Author's Note: Dear readers, forgive me for the lateness. I have been very busy with life, my health, work, etc. I'd like to thank layoung13 as always for being my beta. Thank you so much marbear691984 for letting me know that I won First Place in Best All Around Not Completed Fic and Second Place in Most Creative Fic for VM Fanfic Awards. Thank you all for the votes, I really appreciate it. I am happy that you're still reading this fic. I would like to thank ScarlettWoman710 for the insight. I realized that most of you want me to resolve some of the plots in this story fast. Unfortunately, all I can say that everything is already mapped out. The plots are basically connected to each other – which leads to most important things: Logan-Veronica-Gory. Other story like Darrel (and others) is the umbrella for the main plot. Please be patient. Hopefully you'll stick with me on this journey until the end.

Ganymede Apartment

Gorya and Boris were sitting on a couch in the living room of Trina's apartment. Trina was sitting on the loveseat and tried to act cool having two Russian men sitting awkwardly in her apartment, wearing their suits, but looking beat up like her. She brought them some drinks, cold beers. She also brought them some packs of ice for their bruises.

Gorya was polite when he asked to come in with Boris. He wanted to ask about Kieran, her boyfriend. Surprisingly, Trina let them in.

"Do you know who I am?" Gorya asked.

Trina nodded stiffly. "Yes. You're Gory Sorokin." Gorya didn't ask how she knew about him, but in this town, everyone knew about The Sorokins.

"So… You live here by yourself?" Gorya observed the apartment.

"No…" She cleared her throat. She winced when it hurt her neck, and she touched the neck brace. "Umm, my deaf mom is staying here with me… during my… health problem." She looked at both men. "Temporarily." Both men looked at her questioningly, "Uh, she's out now."

Boris winced when he put the ice pack near his eye. Gorya scratched his head. "I don't know how to say this, but I think you know why we're here."

"You want Kieran."

"Tell us where he is, and the dope, and we'll be outta your hair." He looked at her. He wasn't threatening her; he felt it was no use threatening a woman already beat up. Trina sighed and reclined to her seat, carefully. "Was he here?"

Trina nodded stiffly, "Yeah. He was here. Looking all beaten up and freaking out. He asked for some money."

"And… you helped him." Gorya raised his eyebrow. "After what he had done to you." He pointed to her bruises and cast.

Trina scoffed. "He didn't do this to me. It was his crazy brother, Liam." She looked at both of them. "I'm guessing he did that to you too." Gorya and Boris didn't answer, but Boris just snorted. "Liam… is insane. Kieran has been trying to get out from that family for a while, but Liam will never let him. So… he did this to warn him."

"Don't get me wrong, Miss… I know I'm not the right person to preach, but you're involved with a family from a crazy town." Gorya commented.

Trina narrowed her eyes; she didn't like it when someone judged her like that, especially coming from a mobster like him. "Well, I guess Veronica and me have something in common."

Boris choked on his drink while Gorya stared at her. "You know Veronica?"

"We used to be friends… a long time ago." Trina shrugged. It wasn't exactly the truth, but Trina couldn't help but bend the truth a little bit.

Gorya didn't say anything for a while, only stared at the red headed woman, trying to decide whether to believe her or not. "Well… Neptune is not that big… I believe everyone knows everyone here. But it doesn't change the fact that your boyfriend took something from us, and we want it back."

"Ex-boyfriend." Trina said shortly. "We just broke up." She looked at her watch. "Like, few hours ago." She stared at both men, looking bored. "He was all shook up and in panic, saying that Liam is going to kill him just for fun. And then he said that he stole some drugs from you, just because he's stupid. And then he had the nerve telling me that he would leave town without me, but needed money first. So we broke up, I gave him some money, he took the drugs, and left."

Gorya looked at his feet. Trina seemed… nonchalant about the whole thing. She seemed cold and didn't care about what happened. Looking at Trina reminded him of Veronica back then… Trina seemed disconnected with everything. "Do you know where he's gone?"

Trina chuckled, "Let me ask you something; you're one of the most powerful men in this city. And yet, you are here looking like shit and looking for a few blocks of dope like some sort of lackey. Why are you doing this?"

"I have my reason." Gorya answered shortly. "Better me than other people. Others would just kill you."

Trina snorted, "What's so good about living?"

Boris looked away, feeling awkward.

Gorya sighed. He wouldn't argue with this woman. He stood up and walked around to stretch his limbs. His fight with Liam was really brutal. To be truthful, he almost died… for few blocks of cocaine. But he didn't fight Liam because of the drugs; he fought Liam because he was an asshole and Gorya was too emotional when he made fun of his wife. He walked around in the apartment, not really looking for the drugs. Kieran wouldn't hide the drugs in his girlfriend's apartment. Beside, with just few blocks, he'd probably sold it already. Gorya knew that his brothers didn't expect him to bring back a few blocks of heroin and a few lousy thousands of bucks. His brothers just wanted to play him. He knew that. Everyone knew that. And yet… here he was, doing his brothers' bidding.

But someday… the tide would turn…

Gorya looked at the wall and the cupboard. He saw pictures of Trina, posing with Kieran, he assumed, as he looked at the intimate pose between them. And then he saw a picture of an older woman, presumably her mother. And then he saw a picture of Trina and two famous people and a boy. He frowned, and looked closely.

"Why's there a picture of you with Aaron and Lynn Echolls?"

Trina didn't turn around, but answered in a hollow tone. "They were my parents. My adopted parents."

Gorya took the framed picture and looked at the woman. "You're Trina Echolls."

"You're Trina Echolls!" Boris exclaimed. "I saw you on Dancing with the Stars!" Boris caught the look of bewilderment from Gorya, "I like that show." There was a hint of smile from the corner of Trina's mouth, but she didn't say anything. Today, she didn't feel like boasting about her career.

"I saw your film once. 'Killer Elevator'. That was good." Gorya said softly.

Trina smiled sadly, "That was a long time ago."

"I thought you gave a good performance."

"I won a Razzie award that year."

"They didn't know what they were talking about." Gorya gave the picture to her and sat back again. "Who's that boy next to you?"

Trina looked at the picture sadly, and then scoffed. "My little brother, Logan."

Boris glanced at Gorya from the corner of his eyes. Gorya was definitely up to something. "I think I heard of him. Logan Echolls, the famous director."

Trina looked away, and Gorya knew that look he saw from her. The same look he had towards his brothers. "Please. He's only famous because of Aaron Echolls."

"Aaron Echolls; who murdered the daughter of the most wealthy and powerful man in Neptune."

"He was innocent!" Trina yelled. "It was a deliberate smear to his good name."

Gorya looked at her in pity. Veronica told him about Lilly Kane, her best friend whom Aaron Echolls murdered. She also told him about how Aaron Echolls almost killed both her and Keith Mars. When she told him about the story, he wanted to kill Aaron himself, but luckily, he didn't have to as an unknown person killed Aaron. Nobody knew until this day who killed Aaron Echolls. And it seemed the step daughter couldn't take his death lightly. He wondered whether Trina had some sort father complex. "Aaron Echolls almost killed my wife."

"It was a misunderstanding." Trina stubbornly said. "He didn't kill Lilly and he definitely wasn't trying to kill Ve-ro-ni-ca."

Gorya nodded. It seemed it was no use to argue with Trina. She thought her father was the best father of all time, and she dated an Irish prick. But then again…. Veronica was married to him. He wasn't in place to judge. "I heard your brother is in town. Have you seen him?"

"No. I'm not Logan's favorite person. In fact, he ignored me all of these years." Trina's eyes flared. "If you've seen his movie 'Neptune Noir', you know that I'm being depicted as the town whore."

"Hmmm… that movie is based on a true story…" He looked at her. "My wife dated your brother?"

Trina waved her free hand. "When they were kids in high school. Lasted few weeks only. And then she went back to her ex, Duncan Kane." She pointed to Gorya, "Now that's a love story."

"Is it?" Gorya seemed uninterested, but Boris knew that he was trying to dig something. "Tell me more."

"My brother is a playboy, just like my dad. I admit that's their weaknesses. He dated your wife because they both hated my dad. But Veronica was in love with that Kane boy, until he knocked up this girl. The girl died, and Duncan ran away with the baby leaving your wife broken heart." She shrugged again. "Logan and Veronica were just having a fling. Nothing serious." She looked at Gorya and smirked. "So you don't have to worry about him."

"I'm not worried. I'm just curious."

"Yeah, and I'm a natural red head."

Gorya chuckled. "You're a pistol. Maybe you have some Irish blood in you." He stood up. "Okay. Listen, I think we better going."

"Sorry I can't help you about Kieran." Trina said.

Gorya frowned. "Why are you apologizing? I'm the bad guy."

"Really? Veronica wouldn't marry you if you're bad."

Gorya smiled sadly. "How nice of you to say that." He then walked towards the door with Boris. "Believe me, I'm the baddie here."

Before Gorya could open the door, Trina stopped him, "Wait. I don't know where Kieran is with the drugs. But I know something valuable of his."

Gorya turned around and frowned. "What is it?"

She pointed to Boris, "You, gigantor. Can you reach that ceiling fan? There's a little black book taped on the fan blade." Deciding to ignore her insult, Boris reached to the ceiling fan while Gorya smirked. Apparently the woman who got beat up by a crazy Irish man was not afraid of a 7-foot Russian man. Boris released the book taped to the fan and gave it to Trina. Trina smiled from her seat and opened the little black book, "This book belongs to Kieran. He forgot that he hid it here 'cause he was in a hurry. There are several addresses where you can find Kieran, and also some of the Fitzpatrick illegal business places." She looked at Gorya and said, "The Fitzpatricks did this to me. They didn't just hit me. They did other… things too." She gave the little black book to Gorya. "I want them to pay." Her eyes looked empty.

Gorya nodded. "They will pay." He said quietly.

Trina stood and wobbled a bit. "You know where the door is." She then walked back to her room. Gorya and Boris watched the woman closed the door of her room quietly. Gorya suddenly had a sense of déjà vu.

Help me… Gory, please help me… Veronica reached for him with blood all over her. Her eyes looked empty as if she didn't realize what happened to her.

It's okay, baby… it's okay… I am here. Gorya whispered to her as he picked her up from the bloody floor. She cried and wrapped her bloody arms around his neck.

"Come on, let's go." Gorya said to Boris, and walked out from the apartment.

Aphrodite Gallery

Logan and Veronica were sitting on the couch, examining some pictures on the laptop. "Wow, these are really good!" Logan exclaimed. He pointed a picture of children running around. "They look like they're glowing. You didn't edit this with Photoshop or something?"

"Of course not!" Veronica feigned offense and hit Logan's arm. "How dare you!"

"Ow." He rubbed his arm and laughed. "I'm just kidding!" He nudged Veronica with his elbow, and she laughed. "You're very good with this. This is so cool."

"Aw, shut up."

Both of them laughed. For a few hours, they were talking and eating – Veronica ordered some Chinese food, and they ate dinner in the gallery. They talked about the past; such as Lilly, Duncan, the four of them when they were young, his movies, and her career. But they avoided topics of conversation such as Aaron, her family, what happened to her in the last decade… They seemed to be talking freely, but even Logan knew that they were walking near eggshells. Logan didn't want to crack those shells yet.

Veronica was an assassin. They both were assassins but she didn't know that. Logan needed to investigate this. Veronica wasn't the only one who could investigate something.

"I bought your artwork a few years ago."

"Really? Which one?"

"The one with the pony." He chuckled. "You never got over a pony, yeah?"

"That was you? Oh, the seller didn't mention the buyer 's name."

"Yeah, I thought it would be awkward if everyone found out that I bought a photo of a pony." Both of them chuckled. "Are you gonna eat those egg rolls?"

Veronica gave the egg rolls to him when her cell phone rang. "Excuse me." She saw Gorya was calling so she stood up and walked outside to the waiting room. "Hey."

"Where are you?"

"Still at the gallery." She glanced towards Logan who was eating and looking at the pictures on the computer. "Where are you?"

"I'm on my way there, actually. Around 15 minutes-ish. Sorry I'm late; do you want me to bring anything? How about Pizza?" Gorya was sitting next to Boris in the limo. He didn't feel like sitting in the back after their visit to Trina's apartment.

"We're eating Chinese food, actually."

"We?"

"I have a friend who came over. Uh, a friend from school. We're having dinner and checking out some pictures. You can bring pizza if you want to, extra cheese please."

"Veronica, you're eating Chinese food and you still want some pizza?"

"Extra cheese, don't forget."

Gorya sighed. "Fine. I'll bring some pizza, with extra cheese. Your friend will still be there when I'm coming? I feel like I want to spend some time together, just the two of us."

Veronica glanced again to Logan, who was still busy munching some noodles. "I can tell him that you're coming to pick me up."

"Okay, love. I will bring your pizza too."

"Extra cheese."

"Yes, I know Veronica!" Gorya couldn't help but laugh, "I love you. See you later."

"Bye," Veronica smiled and turned around.

Logan saw how Veronica's demeanor change; she looked at ease and relaxed after she got a phone call from her husband. Logan didn't need to hear the conversation to find out who was calling, but her husband was the safe bet. It made him a little… jealous. Veronica cared about her husband, just as Mac had told him. It was a relationship that nobody could understand.

"So I'm finishing all the egg rolls." Logan chewed the food and looked at Veronica.

"It's fine. My husband is coming and bringing some pizza." Veronica bit her lip, waited for his reaction. Her friends and family usually didn't like the idea of meeting her husband because of his family connection.

Logan just looked at her and said, "Pizza? Are you still hungry?"

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Ugh, why does everyone keep asking me that! Food is food."

"It's because some of us don't have a bottomless pit." Veronica made a face and sat next to him, pinching his arm. "Ow again! You are so physical. I know you miss me, but I don't need this abuse." Veronica laughed and settled herself comfortably next to him. Neither of them said anything for a while, and then Logan broke the silence. "Your husband okay that I'm here?"

"Why wouldn't he be?" Veronica asked back. Logan gave her a tight-lipped smile.

Gorya hung up the phone, and exhaled. "Call the others and tell them to go home. If they don't feel well, tell them to see a doctor." He said to Boris who was driving. "Maybe you should see a doctor too. You got hit by a chair."

"They're fine. And I'm fine." He glanced to Gorya who leaned back. "What about you?"

"I'm fine." He muttered. This was a really long day. The day he almost died at the hands of Liam Fitzpatrick because he made a few nasty comments about his wife. He needed to control his temper. But it wasn't just Liam who made his blood boil; his brothers and his uncle… they were ganging up on him. "Just tell them to go home. We're done for today."

"What about Kieran?"

"Kieran is long gone probably…" He took at the little black book. "But we got this." He opened the book and read the pages. "List of places, names of the bookies… I'm gonna destroy their business." He muttered. "And it's personal."

"What about your brothers?"

"I'll handle them. But in the mean time, I need to buy a large pizza with extra cheese for my wife."

"Do you remember when during Lilly's Memorial Day, and Celeste hired this whole orchestra to play some sappy music?" Logan asked Veronica, who laughed.

"Yeah, I remember. I think everyone was like, what the hell was that?" She laughed. "And then with Lilly mooning us from that video you edited, that was magnificent! Celeste was furious!"

Logan chuckled, "That was the highlight of that night."

"God, I miss Lilly." She sighed. "She wasn't perfect, but she was…" She looked at Logan.

Logan nodded, "She was our friend."

"You forgave her?"

"Yeah…" He shrugged. "I mean, it sucked that she hooked up with my – Aaron. Betrayed me over and over again with your buddy, Weevil." He gave Veronica a pointed look, which made her grimace. "But she was only a teenage girl who rebelled against her parents. I'm not saying it was right, but I was angrier with him than with her… you know what I mean?"

Veronica nodded. She had a faraway look on her face, "We made mistakes in our lives. And we're probably going to make more mistakes in the future."

Before Logan could ask about the statement, his cell phone was ringing. He checked the name; it was Dick. "Excuse me." He walked outside the guest room and picked up the phone. "Yeah?"

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

Logan had to pull the cell phone away from his ear, and Veronica looked up, obviously heard Dick was yelling. "Whoa, wassup dude?"

"You're married to Mackie! You're gonna have babies with her! What the hell, Logan?!" Veronica obviously heard what Dick just said, because she snorted on her drink and laughed. "Is that her? Are you with her now? What did I just tell you? Didn't I tell you about Mackie? MY MACKIE?"

Logan gritted his teeth and looked at Veronica who was laughing without a sound. "No, I'm not at Mac's. Calm down, Dick."

"You proposed to her!" He slurred. Logan rolled his eyes when he heard Dick sounded drunk. "I saw it on TV!"

"No I didn't! And keep your voice down!" He heard sounds of chatter. "Where are you?"

"I'm in hell, that's where I am!"

"Dude, where are you?" He asked again patiently.

"I told you about her. I told you not to marry her! And now you'll have dark haired twins named Lola and Beatrice."

"I don't think I would name my kids Lola and Beatrice."

"Fuck you, man!"

Veronica couldn't help but laugh. She stood up and tapped Logan on the shoulder. "Gimme the phone." Logan just exhaled very loudly and gave the phone to her. "Hey, blondie."

Dick's wailing stopped and he sniffled, "Ronnie? Is that you?"

"Hey, Dick. I haven't heard from you for a while, and now you're drunk and calling my friend here, accusing him of marrying my other friend Cindy Mackenzie? I didn't know you're in love with Mac. Way to keep me in the loop, Casablancas."

"I'm not… I'm not – I'm not, Cindy… I mean, Ronnie…" Dick stammered. "Ronnie, I haven't heard from you for a while!" And then he realized something. "Logan is there with you?!"

"He's at my gallery, becoming my potential buyer." She looked at Logan, who just shrugged and rolled his eyes while he grabbed his jacket from the couch. "And because he's a good friend, he will pick you up because you're drunk, and he won't let you drive your car by yourself. Where are you?"

"Uh…" Before he could answer, there were sounds of laughter and chatter in the background. "Cygnus."

Veronica shook her head. That was the strip club owned by Valentin. "Ugh, you're disgusting."

"I am. I am disgusting. I miss you, sis." He said.

"I miss you too, Dick. Come by the gallery sometime." She said softly. They both hung up the phone and she sighed. She gave the phone back to Logan and said, "He's at a strip club called 'Cygnus'."

Logan looked at his watch, "At this hour?"

"The place also provides food – it's a 'gentleman's club' slash restaurant." She made air quotes. "The waitresses wear skimpy outfits, but classy." She said sarcastically.

"Okay…"

"It… belongs to my… brother in law." Veronica looked away, embarrassed. Logan didn't say anything, but he put his jacket on.

"Well, I guess I have to look dashing. They accept credit cards?" He grinned and Veronica grinned back. He opened his arms and embraced her into his body. He inhaled the scent of her hair; it still had a hint of gunpowder. It made him sad that Veronica was an assassin. He wished he never found out about this fact. He needed to know what happened and maybe help her… But it would take some time and patience.

"Thank you for coming."

"Happy to be here. It seems I'm gonna be your regular buyer after all." He looked at her and winked. Veronica gave him the most beautiful smile he ever seen, and his heart was beating so fast. I'm her friend, I'm her friend… He repeated that inside his head. Is she always this beautiful? Shut up, Logan. She's married. "So… are we gonna meet again? I would love to catch up with you and everyone."

"Yeah. I'd love that. Call me, text me, whatever." She gave her number to Logan, who saved it to his phone. This is nice, she thought. Is he always this handsome? Whoa, girl. Your husband is coming soon with your food. Get your head out of your butt. Veronica hugged Logan again. "Tell Dick to get his head out of his butt."

Logan sighed, "Yeah. I know." They both walked out to the front door, still holding hands. When they had to let go, both of them felt a little sad but they composed themselves. "Goodnight, Veronica. Thanks for dinner."

"See you later, Logan. Thanks for coming."

Logan climbed into his car and turned on the engine. He glanced to a pair of men sitting in a car across the street. His assassin's instinct kicked in and he frowned. Were they watching him or Veronica? Or maybe they were watching her husband? Either way, he felt uneasy.

He waved to Veronica and drove away. He saw from the mirror view, Veronica waved back. Her hair was flowing from the wind. She was beautiful.

For a moment, he felt… happy.

He couldn't wait to see her again.

Veronica watched Logan's car drive away.

She felt happy and sad at the same time. Could a person feel like this? She never thought that she would see him again after all these years, and actually be civil with each other. She thought she would be angry with him for leaving her and everyone else… but she wasn't.

He looked… handsome.

Veronica smiled to herself. But then the smile disappeared.

She felt heavy in her heart; Logan offered her a help to find the people responsible for the pranks. But she didn't tell him about how her family shunned her after she married Gorya. Logan must've known that her family didn't want to talk to her. It wasn't a secret. But she wasn't ready to pour her heart out to Logan; he was practically a stranger.

Veronica walked back to her gallery, failed to notice two men who were watching her in their car across the street.

She went to the bathroom and opened the cabinet. She took out a bottle of pills and looked at it. The orange bottle seemed to mock her. She sighed and popped one pill. After she drank a glass of water, her cell phone buzzed. She read the text message and shook her head:

"Good job in Chinatown. But next time check the perimeter first."

She looked into the mirror and saw her face. "You're okay. You're okay, Veronica…"

Cygnus Club

Logan walked into this some sort of exclusive club near downtown Neptune. The place definitely looked expensive, unlike other 'entertainment' clubs he'd ever seen. The guests looked like professionals with suits; there were even female guests. The place definitely wasn't sleazy. Logan thought how Neptune had changed so much… he didn't know whether it was for the better or the worse. There were two doors; one of the doors had long line of clubbers. Logan thought it was the nightclub, while the next door was more for the executives. When he walked in, a very attractive hostess wearing a suit but with a very short skirt welcomed him.

"Welcome to Cygnus. Are you here to see the show and dine or private show?" She flashed him a very pearly white smile.

"Uh, I'm actually here to see my friend."

"We have regulars here in Cygnus. Maybe you can tell me which guest are you referring to?"

Logan paused. He didn't feel like name dropping in front of this hostess. Didn't this club have some confidentiality regarding their clients and guests? "Richard Casablancas."

"Senior or Junior?"

Logan's eyebrows shut upward. "Junior."

"And your name, sir?" She asked.

"Don Draper." He gave the hostess a pointed look. The hostess didn't lose her smile, but merely welcomed him and directed him to another room. It was the stripper room – half-naked girls were dancing on the stage, following the music. Many men (and women) were sitting in their tables watching the girls dancing seductively. Many female waitresses were wearing skimpy French maid outfits and served the guests their drinks and food. Wow, food and strippers… very hygienic, he thought. The hostess pointed to a blonde man who was slumped in his corner table. Logan nodded and thanked her. He saw Dick was nursing his drink and a plate full of untouched sandwiches was in front of him. Great… he's not eating. He sat next to him and exhaled. Dick only glanced at him but didn't greet him.

A French maid waitress asked him with a very chipmunk-y voice. "Can I get you something?"

"Just Coke."

The French maid waitress nodded. "Anything else? Would you like to order some steak?"

"No… I'm full." She nodded again and left them. The music changed from a rock music to 80s music, and Duran Duran was blaring. The strippers changed the dance routine on the stage, and the guests clapped their hands.

"I'm not marrying her, you know that Dick." Logan said to him. "The news is false. You know how it is. They see me… all they see is my last name, and my status… and then they saw her, with her status… And…"

"I know." Dick muttered. "I just…" He looked at the girls who were doing acrobatic moves on the poles. "It's hard, you know…" He looked at Logan. His eyes were red, like he was drunk or tired. "I'm in love with her for ten years. That's… a long time."

Tell me about it, he thought bitterly. He still in love with Veronica after all these years… since he was twelve years old. So he knew how Dick was feeling.

"Yeah… I know." Logan said quietly.

Dick looked at him and asked, "You were at Ronnie's?" He had a questionable look on his face.

"I went to her gallery. I bumped into her at that Chinese restaurant before I met you guys, and she told me to come over."

"You didn't tell us."

"I didn't know whether it would upset you guys…" Logan shrugged. "Sorry."

"Dude…." Dick shook his head. "I want you stop seeing her."

Logan gave a half scoff half chuckle in disbelief hearing him. "What?"

"You know it's very dangerous to get involved with her…"

"Involved? What the hell do you mean? She's my friend. I'm just… hanging out with her."

The French maid waitress came by and served Logan his drink. Dick waited until she left, and said in a serious tone. "You know who her husband is."

"Look, she's lonely okay? We are her friends. We should just hangout with her. Nothing more."

Dick shook his head and drank his beer. "Dude… there's nothing we can do about it. Ronnie chose her husband, and we don't have any choice but to… let her go."

"Just like we ignored her during high school?" Logan spat. "She chose her father. And I told you guys that it was open season. And now she chose her husband. Should we do the same thing?"

"Dude that was a different thing. We were wrong back then, and we moved on from that. But now…" Dick looked at him. "Her husband is one scary mother fucker."

"From I gather from her, she misses you guys. Just… don't let her husband scare you off."

"Logan, you know that Wallace got beat up by his men because he told her to leave her husband. He didn't take it very well." Dick said quietly.

"Is this why you're here, in his business place?" Logan pointed out the strip club. "So it's okay to avoid Veronica because of her husband, and then you go ogling these dangling tits who are in her husband's payroll?"

"Technically, this place belongs to his family – not her husband per se."

"Shut up, Dick." Logan drank his drink angrily. He put the glass hard on the table and looked at Dick. "I've been in this city for more than a week now, and all I can hear is this scary story about her husband, but nobody wants to do anything about it. Nobody wants to tell her about her husband. Tell her that her husband hurt Wallace, hurt everyone, anything!"

"We can't." Dick told Logan. "We can't because Ronnie wouldn't listen. Don't you think that we tried before? Did you think she listened to us? Mackie told you that she cared a lot for her husband? Well, we tried to tell her that she made a mistake when she married him – but she didn't listen."

"She doesn't know about Wallace. How is that possible?"

Dick sighed. "Ronnie thought that Wallace was robbed in the street. No witnesses, nobody. But everyone knew that it was her husband."

"I don't understand why she doesn't know about her husband… I mean, it's like she's blind." Logan shook his head in disbelief. "She's Veronica Mars: Detective. She has 'detective' as her middle name!"

"Love is blind."

Logan went quiet. "She loves her husband."

"I'm not just talking about her." Dick looked at Logan. There was a knowing look from him. Logan realized after all these years; Dick wasn't the 'dumb' easygoing guy anymore. "You're still in love with her…"

"Dick…"

"Damn it, Logan." Dick shook his head. "Is that why you're here?"

"Listen…"

"I've been emailing and calling you for five years, and you won't even step a foot here. And then there was the reunion – somehow I doubt that you're eager to see me or the rest of the crew here. You wanted to see her."

"I left without saying goodbye. It wasn't easy for me, Dick. I hurt you and everyone else, including her. I want to apologize to you and her, because you are important to me." Logan said quietly. "I apologized to her… it was long overdue."

"I don't doubt that you're sorry, and we forgave you a long time ago, Logan. But the fact that you're still in love with her…"

"You're still in love with Mac."

"It's different: SHE'S NOT MARRIED TO A MOB!" Dick drunkenly yelled. A few patrons looked at them. Logan tightened his jaws; Dick might not be stupid anymore, but he was still a dick sometimes. "For crap's sake, Logan." He lowered his voice. "What the hell are you thinking?"

"What do you think I'm gonna do? Make a move on her? She's married."

"Never stopped you before." Dick sarcastically said.

That shut Logan up. And for a while, they were silent. Dick was watching different strippers from the next segment dancing to Flock of Seagulls. Few drunken gentlemen wolf-whistled when the strippers were wearing schoolgirl outfits.

"Dick…"

"Look, Logan… Ronnie is like my sister. I did some nasty things to her when we were in high school. We all did. And then the whole Cassidy thing…" He shook his head. "Do you know how many people wanna still associate with the Casablancas after Cassidy took a swan dive from the Grand? Ronnie and her dad were the only ones who gave me a place to stay. I slept on their couch for a while, and they treat me…" He choked a bit. "They treat me like family." It was obvious Dick was drunk and he was a mess. "She forgave me for all the shit I've done. She forgave me for Cassidy. She forgave me for everything… And it was something that I would never expect from her. My mom left, my dad was in prison… And she, who I hurt in the past, took me to her home." Dick stared at the stage, not really looking at the exotic dancers. "And Mackie… man, Ronnie, Mackie, Wallace…" He looked at Logan. "Even Weevil – we were there for each other."

Logan didn't say anything. He missed all of that life – another life he never been part of.

"I wish I was there with you…" Logan said quietly. "I missed all of you…"

"We missed you too, buddy." Dick said. "Ronnie missed you a lot." Logan looked up to him. "She never showed it, because she was like that. She was trying to keep our shit together. She made Mackie stronger from what happened to Cassidy. She made me go to a fucking rehab. She helped Weevil find a job after he got out from prison. She helped EVERYONE."

Logan felt his heart clench.

Veronica was there for everyone.

What about him? He ran away when shit happened.

Logan croaked, "Dick… I'm sorry… I was never…"

Dick put his hand to his shoulder, "Dude. I'm not trying to make you feel guilty or anything. It is what it is. You had a good reason for leaving. We never take it against you. You're our friend. In fact, I am sorry that I was never there for you. When Duncan left or when Felix died, I thought it would be okay just to hangout and get drunk together and burn the swimming pool, you know? Because I'm a simple guy. Still am."

Logan chuckled. Dick was always loyal to him. He might be a dick, but he was extremely loyal to his friends. "You are, Dick."

"What happened to Ronnie… it happened. We moved on from that. But now she's married to a mob. When she got married, she wasn't in her right mind. You know she was in that mental hospital for a while because Lamb died. Gory came along afterwards… I don't know what happened, but he is seriously deep in love with her." He nodded. "Ronnie always brings out that kind side to people… They love her."

I love her, Logan thought. I still love her.

Dick's eyes started to droop. He had too much to drink. "I love Mackie, Logan. Just like Ronnie, Mackie was there for everyone. And I can't stop this feeling." He slurred. "Help me tell her…"

"I'll help you, buddy." Logan whispered. Dick didn't hear him. He was too sleepy as he put his head on the table. "But I don't think I can't stop this feeling for Veronica too…." Logan watched Dick closed his eyes and fall asleep right then and there, in the strip club. Logan reclined in his seat and watched as everything around him blurred as he pondered about Veronica, Dick, Mac, and everyone else in Neptune.

Aphrodite Gallery

"Hello?" Gorya walked in carrying a pizza box. He looked around the gallery; some of the lights were already turned off. "It's me. I bring food." He put the pizza box on the coffee table. He saw several Chinese take out boxes and containers scattered on the table. Apparently Veronica's friend was already gone. Probably didn't want to see him. He sighed and sat on the couch, put his feet on the table, and leaned his head back. "Veronica?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Did you bring – Oh my God!" Gorya looked up and saw Veronica looking at him in surprise. "What the hell happened to your face?"

Oh, shit. Gorya thought. He immediately stood up awkwardly. "I had an altercation this afternoon, no biggie."

"Did you have a fight?"

Yeah, I almost died. But you don't need to know that. "Errr… look, nothing happened." He said as Veronica's eyes widened. She turned around and walked away. Crap. He followed her hurriedly, "Baby, baby, wait. I am sorry. Look, I'm fine!" She got into the bathroom and slammed the door. Gorya opened the bathroom door and walked in too. He saw Veronica was rummaging the cabinet. "What are you doing?" She didn't answer, just kept rummaging. "Veronica…"

Veronica grabbed some iodine and some band-aids. She narrowed her eyes and pointed to the toilet. "Sit there."

Gorya sighed and sat on the toilet seat, not really wanting to talk back to his wife. Veronica grabbed his chin rather roughly and examined his face. "Ow." Gorya winced when she touched his face. He saw the look on her face, and immediately shut up. Veronica took a hand towel and turned on the faucet, and soaked the towel with water. She cleaned his face with the wet hand towel carefully. Gorya closed his eyes as she cleaned his face. He sat still when his wife dabbed some iodine with cotton and then covered it with band-aids. Gorya wasn't hurt much, only got some cuts and bruises. His face didn't need stitches; Liam mostly just kicked him below his face. But his ribs and his arms were probably already black and blue. Veronica also took his hands and checked his knuckles; they were covered with dry blood and bruises. Without a word, she cleaned them too, dabbed some iodine, and wrapped them with some gauze. When she finished, she didn't say anything - busy putting everything else back to their places, and walked out from the bathroom. Gorya sat there and watched the open door. He sighed while looking at himself in the mirror.

He almost died today.

For some reason, Veronica knew about it. He didn't have to say anything, but knew that Veronica could sense it.

He walked out from the bathroom and found his wife cleaning the coffee table from the Chinese take-outs containers. She didn't look at him, but busied herself with cleaning. Gorya sat on the couch and watched Veronica ignoring him.

"Veronica."

Veronica dumped the containers into a bin and said, "Have you seen my cell phone? I put it somewhere."

"Veronica…"

"I swear if I lose it again, I'm gonna…"

"Veronica." This time Gorya grabbed her waist and pulled her closer. He looked up and saw her teary. "Baby, I'm sorry…"

"Let go."

"No, come here." When he pulled her onto his lap, she didn't protest. He touched her cheek, and wiped a tear away with his thumb. "I'm sorry."

"I won't ask you what happened." She said as she swatted his hand, and wiped her tear roughly.

Gorya nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know…"

"Is everyone okay?" She asked about his bodyguards. Gorya nodded. "Is Boris okay?" Gorya nodded again. "Okay, then…" She pursed her lips and looked at his face. "Are you going to do it again?"

"Veronica…"

"Well, are you?"

Gorya looked at his wife, whom he loved very dearly. His heart clenched looking at her. He realized that he almost died today, and if he had, he wouldn't able to see her again. That hurt so much more than dying. "I won't. I promise."

"You never mean it."

"No… That's not true." He held her closer and looked her in the eyes. "I would never lie to you."

That was a lie. Even he knew it. But he would rather kill himself than hurt Veronica. Telling her the truth would hurt her. And he couldn't bear to see her to get hurt. Sometimes truth hurts.

Veronica looked at her husband's eyes. She knew that he was not telling the truth. It was the unspoken agreement between them; that they wouldn't tell each other about their works. Ignorance was a blessing. Gorya might not know about her side job as an assassin. Gorya might not know that she almost died today in L.A after she killed that mob lawyer. She cared enough for him not to make him worried. After all they had been through and after what Gorya had done for her; she was forever in debt with him. And seeing him all hurting like this; it made her sad. Veronica would never tell anyone about this, but she needed him… She needed him in her life. He was her anchor. She might not love him the way he loved her… but she needed him.

"Just… be careful." She said.

Gorya smiled and brushed his nose against her. "I love you…" Gorya told her, and waited for her to say it back.

It never came.

His heart clenched again; how he longed for her to say those words to him after all these years. But she would never say it to him… Would she ever? She only said it to her dead husband, Don Lamb – he overheard her saying those words when he followed her to the cemetery. But not to him, her living husband.

It didn't matter. She was with him; she chose him. She didn't care about his family, she didn't care about his name, and she didn't care about his upbringing. She married him. She was… everything for him. Having Veronica in his life, made life itself worth living.

"Well, let's see what you bring here." Veronica reached for the box of pizza and opened it. "Oh, look at that. Still hot."

"You just ate, Veronica." Gorya made a comment. She slapped his shoulder, and he winced.

"I will share because I'm nice." She grabbed a slice and ate half of it, and fed Gorya the rest. Gorya chewed the pizza while holding Veronica on his lap.

"I had a really bad day today. But seeing you made it better." He said to her. She smiled and wiped a crumb from the corner of his mouth with her thumb. "How's your day?"

Veronica remembered how she was in Chinatown, killing that mob lawyer, almost being killed by those bodyguards, being saved by those mysterious men…. And then Logan came by and all of these nostalgia feelings came rushing over. And how Logan still looked the same; handsome and just like she remembered him before.

"I had a nice day."