Its been awhile! Sorry for the wait, I've had a lot on my plate these last two weeks. As penance I'll try to get another update out within the week. No promises though!

Chapter 5

Nightmares

6:45 pm Monday September 3

Alcohol isn't the answer. He knows that. It won't solve his problems or make them go away. He knows that too. But it will numb the pain. If only for a few fleeting moments.

It's melodramatic and extremely childish. But he's been chasing the illusive symptom for half his life. That blissful indifference, as everything but the warm, hard feeling in the pit of his stomach melts away.

He shouldn't. He has places to be and people to see. An ex who will look down on him as if nothing has changed. But fuck her. Seriously. Veronica Mars has a lot of explaining to do herself. A God complex and a bad attitude. He's done trying to pretend he's something different. They both have flaws. But he's pretty sure if he wrote them down their numbers would be pretty close to even.

It has always been such a goddamn blurry line with her. Love and hate melting together until he can't tell the difference. So confused and angry that all he wants to do is kiss and kill her in the same breath. He doesn't want to be angry tonight. Doesn't want to be anything. So he tips the bottle back and makes another grasp at oblivion.

6:45 pm Monday September 3

She gets there first on purpose. Nervous and holding a reasonably expensive bottle of wine by the neck. She knows Wallace is trying to play mediator. Her best friend giving her safe haven to work out her problems before she's once again stuck under a microscope. But life doesn't work out like that. And she has no doubt this dinner will be another disaster to add to her ever growing list.

Ethan opens the door with a smile, peaking out shyly, "Dad said I should tell everyone to leave their weapons at the door."

Veronica smiles, holding up her hands, "Unarmed, I swear."

Wallace appears behind his son, and looks at her skeptically, "Learn now kid, Veronica Mars can never really be unarmed. Not with that mouth," Wallace winks before adding under his breath, "She's a lot like your mother."

Ethan grins before running back down the hallway, leaving Wallace and Veronica in the foyer. She hands him the bottle. "Cute kid," she remarks as she shrugs out of her coat. She'd dug out some of her old clothes for the occasion. Short black skirt, long sleeved red shirt, and tall black boots. Her hair is pinned up conservatively. The usual mess of dark locks wrangled into a bun at the base of her skull.

"I know," Wallace agrees, nodding with pride before closing the awkward distance between them and wrapping her into a bear hug. His house is immaculate. With high ceilings and gleaming hardwood floors. The furniture is obviously designer, but comes with a lived in feel that's inevitable with two young children.

She feels a stab of self consciousness. Despite being an invited guest and the owner's best fiend, she still feels like an intruder. A lost teenager in the home of real adults. How is it that all her friends had grown up without her? Gotten lives and jobs and families, while she was still stuck?

Wallace pulls away, but wraps a strong arm around her shoulders as he sets the bottle of wine on a table by the front door, "Come on, I think Naomi waited up for you."

They pass Jackie in the kitchen, hair pulled up as she stares down a huge pot of boiling water. She glances over her shoulder and throws out a preoccupied wave. The pair then travel up a winding staircase and she hears the little girl before she sees her. Gibberish and smacking lips she smiles toothlessly at the sight of her father and godmother.

Naomi's mobile plays softly and Wallace stands in the doorway as Veronica approaches the white crib. "Hey Naomi," she murmurs, laying a hand on the nearly sleeping infant's thick black hair. The baby coos, turning her head to the touch. And in a flash Veronica imagines a baby of similar age, with Logan's eyes and her blonde curls, beaming up at her.

She takes a few steps back. And it's humiliating, but tears creep back into her eyes again. She wishes it was some sort of mystery. This horrible loss. But unfortunately, she knows what happened. Every last detail.

"What's up Veronica," Wallace asks, concern ringing sincerely in his voice. He knows better then to approach her in this current state. She is always so skittish about vulnerability. So determined to be strong. This is a very rare occasion for the both of them.

"It's nothing," she murmurs, trying to shrug the moment off as she swipes at her tears with the back of her hands.

"Given our history I find that extremely hard to believe," Wallace replies, crossing his arms over his chest determinedly.

Veronica sniffles, her eyes flicking to her best friend's, "You can't tell anyone."

Wallace sighs, rolling his eyes as he closes the door behind him, "When have your secrets ever not been safe with me?"

And so, uncharacteristically and with her goddaughter sleeping right across the room, Veronica Mars starts at the beginning. And tells Wallace everything. Every last detail.

7:00 pm Monday September 3

Dick arrives home with the twin blondes in tow. Traffic was a total bitch and he doesn't have time to drop them off at their hotel before dinner. So he gets to enjoy their bickering for a few more glorious hours. He couldn't be more pleased.

He groans as he opens his car door. He can tell Mac is attempting to cook because he can hear the smoke alarm all the way across the yard. Piz shoots him a look, "Shouldn't we be a little concerned?"

Dick rolls his eyes as he starts towards the house, "Please, this is the music of my life. She can't make toast without setting off the detector."

"Why don't you just take the batteries," Parker questions as they mount the steps to the house.

"Tried it," Dick answers quickly, "A couple weeks later she took a shower and forgot about a frozen pizza in the oven. I came home to firetrucks and a charred kitchen."

Parker snorts, "So why does she keep trying?"

"Dude," Dick shrugs, "I just live here."

Sure enough he finds Mac in the kitchen, hosing down their complicated looking oven with a fire extinguisher. Dick promptly grabs the device, regarding her solemnly, "It's over babe. The meatloaf gives up."

Mac, flustered and with a bright pink apron over her chic, black dress, shoots him a dirty look, "I was baking brownies."

Dick dons an oven mitt to pull the smoldering ruins of Mac's attempts at boxed brownies out of the oven, "Either way, they surrender."

Mac sighs, running a hand across her gleaming forehead, "I promised Jackie we'd bring desert."

"So we'll pick up some fancy cupcakes or something on our way over," Dick replies simply before adding, "And it's our dinner party, why the hell are we responsible for food anyway?"

Mac looks at him sheepishly, "I may have insisted."

Dick rolls his eyes again, pulling her towards him by the strings of her apron and kissing her long and languidly before someone in the door clears their throat. Parker, arms crossed and hip jutted, looks at them disgustedly, "You guys are just so gross," she remarks before adding, "Also, we have to go like now or we're definitely going to be late."

Mac, still wrapped in Dick's arms and leaning precariously against the kitchen counter, looks at her friend skeptically before asking in a concerned voice, "Are you sure you don't want to change? Those shorts don't exactly look comfortable."

Dick grins into his fiancée's hair just as Piz lets out a validated guffaw from the living room. Parker regards her friend venomously, "Don't start with me."

7:30 pm Monday September 3

By the time the majority of Jackie's guests have arrived she is done cooking. Wallace and Veronica are sitting in the screened in porch watching the lightning crackle across the ocean. She is slightly suspicious of the pair. When they emerged from her daughter's bedroom a few minutes ago Veronica's eyes were red rimmed and her smile a little too fragile. Her husband too looked drained and distracted.

But she knows better then to ask questions. With Veronica Mars not knowing is almost always better.

Dick, Parker, Mac, and Piz all arrive in one large group. Wallace gets the door with Veronica following close behind. The first few minutes are a sea of cheek kissing and hugging and 'it's been too long.'

A bottle of wine is opened and everyone goes out onto the porch. Piz talks about his radio job and his and Parker's apartment hunt. Jackie talks about the baby and Wallace about training. Dick and Mac groan over last minute wedding preparations. Veronica stays quiet, curled up in her love seat, legs hanging over the edge she offers little more then side commentary and sparse nods.

After thirty minutes and four unanswered calls to Logan, Jackie starts to serve dinner. And they're all halfway through their garlic bread and salad when the doorbell finally rings. Jackie, whose preoccupied in the kitchen again, gets to the door first. With instinct that can probably be written off by her years of experience, Veronica knows immediately by the tone of his voice as Logan greets his hostess that night is about to turn into a nightmare. Across the table Dick stiffens as well.

"It used to be a full bottle," she hears him slur from the hall, "but I got thirsty during the drive."

"Jesus Christ," Dick mumbles as he pushes back his chair. Under the table Parker grabs Mac's hand and squeezes. Wallace, whose also rising from his seat, looks about ready to explode.

Luckily Veronica is quicker then both men, and exits the dining room in the lead with only a curt, "I've got this," as a goodbye.

She barrels down the hall, giving herself only a few minutes to take in his rumpled appearance. Dark jeans and gray T shirt, his hair manically disheveled. He's trying to talk to Jackie, whose got her hands full juggling his expensive, half empty bottle of vodka and trying to keep him from falling down on the floor face first.

She passes Jackie with a determined smile, both hands flying out to push Logan's brick wall of a chest out onto the porch without a word. Normally given their size difference it would be impossible, but he's not in any shape to win a fight, even against a midget like her. She slams the door decisively behind her.

Inside the house Parker pushes out her chair and runs to the open dining room window. Piz and Mac, their mouthes falling open in horror almost in unison, hiss, "Parker."

The blonde rolls her eyes at the group, "Oh yeah, like the rest of you don't want to know?" After glancing sheepishly at his bride to be Dick joins Parker by the window.

Outside Veronica glares at Logan disgustedly, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Just trying to have a little fun," Logan replies, matching her glare, "I forgot the Holy Trinity was back in town. Judge, jury, and executioner right Veronica? Last time I checked I was an invited guest."

He tries to sidestep her but she matches his movement, "Logan if you try to come back inside Wallace will kill you."

"What? Is this a dry house suddenly?" He sneers down at her.

"His kids are upstairs sleeping," she hisses, crossing her arms over her chest, "You can barely stand."

"I'm fine," he insists, once again trying to get past her.

"Logan," she repeats, giving him another shove towards the porch steps, "going back inside isn't an option. Figure out something else to do with your night."

He sighs, taking a step back with his hand held up in surrender. She knows it's too good to be true. "Fine," he smirks as he turns on his heel, "Home it is." He pulls his car keys out of his pocket and starts down the steps.

She blinks, actually has to take a moment to contemplate his stupidity. "You drove here?" She practically screeches as she launches herself off the porch and follows him out onto the lawn. "Are you trying to kill yourself? Or just a wholesome family of four?"

"Relax mom, I pre partied in the driveway," Logan explains with out turning around. "Mostly," he adds under his breath as he saunters towards his Porsche.

"What is this, junior year?" She spits venomously, even though she's the one that's chasing after a grown man in the dark. She takes a deep breath, tries to get control of herself as she pleads, "You can't be this stupid anymore. Give me your keys."

Suddenly he whirls. Catching her by the shoulders as she walks right into him. They are only inches apart as he stares down at her with hard eyes. "Make me," he challenges.

She hesitates for a split second, but her voice is cold when she replies, "Take another step towards the car and I'll scream. Then half the wedding party's going to be out here stopping you." She sees guilt begin to stir in his eyes, but it's too much of a risk so she juts her chin and adds defiantly, "Or better yet, go ahead. Drive home. I've always wanted to see a montage of your and Aaron's various mugshots plastered on a magazine cover. I bet the headline reads 'Like Father Like Son'."

He lets go of her as if he's been burned, staggering back a few steps and glaring at her like a petulant child, "You're a real bitch you know that?" He throws the keys up in the air and turns towards the car once again.

She catches them. "For years," she replies in a whisper before following him into the dark. She feels the first moist droplets seep through the thin material of her shirt. Only a few and their descent increases rapidly. Both she and Logan pick up their pace towards the car.

Rain has come with a vengeance.

Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for all your feedback, please review because I LOVE it.