to post the remaining chapters until I finished the story. Well, all I have left to write is the Epilogue, so those who are still with me, you can except regular updates until the end.

It was pointed out that I've kind of lost my Veronica voice, and I completely agree. I've read and reread the story a million times trying to fix it, but I really can't find the same inspiration. Hopefully what I have come up with will at least be a satisfying conclusion.

So please, drop a review or add the story to alert just to know I have some people still with me. I do thank all who have reviewed the story during the time of my disappearance because these chapters would not have been written without the constant encouragement.

As soon as the suite's door closed behind me, I regretted my choice to run away and disappear for a few hours but I didn't want to relinquish my whole argument. Had I turned around and went back, everything I had just blown out of proportion, would have all been for nothing. Sure, maybe Logan got my point but my storming out really drove it home.

The whole cab ride to Duncan's was agonizing as I tried to keep my head up and alert. Falling asleep in the cab was not ideal and would definitely not help out with my lack of sleep problem.

The house was completely dark. I turned the key slowly, hoping the walls would absorb any sound I was undeniably going to make so that I didn't disturb the inhabitants. The last thing I needed was to wake either Duncan or Lilly because an explanation for my early morning visit would be necessary before being able to collapse on my bed.

Finally making into the room I had lived in up until a week ago despite my slow tiptoeing was like the sky was opening up and a chorus of angels came out to sing 'Hallelujah'. The bed was soft. My head was heavy. My eyes closed fast. My sleep was dreamless. And yet, I wasn't content.

There was nothing here to wake me up and by nothing I meant my little baby girl. How could I have walked out on her that quickly? My own mother had at least lasted sixteen years. All it took for me was one night on my own.

By eight o'clock, I knew no more sleep would come. I had wound myself up too much to come down. A strong part of me wanted to call Logan, make sure things were okay but I didn't want to risk waking Brittlynn up with a ringing phone, again. As much as I needed sleep, my little peanut needed more. And she needed her mother there with her.

I didn't even stop to brush my teeth as I gathered my bag and headed for the door. Once outside I would call the cab company and wait anxiously until I could get back to the hotel. Sure, this was my plan, but I'm Veronica Mars and nothing comes easy.

"Veronica?" A voice whispered behind me, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.

With a hand to my heart I turned around to accost my offender, "Jeeze, Duncan, kill me why don't you."

"What are you doing here?" There was never a sugar coating with Duncan around.

"I needed some sleep."

He thought about that for a few seconds, evidently perplexed by a human's need for slumber, "So you left your newborn baby and husband...to sleep here?"

I shook my head, trying to make more sense of it for myself, "It's a long story but I really need to be getting back."

"Hold up," He put a hand on my arm, "It's gotta be something more, something bigger to make you come here."

This wasn't going to be easy. Of course Duncan wanted the details. His best friend and former love just resurfaced in his life. To him, this was making up for lost time. For me, this was losing precious moments I wouldn't get back.

"I just," I didn't know how to word what I was feeling, "Things just aren't what I thought it would be."

"What did Logan do?"

I laughed. To fit with the natural flow of things, it had to be Logan's fault, but this time, I wasn't so sure about that.

"He had to go to work. And I don't know, I freaked being alone with Brittlynn for that long," I finally admitted, "I didn't know what I was doing. I don't want to screw up."

His mouth turned up into a grin. It wasn't something I saw often, having been nearly nonexistent the last few years of high school, but it was comforting, "Ronnie, you're not going to screw up."

"Are you a fortune teller now?"

He shook his head, "I've seen you with Lilly. You're great. You're loving. There's not much more a kid could ask for."

I shrugged. Sure I could babysit, but this was something different, "Lilly's not my baby."

"She could've been," He mumbled but not soft enough for me to miss it. He was right. At one point, I could've been the one pregnant in high school rather than Meg. I shuddered at the thought, "There was a time I wished you were her mother."

"But what about M-"

"Had it been you, things would have been different," He cut me off, "Maybe we would've still been together."

Suddenly, I was all too aware of his hand on my arm, "Meg deserves more than that."

He pulled his hand away, "That came out wrong."

"Yeah, it did," I pulled my arms tight across my chest.

"I just know what you mean, about not wanting to screw up," He ran his hands through his hair, "That's what happened to us."

My brows furrowed, "That's what happened to us? What happened to us was you needed to flee the country to keep your daughter safe. And I had to stay behind."

"I waited for you, you know," His dark glare met my confused one, "I hoped for the day when things were safe for Lilly, and then you and I could be together again."

"You can't honestly say that. It's been almost two years!"

He shrugged, "Okay, so maybe it's just been in the back of my mind."

"So why now?" I dropped my bag, "Why are you stirring the pot? I just had a baby. With Logan!"

His voice dropped to a level that I almost couldn't hear, "Lilly."

"What about Lilly?"

"She needs a mother. Someone for her," His voice cracked, "And someone for me."

His next actions took me by surprise. My brain took a few seconds to compute that his lips were on mine, working hungrily to gain something. I pounded on his chest, almost wishing I had my taser handy.

"What. Are. You. Thinking?" I spat angrily once we were separated.

He wiped his mouth, horrified himself, "I just-Lilly already thinks of you as her mother."

I began pacing, "And where would she get that idea?"

"I don't know," He shrugged defensively, "I guess because you were around so much. I really don't know but when you left, she kept yelling for her Momma. I put a picture of Meg next to her crib but that didn't help any. She kept pulling me towards your room. And then I got it."

I felt panic rise up in my chest. I knew I was about to cry but I bit so hard into my cheeks I tasted blood in my mouth, "I can't believe this."

Instead, he broke down, "I'm sorry, Veronica. I'm just so lonely. Why does Logan get everything I've ever wanted?"

The last time I had seen Duncan like this was the night Lilly was murdered. The hysterics that followed his raging black out. Had this been another one of his episodes? Was his disease acting out his true feelings? Could epilepsy even do that? Either way, I needed to get out of there.

"Don't call me. Don't try to see me. As of right now, we're through because obviously we can't be just friends," I held tight to my composure, "Maybe down the line, but not right now. I'll call you."

Faster than I'd moved in months, I scooped up my bag and was out the door beginning my walk down the street. My hands were shaking too much to call the cab company. I needed time to think.

What was I going to tell Logan? He would want to kill Duncan. I wanted to kill Duncan. And then I wanted to kill Logan. Had he not made me so angry that I needed to leave, none of this would've happened. Or would Duncan have been still secretly pining over me. Pining over me? God, my life seemed like a bad teenaged soap opera.

I needed a cab.

I tiptoed across the suite, carefully placing my bags as I made my way to the bedroom. The silence was golden and something I wasn't used to in this atmosphere. Obviously someone had done something right and that just brought my own parenting skills into question.

I pushed the bedroom door open, hoping it wouldn't squeak and alert him that I had returned. On the other side, I placed a hand over my heart; the sight was not something I would've wanted to miss. Logan was asleep, flat on his stomach, his head facing the middle of the bed. Pillows were built up where I should've been sleeping. And in the middle, Brittlynn was sprawled out on her back, facing Logan. It was one of the pictures you'd see in one of the cute baby calendars.

Carefully, I moved the pillows. I laid myself down, propping my head on my elbow. And for once in the last twenty-four hours, I knew this is exactly where I was supposed to be. Brittlynn gurgled and Logan's eyes shot open.

"Hi," He whispered, after he checked on Brittlynn.

"Hi," I sighed. Just thinking about the whole night made my eyes tear up. Damn hormones.

He reached across and caught an escaped tear, "Bobcat, it's okay."

"It's not."

He shushed me, "You had every right to be mad at me. I was a jerk."

"It's not that," I choked on a sob. I placed a hand over my mouth to stifle the sound. This room had housed enough crying. I retreated into the living room.

Logan followed, only after he built up walls of pillows, "Veronica, what's the matter?"

I sucked in a few deep breaths, "I need to tell you something. Something big. But you have to promise me you won't do anything stupid."

The color drained from his face, "What's going on?"

"You need to promise me."

He shook his head vigorously. "I can't."

I cradled his face between my hands, "You need to. I can't have you running out on me. Not now. There are more important things. And besides, I handled it. I just thought you should know."

"Just tell me."

I gnawed my bottom lip, "Duncan…he kissed me."

"What?" His pale face turned beet red.

"He was going on and on about underlying reasons I ended up at his house. I don't know. He said something about being lonely and still being in love with me."

Logan's fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, "He said what?"

"Logan, breathe."

He broke from my grasp, pacing the room, "How could he? He's my best fucking friend. Always."

"Stop it. Just stop it." I yelled at him, "Can't you see he's jealous of you?"

"Jealous? He's trying to steal away my wife and the mother of my child?"

I shook my head. I always had to spell things out, "Look at his life. He's been in hiding for the last two years alone. He has a child but no wife. There's not even a girl in the picture."

"Yeah, because he loves you!"

"I am not finished," I scolded, "He has no one in his life to share things with. He has nothing that you have. If anything, you should feel sorry for the guy. I do."

"I'll feel even sorrier when I'm through with him."

I placed a firm hand on his chest, "I said I handled him. You don't always have to be the brawn you know."

"You smashed his face in?"

I shot him a warning look, "He's not going to be coming around here any time soon. Trust me on that one."

He wrapped his hand around mine, "I just…can't you see how much I love you?"

"I do." I squeezed his hand, reassuringly. "And I'm sorry how I reacted. I really don't want to say hormones, again, but I think it was a little bit of everything." I released myself from his grasp and settled onto the couch. "I miss everyone. I wish my dad had been here, to see Brittlynn. I just wish life was back to normal."

"Oh, Ronnie." He sat down next to me, his hand resting lightly on my thigh, "I should've known all this. God, I'm an idiot. I mean, I know I don't have many people left in the world but I miss Neptune too. But I've got the two most important people in my life right here with me."

I wiped away a tear I didn't know I was crying as he continued. "I just wanted to make sure our life here was perfect. I didn't want to screw up again. She deserves a life so much better than the ones we've had."

"She will," I whispered, "I know she will."
We sat there, together and he cradled me as I imagined he cradled little Brittlynn. Suddenly, I missed her even though she was just a few feet away in the other room. I laced my fingers in his as I stood up and pulled him back towards the bedroom. And though Brittlynn's first twenty-four hours home were over, we laid in bed, as a family, until she woke up screaming with hunger.