Chapter 2

Return Address

It's Monday morning and LAX is surprisingly quiet. Her hair is mussed from her flight and she pushes her sunglasses higher on the bridge of her nose as she throws on a ratty baseball cap.

She's prepared for paparazzi, but is still taken completely off guard at baggage claim. Keith Mars, his arm slung over his wife's shoulder, grins when he catches a glimpse of his daughter's attempts at being inconspicuous. Wallace stands next to his mother. It's still a little weird to both he and Veronica that they're now step siblings. But its been five years and they're now grasping at acceptance. He always crashes at her apartment when he plays the Knicks. And they speak on the phone at least three times a week.

They see each other even more frequently now that he's married Jackie, who visits her mother constantly in the city. Her son, Ethan, is eleven now and recently received a little sister near Christmas. Naomi Alicia Fennel is Veronica's goddaughter. And she's seen the girl too few times since her birth.

When she sees the baby in her mother's arms, waiting for her godmother to arrive guilt grips her heart ferociously. She is a coward. Selfish and ungrateful, especially to those that love her. To those that care the most.

She bites her lip to keep from crying as he father beams and pull into his arms. Then Alicia. Then Jackie and Naomi. And finally Wallace. Who squeezes for just a second too long. In the past five years, nearly six, she has stayed in California for a grand total of five nights. She's committed to a full week this time. More then every other visit combined.

"Mac wanted to come," he excuses as he pulls away, "but she had to call an emergency meeting. Something about software-"

"He tends to tune out when she starts speaking in computer," Jack interrupts with a smile, shifting her daughter higher up on her hip.

"No, I think this is definitely a large enough crowd," Veronica grumbles as she moves to find her bag, she can't suppress her smile though.

"Back up girl," Wallace orders as he side steps her and pulls her gray suitcase off the baggage claim machine, "I got this. Go see my daughter, she's forgetting what you like already."

As Veronica takes the infant out of her mother's arms carefully, recalling fleetingly that this is the first time she's held a child since Lilly Kane (the second), Naomi gifts her with a large and toothless smile. Veronica's dad reaches forward to squeeze her arm, "You look good kid."

"Brunette has always suited you," Alicia adds. And it may or may not be a lie. Veronica's had brown hair for so long that she almost forgets what it was like to be a natural blonde. But she still catches her family and friends looking at her out of the corner of their eyes'. It drives Logan insane. She knows because eight weeks ago they had spent quite a bit of time talking, arguing actually, about it in his bed. His accusation was that it was just another way for her to hide. He had thrown that out right before she had made her infamous escape.

It's for that reason that she's wearing her ridiculous get up. LAX is constantly crawling with with reporters and she's not about to let anyone know that Logan Echolls' perpetually lost love is back in town yet again. This is Mac's special week and she refuses to overshadow it with her dumbass drama.

She allows herself to be loaded into Wallace's Escalade and driven home. She naps on her father's shoulder. And for the first time since falling asleep in Logan's arms two months ago she doesn't have a single chill inducing dream.

It almost convinces her that her recent decision is the correct one. That leaving Manhattan and her job, starting down an entirely new career path and returning to California will not be fraught completely with disaster. Only Mac is entirely aware of her intentions. And the bride to be has been sworn to secrecy. Veronica's attempting to keep all hell from breaking loose until after the wedding.

When she wakes up at her father's home, a four bedroom bungalow a few blocks away from the beach, she sighs and grips her Keith's hand. She'd hated Neptune. Couldn't wait to get out. But somehow she'd ended up going to college only a few miles away. And when she had finally "escaped" she'd thought about home constantly. Well not really about the place but the people that populated it. She'd felt them missing like a physical ache. And no amount of postcards or phone calls or video chats could ever fill that particular void.

It's ludicrous really. Completely ridiculous. But as she walks into a house she doesn't really recognize with her makeshift family in tow she realizes she hasn't felt more at home in forever. Or, more specifically, since she decided to leave in the first place.

After Mac's emergency software meeting she drags Veronica to a fancy French bridal boutique for an emergency dress fitting. Veronica's dress is strapless and ruby red. Classic and understated just like Mac. Who is gorgeous, her hair pinned up in a fancy bun and light pink dress shirt tucked into her dark gray pencil skirt. Her stilettos are at least five inches tall and click against the expensive marble floor as the owner prattles on about Mac's perfect waist.

Finally Mac slams the door and groans, "Thank God this wedding is in a week. It's taking all the internal strength I have not to go Bridezilla on that two faced French impostor. Yeah right her name's Francesca, I looked it up, she was born three miles away. And until she opened this shop she went by Franky Newman."

Veronica's voice is syrupy sweet as she comments wryly, "Well she may be an American native, but Franky seems to have mastered the art of French kissing your ass."

"She's expecting Dick's old money and my new money to roll down hill," Mac comments with a playful eye roll as Veronica pulls closed a cloth partition to separate them and begins to shrug out of her ripped jeans and black tank top. The bride takes a seat on a plush armchair and crosses her legs at the ankle.

Veronica shrugs into her dress and concludes, "Little does she know you don't overly compensate French posers."

As she adjusts the gown Veronica hears her cellphone vibrate treacherously in her pocket. She knows whose calling. The same person whose responsible for the other fifty three missed calls and her full voicemail. Rolling her eyes Veronica pulls the battered piece of FBI equipment from her pants, eyeing it stoically before turning it off. Then she straightens and draws back the curtain with flourish and without glancing in the mirror.

Mac assesses her with blank eyes and then her face breaks out into a wide smile as she shakes her head, "No, she definitely earns every penny," her head tilts as she whispers teasingly, "You look like a princess."

Veronica blanches as she finally turns to assess herself in the mirror, "Says Corporate Barbie." She does look pretty though, it's hard to deny. But this is about Mac, and Veronica catches her eye in the mirror as she twirls, asking pointedly,"Does Dick know how lucky he is?"

Mac blinks, and then her happy smile switches to a serene one as she nods, "Yeah, I think he definitely does." Then she turns her attention back to her iPhone and begins typing furiously as she mumbles under her breath, "And if not our prenup will remind him."

Veronica snorts despite herself and then looks back over her shoulder, a wicked eyebrow raised, "You know what? I really missed you."

"That makes two of us," Mac comments quietly again before raising her head from her cellphone. She throws the device back into her purse and crosses her arms appraisingly, "So I know what I think of the dress. But you're being awfully quiet V."

Veronica scrunches her nose and puts her hand on her hip calculatingly, "It wasn't exactly what I requested."

Mac rolls her eyes, "A Harry Potter style invisibility cloak would clash with my flower arrangements.

"But definitely cut down on the inevitable bar room brawls," Veronica counters dryly.

"You have to talk to Logan about all of this at some point Veronica," Mac exclaims exasperatedly, "I know you insisted on everything being anonymous, but the people that know you are gonna be able to tell. And frankly, your pseudonym isn't that clever."

Veronica closes her eyes and rubs her temples with her palms frantically, "I'm not telling Logan anything. At least not until you and Dick are safely on your flight to Florence."

"Well it's the only thing I'm going to be thinking about this week anyway," Mac mumbles with a shrug.

Veronica sighs in frustration, and then marches forward and grips her friend by the shoulders so that she can look her in the eye, "Then stop. This is my problem Mac. My decisions and my mistakes. Logan is allowed to be mad at me and I'm allowed to be mad at him. You're marrying a man who you love and who loves you. That's all you should be thinking about."

Mac grips Veronica's wrists, a look of shock on her face as a tear slides down her cheek, "I think this is the moment. The bride and maid of honor moment."

Mac tightens her grip, "It's good to have you back Bond."

"Likewise Q."

Logan Echolls discovers that the love of his life has returned to their hometown during a call with his agent. Nadine Frasier is a forty five year old hardass who runs Logan's career with in a ruthless, authoritative manor. Most people in the business see her as a cut throat bitch. But Logan, like most of her important clients, knows a completely different side of her. She values her client's trust above anything else. She is blatantly honest and always speaks her mind, traits Logan has always known were rare in the Hollywood industry.

Nadine doesn't sugar coat and she doesn't have time for small talk, "Veronica Mars was spotted at LAX four hours ago. Still sporting that ridiculous brown hair. Your publicist managed to keep it out of the headlines, but I need to know right now if we're going to have another problem."

It takes Logan a minute to process the information, but after that his composure is flawless. If there's one thing his childhood had taught him it was how to retain a brave face in the most trying of circumstances. Indifference and sharp wit have always worked before. So he replies evenly and with a slightly bitter smile, "Nadine, two months ago Veronica scaled the six foot fence in front of my house just to get away from me. I'd say our love story has concluded. Happy ending most certainly sold separately."

Nadine scoffs, "Please don't bullshit me Echolls. Your bluster might work on most girls but you should know by now that I'm immune. You've had Veronica in your system since the day we met. And you know I like her, that prickly personality aside, but she has always, will always, driven you crazy. She has this puppet master like ability to draw out both the best and worst aspects of your personality. And it'd be a shame to lie to me and yourself and say that she's something you can just move on from."

Nadine hesitates and then her voice softens, taking on a mothering tone, "Now you're worth weathering the Mars storm for, but it'd be nice to have a little warning so I can build us some shelter."

Logan sighs, he's done with this topic. All he can picture is his deceptive pit bull of an ex girlfriend pulling on her green cocktail dress and turning away over and over. She'd dropped over a fence and into a street filled with paparazzi to escape him then. Abandoned her family and the only home she'd ever known years before that. She was always running away, and he was finished chasing after her. Whether it made his heart clutch like a vice or not.

"Nadine," Logan barks, clutching his forehead in his hand, "You're a good agent. But you're not my shrink. Veronica and I are a complicated fucking mess. I'll give you that. She's in town because this weekend our two best friends happen to be coming together in unholy matrimony. I didn't tell you because for obvious reasons I wanted to avoid this conversation."

The dial tone is thick in both agent and actor's ears as they sit at desk and poolside respectively. Both blink a few times before muttering frustratedly, "Fuck."

After a few more seconds of contemplation Logan punches in the recently familiar phone number of Eli Navarro. The man answers on the first ring with a brisk, "What do you want?"

Logan's voice is decidedly less calm now, "Our favorite ex PI is back in town. We need to finish this. Now."

Thanks to everyone who reviewed yesterday! I'd list your names but my laptop is rapidly running out of battery. Please repeat your good behavior though.