Note: This chapter is very short, and it's a flashback. It's a glimpse about the past. I know there will be question on your mind after reading this chapter, but I encourage you to go back to chapter 11 and read some clues there. I don't like short chapter generally, but I've been gone back and forth about it, so I decided to follow my gut. The next chapter will be posted soon… And to those who asked, Thalassa in mythology is a Greek sea goddess, and in astronomy is one of the moons of planet Neptune.

Flashback,

Thalassa Sanatorium (Psychiatric Facility), 2013

"Look, I just want to see her." The tall man talked to one of the orderlies in the facility. They were meeting in the parking lot. The facility building was visible from the parking lot. From outside, it looked like a normal mansion or a villa. Everyone knew that the place was expensive; only the rich came to this place to 'rest'. In fact, it was a mental institution. Very famous in Neptune, as many wealthy people spent their days being treated for their disorders. A resort for the wealthy mentally ill, they said. The facility had the best doctors, nurses, and workers who helped the patients to be cured. The place had a swimming pool, tennis court, and even a game room. But call it what you want – people would still called it the nut house for the rich. "Just give me few minutes with her." He said again.

Marty, the nervous orderly who had been working in the facility for a few weeks shoved his hands in his pockets. "I could get in trouble, you know." He looked upward to the tall man. "Or worse, I could get fired." He narrowed his eyes. "Or worse, I could get arrested. Do you know who she is? She's the Sheriff's daughter."

"I know who she is. That's why I need to see her and talk to her."

"Why do you want to see her?"

"It's not your business."

"Hell yeah it's my business! You want me to sneak you into the facility! Why can't you just be normal and walk through the front door like everyone else?"

The man gritted his teeth. He was one second to smack this weasel. "Because she has a strict guest list, and I'm not on the list. I'm her friend, and I just want to see her. Maybe if she sees me, she would get cured."

"Who died and made you the pope?"

"What's that got to do with the price of eggs?!" He chided Marty. "Look, I will give you a thousand buck to sneak me in. Right now."

Marty's eyes widened to see the money, which he pulled out from his wallet. The man was definitely wealthy. He was wearing an expensive watch and his suit was definitely tailored. And apparently, he carried a load of cash in his wallet. Marty's hand was shaking when he took the money. "Okay."

The man nodded in satisfaction.

Two blonde young women were giggling and laughing together. They were both approximately the same age and beautiful. They were at the garden and sitting on the grass near the flowerbed. Both of them were wearing bathrobes but they didn't seem mind. The strawberry blonde girl named Valentina stood up and twirled while humming a song.

"I love this weather! Don't you just love it, Ronica?"

Veronica laughed watching the other girl twirl, "God, Val. I see the Prozac's working."

"High on life, Veronica Mars. Carpe Diem. And we should be outside every day on a day like this." Valentina plopped herself next to Veronica and whispered, "I've got a secret. Do you want to know?" Veronica felt a sense of déjà vu, but she smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "My cousin likes you."

Veronica gasped and pushed Valentina while laughing, "You're joking!"

"I am not! He told me that he likes you."

Veronica smirked and jokingly swatted the girl's arm, "So which cousin are we talking about?"

"Ha! I'll never tell…!" Valentina said in a singsong voice. She got up and pinched Veronica's nose. Veronica laughed and chased after her. Both of them were running happily in the garden, until they reached the terrace and both of them stopped abruptly because Dr. Rosenberg was at the terrace, talking with someone. Both of them looked at the blonde women and they stopped talking.

"Cousin Gory! You're here!" Valentina jumped into Gorya's embrace. She hugged him very tight and Gorya hugged her back. "What are you doing here? It's not visiting hour. Where's papa? Where's mama? Where's Dax?"

Gorya looked at his cousin and gave her a tight-lipped smile. He brushed her hair away from her face. "Hey, Val. How are you?"

Dr. Rosenberg frowned and talked sternly to both girls. "Shouldn't you be inside? It's time for your medication."

Valentina stuck her tongue out, and Gorya chided her. "Val, that's not nice."

"But it's a nice day! Who wants to stay inside in weather like this? Right, Ronica?"

Veronica just grinned uncomfortably – they shouldn't be outside at this time; it was against the rules. Gorya looked at her. His eyes were soft and he smiled, "Hi."

"Hi." Veronica replied shortly. She smiled and shrugged. "You're Gorya, right? I've seen you around. And Val talks about you a lot."

"You can call me Gory."

"He is called Gory because when he was a kid, he pronounced his name as GO-RI-YA!" Valentina laughed. Gorya ducked his head and pulled Valentina closer. "Aww, he's blushing!"

"Stop it Val." Gorya smiled, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. "Besides, I need to talk to you. Doctor Rosenberg said its okay…" He looked at Dr. Rosenberg who nodded. "This is important." Gorya was going to talk about Valentina's mother, Lev Sorokin's first wife. Dr. Rosenberg allowed him to talk about this sensitive subject today. It was supposed to be Lev who should talk about the problem to his daughter, but Lev bailed.

"What? Cousin Valentin lost his virginity?" She laughed hard. Gorya didn't answer but pursed his lips together. "Awwh, I'm just joking."

"Come on, Val…." He took her hand and looked back at Dr. Rosenberg and Veronica. "Thanks, doctor. Nice to meet you, Veronica."

Veronica tilted her head to the side and looked at Gorya. "Have we met before?" Gorya blinked when she asked a question and saw her tilting her head. "You look familiar."

Gorya immediately said, "Yes. We were in college together. We…"

"I think that's enough for both of you, Miss Mars. Miss Sorokin." Dr. Rosenberg cut his words. "It's time for your medication, Miss Mars. Miss Sorokin, I'll see you later. Okay, dear?"

Before Valentina could reply, Veronica asked. "College? I think you're mistaken. I'm still in high school."

Gorya looked at her. He smiled, "My mistake. Of course you are." He nodded to both Veronica and Dr. Rosenberg. "Come on, Val." He took her hand and walked back to the house.

Valentina stuck her tongue out to Veronica and winked. She mouthed, 'Gory likes you'.

Veronica shook her head in disbelief. Dr. Rosenberg patted her shoulder and walked her back to the house. "Come on, Miss Mars."

"I'm sorry about being outside, Doctor Rosenberg. We were just talking and forgot the time."

"That's okay. Just don't do that again. You know you have to take your medicine so you can get healthy. Your father specifically asked me to take care of you."

"Yeah… I feel like I should remember stuff after the accident. This stupid amnesia prevents me from going to the prom!" She shrugged. Dr. Rosenberg didn't say anything, but only hugged Veronica from the side. "I wish all my friends could visit, Doctor Rosenberg. I want to see Lilly, Duncan, Logan… hell, even my mom. Why she doesn't visit?"

"She did, Veronica. You just don't remember." Dr. Rosenberg answered shortly. "But someday you will remember all, and hopefully we can work through that. Okay?"

Veronica nodded and both of them walked back to the main house.

Dr. Rosenberg was working at his desk in his office when his secretary buzzed him. "Doctor, there's a phone call for you. Sheriff Mars, line one."

"Thanks, Gloria." He picked up the phone. "Glenn Rosenberg speaking."

"How are you, doc?"

"I'm fine, Sheriff. What can I do for you?"

Keith Mars sighed on the phone, "I just want to know how she is doing."

"You can visit her if you want. You missed two visiting times."

There was a pause on the other line. Keith sighed again, "I've been very busy doctor… crime never sleeps." His voice was rather shaky. Glenn Rosenberg knew what happened; every time Keith visits his daughter, he would break into tears. Keith couldn't talk about current events, because Veronica would shut down. It happened before when Keith tried to introduce Alicia, Wallace, and Darrel as her new family. When he told Veronica that her mother left without saying goodbye, Veronica cried and had to be subdued. She then went into a catatonic state for days. Ever since then, everyone was trying to be careful around her. She needed her medication and some psychotherapy daily. Ever since her catatonic state, Keith had been under a lot of stress. He had a job, a family, and a daughter who forgot about her life.

"Your daughter needs you, Keith…" Glenn gently told Keith. "She's very happy every time you visit."

"Nothing makes me happier than seeing her, doc… but right now… I'm very busy."

Glenn sighed. Something this delicate couldn't be push hurriedly. "Alright, I understand."

"So tell me about her."

"She is mostly static. She remembers things from high school. She still thinks she's in high school before Lilly's death. She thinks she had a car accident so she needs some treatment. Nothing changes there… but she is more active than before. She swims, she plays tennis, she reads, she paints, and she is very popular amongst the patients and the staff here." Glenn smiled, "And she makes really mean cookies."

"Veronica bakes there?"

"Part of our program includes patients in supervised extracurricular-activities. Veronica said that she could bake from her Pep-Squad time."

"She is a good baker…" Keith said in sad tone. "Thank you for taking care of her, doctor…"

"It's my job, Sheriff. I think you should visit her. It's okay to talk about the past slowly. Infuse her with new information daily."

"Yeah… It's just… I can't bring my family to visit… I remember the last time."

"She's been asking about her friends. Maybe you can let her friends visit. She talks about a boy named Logan, a lot. I know Lilly is dead, and Duncan is gone… but how about Logan?"

"Logan is gone too. He left." Keith said shortly. "He was her boyfriend after Lilly's death."

"Mr. Casablancas has been visiting regularly. I already instructed him to be careful. And Ms. Mackenzie also visits sometimes with Mr. Casablancas."

"Is that okay?"

"It's fine. Mr. Casablancas has been very careful about the visits. I think it's nice to have him as part of her life."

"He's like a son to me."

"Maybe you should bring Wallace but not as your son, but as a friend of Mr. Casablancas."

"Wallace is MY son, doc. I can't lie about this…"

"Yes, but Veronica is not ready for the truth. She will go into a catatonic state again if she finds out her whole life has changed drastically." Keith didn't say anything, so Glenn continued. "My suggestion is for you to come and visit regularly Mr. Mars. Tell her that you support her no matter what; and ease into new information. You are her most trusted person in the whole world."

"Thank you, Glenn…." Keith sighed. This was so hard on him. "I'll try to come tomorrow."

"It would be great."

Both of them bid goodbye and Glenn hung up the phone. He stood up and walked to the window. He could see the garden from up his window. He saw two orderlies walked through the garden, but didn't suspect anything.

"Okay, you can find her in the library. She usually hangs out in there by herself, so I think you can talk to her." Marty whispered to the man who was now wearing an orderly uniform. "I won't be responsible if you get caught. If you EVER say my name, I'll deny everything!" He whispered tersely to the man.

The man just nodded and walked confidently to the library, Marty walked away fast and walked past several patients. He hissed to them, which made the patients back away in fear.

The tall man reached the library and opened the door quietly. The library was a lounge room filled with books on bookcases. Leather couches were positioned in front of the windows and fireplace. Soft carpets covered the floor, and it silenced his steps.

Veronica was lying down on the couch, reading a book. She was very absorbed with the reading; she didn't realize that the man was standing near her. He cleared his throat, which made her jump and she sat straight. "Gosh! You scared me!"

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to." He looked at her and waited whether she'd recognize him. She didn't. He stared at her, which made her uncomfortable. So he gave her his best smile. Girls usually loved his smile. "Hello."

"Hello, I guess…" Veronica looked up to the tall dark haired man and frowned to see him. He looked familiar, but she couldn't remember who he was. "I've never seen you before in this place."

"That's because I'm new. I just work here, and I think I'm lost." He lied easily.

"Oh, okay." Veronica spread her hands and showed the room, "As you can see, this is the room for reading. Kids called it a library nowadays."

"Library? Interesting. I would never guess." He joked.

Veronica smiled and he decided that she looked beautiful no matter what. She still looked the same, just as he remembered her. He smiled back. Veronica thought the new staff looked attractive… but there was something that she couldn't put her finger on it. Something… weird.

"Well, I guess you should go back to work. Right?" Veronica said. She looked at him with her blue eyes, and he noticed THAT look; that smart look, as if she could see deep into his soul and take away his heart, just like years ago.

"Ah, yes. Sorry. You're right. I'm just…" He smiled, "You're so pretty." Veronica shot her brows upward but didn't say anything. "Sorry, I guess I'm too upfront. I'm still learning the ways here."

"That's okay." She shrugged. "I'm Veronica. We probably would bump to each other frequently. What's your name?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Mercerano. But you can call me Mercer."