Author's Note: Apologies for the long wait between updates - I've had a crazy couple of weeks. I had been hoping to post this chapter 2 weeks ago, but it wasn't quite finished before I went away again and then I was too busy and tired to work on the story. Plus I've been sick with a bad cough and now a cold too (that'll teach me not to attend 3 fan conventions in two different countries in the space of 10 days)!

The chapter is now ready though and as it's Wednesday (and it's my birthday), here it is...

Chapter Thirteen

Logan spends the next couple of weeks convincing himself that everything is fine, that nothing has changed, but in late March, when he arrives home to an empty condo for the third night in a row, he finally admits something's wrong. He's barely seen Veronica in days; she's been out until all hours on stake-outs and doing research for her cases, and while that's not unusual in and of itself, the more it happens, the more he gets the feeling she's deliberately avoiding him.

Closing the front door behind him, he sighs, shrugging out of his jacket and hanging it on the coat stand, as Pony bounds over, tail wagging with excitement.

"Hey, girl." He forces a smile, crouching down to ruffle her soft fur. "Miss me?"

She jumps up and licks his face, provoking a genuine smile this time.

"Where's Mommy, huh?" He takes the dog's face lightly in his hands as he addresses her. "Out late again?"

Pony gives a soft bark and Logan lets out another sigh. "Yeah, big surprise."

Standing up, he heads for the kitchen, checking his phone on the way. No messages. As he opens the fridge and starts pulling out things for dinner, his thoughts return to the conversation that got him into this situation in the first place.

Goddamn him for bringing up the kid thing. He should have known better, should've known he'd end up disappointed, that she would pull away from him. He took a chance, hoping that since the marriage conversation hadn't gone over too badly, she might be open to the baby conversation too. At the time, it seemed to go okay, even if it didn't wield the outcome he was hoping for, but since then, she's been pulling away from him.

Honestly, before—before the Navy, before Veronica came back into his life—he never thought he wanted kids either. Considering how he grew up, how he experienced first-hand what kind of man his father was, for a long time he'd been scared of reproducing, convinced he was doomed to follow in Aaron's footsteps, no matter how much he fought not to. But lately, since his squadron-mates have become parents, since he and Veronica got back together, since that conversation he had with Chaos about fatherhood on the ship last year, and especially since Chaos and Sarah broke their good news almost three weeks ago, he's been reconsidering his stance on parenthood.

Some days, all he has to do is close his eyes and he can picture Veronica holding a tiny baby in her arms. He can picture her baking snickerdoodles with a golden-haired toddler, can picture himself teaching their son or daughter how to surf, and telling them all about flying planes. He can picture curling up with Veronica on a bed, their child snuggled between them, reading bedtime stories.

But the kicker is: Veronica doesn't want that. She doesn't want children. She's made that perfectly clear, always has. Which means he's craving a life he can never have, and he's trying not to let it show, is trying to act like everything is normal, but he just can't seem to shake those thoughts from his mind. And as much as they're both pretending to the contrary, it's been affecting their relationship, but he doesn't know what he can do to fix it.

Turning on the radio as a distraction, he forces his concentration back to the dinner and is busy boiling pasta when he hears Pony barking at the sound of the front door opening and closing.

Veronica appears in the kitchen a few moments later, Pony following close at her heels.

"Evening," she greets, crossing the room and rising up, resting her hand on his forearm as she gives him a kiss and he turns his head to meet her halfway. "Smells great."

"It's not much." He shrugs, eyes remaining on her as she steps away and opens the fridge, reaching for a couple of Cokes.

"Want one?" She holds a can up in invitation.

"Sure." He turns off the hob and turns around, his eyes following her consideringly as she reaches for the glasses. "You're back late tonight."

"Yeah." She nods, her back to him. "Busy day."

"Feels like I've barely seen you all week," he says carefully.

"Like I said, I've been busy." The words are casual, but he can detect the barely masked tension in her tone.

"Right."

She finishes pouring the drinks, then turns around, her expression guarded. "Logan…"

"What?" Her resigned tone makes him goes on the defensive.

Veronica shakes her head. "Nothing. Never mind."

The dismissal rubs him the wrong way and anger colours his tone as he responds.

"No, you know what? It's not nothing. Veronica, we need to talk about this."

"Talk about what?" She seems to be feigning ignorance, but the hesitance in her voice gives her away.

"You know, the massive elephant in the room," he says pointedly. "The one we've been tiptoeing around for the last few weeks."

Her expression clouds over, a frown crossing her face as her jaw clenches. "Logan, come on. This isn't fair."

"You've been avoiding me, Veronica." He takes a step toward her. When she rolls her eyes, he adds, "Don't deny it."

She just stares him down for a long moment, before exhaling heavily. "I thought we were okay here, Logan. I thought you understood."

"I do, it's just…" He trails off, unsure how to finish.

"It's just that you want children… and I don't," she states flatly.

"That's not—I didn't—" He tries to protest, to make it seem less blunt. It doesn't work.

"I can see it in your eyes, Logan," she admits. "I see you watching me with that look; the one that tells me you're picturing what it would be like."

Shit. She knows.

"Veronica… I—"

"You know me, Logan!" she bursts out, moving closer. "You've always known how I feel! You know I don't want children and you've never had a problem with it before."

"I know," he responds, voice rising in response to her outburst. "I fucking know that, okay? Believe me, I never wanted them before either, but…"

"But now you do," she finishes for him, her voice controlled, quiet.

"Yeah, I guess I do," he admits softly.

Silence falls as he looks at her, taking in the resigned demeanour, her sad expression, the hint of frustration and anger he sees there.

"And what do you expect me to say to that, Logan?" she shoots back. "You can't just give me that 'puppy dog' look of yours and expect me to give in. This is my life, my body we're talking about here."

Logan closes his eyes, reining in the irritation that's threatening to bubble over.

"I know," he says tightly. "Believe me, I know your feelings on the subject all too well. But I have feelings too, and right now it feels like you're just dismissing them."

Her jaw clenches, eyes widening, fire blazing within them as she takes a step back. "Are you fucking serious right now?"

Shit. This is going from bad to worse.

"Veronica—" he starts, moving closer, but she backs away, one hand lifting to keep him at bay.

"Wait," she cuts him off, "so just because you want a kid, I have to go through nine months of pregnancy, followed by an excruciating labour." She starts counting off on her fingers. "And then I'd end up a single parent to a child I didn't even want in the first place because you're off swanning about on a fucking aircraft carrier for months at a time?"

"No, that's not—" He fumbles to articulate, hurt and shock from her words reverberating through him. "I would never—"

She crosses her arms, staring daggers at him. "No?"

"No," he states forcefully. "For fuck's sake, Veronica. I love you."

Her jaw twitches, like she wants to reply, but is forcing herself not to. Her silence encourages him to continue.

"I just wanted… God, I guess I was stupid enough to think we actually could have an honest, rational discussion about this. With no judgement," he says tersely, trying not to let his anger show. It doesn't work. "But of course, you're Veronica Mars. Should've fucking known better."

Her eyes flash with fury, and she takes a menacing step forward, staring up at him mutinously as she speaks, slowly and carefully.

"Fuck. You. Logan."

Her tone is so cold it sends a shock right through him. He hasn't heard that tone from her... well, ever. She turns to leave and he panics.

"Wait!" He moves to reach for her, then quickly pulls his hand back when she flinches away. "Don't go."

"No," she grinds out. "I need to be alone right now."

"Veronica, please…" he calls after her as she leaves the room. "Come on. Let's talk about this."

"Goodnight, Logan." Her voice carries down the hallway. "Couch is all yours."

The bedroom door slams shut behind her and silence falls over the kitchen. Even Pony, who has been watching them curiously, is silent.

"Fuck!" He exclaims, slamming a hand down on the counter. "Shit!"

How the hell is he supposed to fix this now?

The next morning, Wallace pulls up outside the guardroom of NAS North Island. As he puts his car in park and makes his way into the small building to sign in and pick up the car pass Echolls promised would be there for him, he wonders, not for the first time, what he's doing here.

Of course, when the opportunity to tour the naval base and meet the pilots and engineers of actual fighter jets arose, he couldn't say no. It's just that he's a little wary about how the opportunity came about, and just who made the offer. Wallace has always thought of himself as an easy-going, tolerant guy. He's friendly, he gets on with most people, and doesn't hate anyone. So, this ought to be easy. All he has to do is spend a few hours on a naval base with Logan Echolls.

Problem is, Echolls is one of the very few people he does not get along with. He likes to think he doesn't judge based on first impressions, but to say his first impression of Logan Echolls was not good is an understatement. His second and third impressions were no better either for that matter.

"Name?" the uniformed officer behind the desk demands gruffly as Wallace enters the guardroom.

"Fennel," he says. "Wallace."

"You have ID?"

"Sure." He digs his driver's licence out of his wallet. "Here."

"Purpose of visit?"

"Uh, I'm visiting the, uh…" He glances down at the piece of paper in his hand, which has the directions to the base scribbled on it. "Fleet Readiness Center."

"Who's your sponsor?"

Wallace blinks. My what? "Uh, I don't—I mean—"

The officer sighs. "The person escorting you onto base."

"Oh. Right." He nods. "Logan Echolls."

The guy just looks at him expectantly and it takes a moment to realise what he's waiting for.

"Lieutenant," he adds quickly, feeling strangely nervous. "Lieutenant Logan Echolls. He's with the Fleet Readiness Center."

"Right." Without even cracking a smile, the guy picks up his phone and dials a number. "Good morning, sir. This is the guardroom. I have a Mr. Fennel here to see a… Lieutenant Echolls."

He listens for a moment, before nodding and disconnecting the call. The man looks over at Wallace. "He'll be here to meet you soon. I need your plates and a photo for the pass."

"Right. Okay."

Wallace reels off the numbers on his plates, then, as instructed, looks into a small camera fixed to the wall while the officer takes a picture of him, then prints off two passes: one with his photo and personal details, and the other with his car registration number, and hands them to Wallace.

"These these must be displayed in your car and on your person at all times while on base," the officer tells him. "If you wait outside, Lt. Echolls will be here shortly to escort you in."

"Thank you."

Wallace heads back to his car just as a red Mercedes pulls up beside him and a familiar head pops out, though it's not the person he's expecting.

"Wallace?" It's Logan's fellow squadron-mate, Chaos. "Hey. Glad you made it."

"Hey… uh, Chaos," he says, smiling when the guy nods. "Sorry. Was expecting Logan."

"Yeah, sorry. He's tied up right now," Chaos explains, gesturing to Wallace's car. "If you follow me in, I'll show you around until Logan's free."

"Sure."

Wallace gets back into his car, following Chaos through the sprawling base until he pulls up outside a one-storey building located close to the runway. As he climbs out and locks the car, he notices a number of aircraft parked up on the large expanse of concrete before him. The roar of a jet engine overhead makes him look up in time to see a fighter jet fly past at high speed. Chaos joins him as he watches the plane curve upwards into the sky.

"You know I said Logan was tied up right now?" the guy shouts over the racket.

"Yeah…?"

"That's him." He gestures. "Up there."

Holy shit. Echolls is flying that monster of a fighter plane?

"Seriously?"

Wallace is well aware of what Veronica's boyfriend does for a living… but it's one thing to know the guy pilots fast jets and another thing entirely to see him in action. He hates to admit it, but he's impressed.

"Geez."

"Yeah." Chaos gestures for him to enter the building. Once they're inside, he explains, "He got called to do a test run on one of the jets. Told me to tell you he's sorry and that he'll be down in an hour or so."

"No problem, man."

"In the meantime, I'll show you around," Chaos tells him with a smile. "This way."

Chaos spends the next thirty minutes giving him a tour of the squadron building, filling him in on how the ranks work, and what a typical day is like for him and Logan, while Wallace takes the opportunity to find out more about Chaos' background and why he joined the Navy.

It's when the guy mentions Logan in passing that Wallace can't resist asking, "So, how did you and Echolls meet?"

Chaos grins. "We were in the same training intake back in 2011. Went all the way through OCS and flight school together, then got assigned to the same operational squadron up in Lemoore in late 2013. We've been working together ever since. He's one of my best friends… and I guess I'm his, too."

"Yeah." Wallace blinks, not expecting that answer.

He's never really thought of Logan having close friends before. Other than Dick Casablancas, of course, but he can't picture Dick's friendship involving much more than booze, drugs and women.

"So, tell me," he says. "How did he handle joining the Navy… all that discipline? The Logan Echolls I knew in high school had more than a little trouble with authority figures."

"Tell me about it." Chaos grins. "How do you think he got his callsign?"

"Wow, seriously?" Wallace can't help the chuckle that escapes his mouth.

"Yeah. Learned his lesson pretty quick though," says Chaos. "You don't get away with that kind of thing more than once in the military."

Wallace laughs outright now, an amusing mental image of Logan trying desperately to keep his mouth shut in the face of a big, scary officer flitting through his mind.

"Still having trouble picturing it," he admits with a grin.

Beside him, Chaos shrugs. "Logan's a good guy. And a fucking awesome pilot. Veronica's a lucky woman."

"Yeah." Wallace can't conceal his disbelieving scoff.

The guy stops, studying him with a frown, making Wallace feel self-conscious.

"You don't like him much, do you?"

"I—" Wallace struggles for the right words. He sighs in resignation. "Truth is, in high school, he didn't exactly make a good impression. In fact, the description I'd use is 'Entitled Jackass'. I never understood what Veronica saw in him."

Chaos studies him for a long moment, before shaking his head. "Look, I'm guessing back then you only saw the version of him he projected to the world. Granted, I didn't know him as a teenager, but I do know him now. And the Logan Echolls up there in that jet is kind and loyal and insanely protective of the people he loves."

"Huh." Wallace can't imagine any version of Logan Echolls fitting that description. Sure, he tolerates the guy for Veronica's sake, but that's about as far as it goes.

"Don't get me wrong, he's far from perfect—and he'll be the first to admit that. But he is a good guy," adds Chaos. "He's been through a fuckin' hell of a lot and he's come out okay the other side. Not many people can go through what he has and still be functioning afterward."

"Yeah…" Wallace agrees absently, though his mind is whirring as Chaos hands him a pair of ear defenders and leads him outside to watch Logan's plane come into land.

As his gaze follows the descending jet, Wallace wonders what it is he's missing here—what is it Chaos knows about Echolls that he doesn't? He has a pretty good idea of what Logan went through in high school, what with Lilly, and his mother, and Aaron Echolls turning out to be a murderer, but Chaos' words seem to imply there was something more to it... something more personal that Wallace has not been privy to.

They stay on the apron until the plane is on the ground, and then Chaos gestures for him to follow him into a large aircraft hangar, inside which three F/A-18 jets are being worked on by a team of engineers.

As Chaos gestures to the jet closest to them, explaining what the engineers are doing, Echolls appears from the other side of the hangar, dressed in a green flight suit with all kinds of gear attached to it, and a helmet nestled under one arm.

"Good flight?" asks Chaos as Logan approaches them.

"Not bad." He nods, then turns to Wallace, shaking his hand. "Hey, man, good to see you. Just got a couple things to sort out and I'll be with you."

"Take your time, man," says Wallace amiably.

Logan just gives him a nod and a quick smile, before disappearing across the hangar floor. Wallace frowns as he watches him leave. Something's off with the guy today; he looks tired, with bags under his eyes and his features drawn and pinched.

"Is he okay?" he asks. "He seems stressed."

"I don't know." Chaos shrugs, glancing in Logan's direction with a thoughtful frown. "Has Veronica said anything to you?"

"About what?" Wallace is confused.

Chaos lowers his voice. "I think they're having problems."

"No way." Wallace blinks, unable to believe that. "What kind of problems?"

Sure, Veronica and Logan had a volatile relationship as teenagers, but from what he's seen the last few months, they're solid as a rock now.

"No idea." Chaos shrugs. "But something's up. He hasn't been himself the last couple weeks. Don't think he's sleeping well."

"Yeah?" Wallace frowns. "I mean, Veronica hasn't mentioned anything."

Though even as he says it, a small voice in the back of his mind niggles at him. Yeah, but how often have you seen Veronica lately? When was the last time actually you sat down and talked to her?

"Maybe I'm wrong." Chaos gives a shrug. "Anyway, I'm sure you're not here to discuss our personal shit. Let's get on with this tour."

Wallace spends the next couple of hours learning all about the jets, quizzing the engineers and the ground crew about their roles and talking pilot training with Logan and Chaos. They head over to the pizza place on base for lunch, and then in the afternoon, Logan gives him a personal tour of one of the aircraft, even letting him sit in it as Echolls shows him what all the buttons and switches do. By the time he thanks them for their time and climbs back into his car, he's feeling a combination of exhilaration and longing. It's been an awesome experience, but it's also making him nostalgic for what could have been if he'd followed his original dream of actually becoming an aeronautical engineer instead of going into teaching.

"Knock, knock."

Veronica looks up from the computer screen on Friday to see Wallace grinning at her from the doorway to her office.

"Hey, Supafly." She pastes on a smile as she greets him, though he rolls his eyes at the nickname. "What are you doing here?"

"What, I can't stop by to see my best friend on the last day of my week off?" He steps into the office. "You free for lunch?"

"Oh." Veronica blinks, glancing at the wall clock in surprise. "Guess I lost track of time."

"So? You up for it?" Wallace asks. "I don't normally get many chances to lunch off-campus."

"Sure," she agrees. "Just give me a minute."

Wallace nods, then glances around the offices, peering through the glass walls.

"Your dad and Mac not here?"

Veronica shakes her head as she closes the documents she was working on, then locks her screen.

"Dad's out on a surveillance run and Mac had to run to the store."

Grabbing her bag, she smiles at him. "Shall we?"

They end up at a coffee shop a couple of blocks over. It's a bit of a hole in the wall, but their sandwiches are amazing. They place their orders, then take a seat at a small table by the window.

"Enjoying your week off?" Veronica asks, stirring her steaming latte. "Did you visit the base? Get your nerd on over all those planes?"

Wallace doesn't say anything for a moment, just studies her thoughtfully, a slightly confused-looking frown on his face.

She shifts a little under his gaze. "What?"

"Nothing." He seems to snap out of it. "Yeah, I drove down there yesterday. Chaos showed me around at first, until Logan was done flying."

She smiles despite herself, momentarily forgetting the anger that has been steadily simmering beneath the surface for the last 36 hours.

"Pretty impressive, huh?"

Wallace gives a small grimace. "As much as it pains me to say it, yeah."

"So, it was a good day?"

He smiles widely now. "Awesome. Tell Logan thank you. Again."

Not likely, she thinks, while giving a quick nod. We're not even speaking right now.

"Will do." She tries for perky but realises her tone has fallen flat when Wallace just levels her with a concerned look.

He opens his mouth to speak, but their sandwiches arrive before he can say anything. They fall quiet as they start eating, but it's not long before Wallace breaks the silence.

Leaning forward slightly, his voice low, he says. "Veronica, is everything okay?"

"Fine," she says brightly, pasting a fake smile on her face. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"You tell me," he says. "You seem… I don't know… tense, stressed… and you look exhausted."

Veronica's heart sinks. Should have known he'd see right through me.

"It's nothing," she dismisses his concerns. "Just didn't get much sleep last night."

"There something in the water at your end of Dog Beach?" he says lightly. "'Cause Logan wasn't looking too hot yesterday either."

Veronica starts, her back straightening and her eyes snapping to his. "Yeah?"

What does he know? Did Logan say something?

Wallace isn't buying it. "Seriously, Vee, what's going on? Are you and Logan okay?"

A bitter laugh escapes her lips, as she tries to deflect. "Do you even care? You don't even like him."

Wallace recoils, looking hurt. "Of course I care, Veronica."

He leans across the table and touches her wrist with his fingers.

"You're my best friend. I love you and I want you to be happy." He shrugs, looking a little sheepish. "And you know, maybe I've gained some perspective when it comes to Logan."

"Yeah?" Her tone is lighter, though she's still a jumble of feelings inside.

Wallace shrugs again. "Seeing him in action yesterday… hearing what Chaos says about him, about how Logan's changed… just, maybe I misjudged him."

"Wow. Never thought I'd hear you say that," Veronica tries to keep her tone light, but from Wallace's expression, it's not working.

He fixes her with a concerned look. "Veronica, talk to me. What's wrong?"

She sighs, she torn between doing what she usually does and brushing off his worry, and opening up, confiding in her best friend. Even as she opens her mouth to speak, she's not sure what she'll say… until it all comes spilling out.

"God, it's such a mess, Wallace. We had this fight, and we're not even speaking," she says. "He's sleeping on the couch and I'm… God, I don't know what I can do to fix it."

She tries to keep her tone steady and not betray her emotions, but she can't stop her voice hitching at the end.

"Aw, Vee…" He reaches across the table. "I'm sorry. What happened?"

"I don't know." She shakes her head, feeling at a loss. "One minute he's back home and we're so happy, and we're moving in together, but then suddenly he's talking about marriage, and kids, and—"

"Wait," he interrupts. "Marriage and kids? Seriously? Does he even know you?"

"That's the problem: he does," she admits sadly. "He's always known how I feel… well, except when I was 12 and still had romantic ideas about happy families. But even when we were together years ago, he always knew… and he didn't care. In fact, he agreed with me."

She gives a tired sigh as she recalls a conversation they had one night after the whole Charlie Stone debacle, when both she and Logan had unequivocally decided that neither marriage nor children were for them.

"And now he doesn't? What changed?"

"That's the thing: I don't know." She shrugs helplessly. "I don't understand it. After the childhood he had, after everything… we were on the same page, you know? Or so I thought."

Wallace frowns, looking like he's debating with himself over something. Veronica is about to ask what's wrong, when his expression clears and he focuses on her again.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I have no idea." She swallows harshly against the emotions bubbling up in her chest. "I mean, what if this is a deal-breaker? What if this is it for us?"

"No." Wallace shakes his head decisively. "After all you guys have gone through to get here? No way. He's crazy about you, you know that."

She does know, but… "Is that enough, though? I mean, what if we don't get married or have kids and he starts resenting me for it? Or what if we do, and I can't handle it? That would be even worse."

"Veronica, I…" He stops, considering, before looking her in the eye and saying, "Look, I think this is something you need to be discussing with him."

She scoffs, her chest tight. "We tried. It didn't go well. That's how we ended up in this situation."

"Well, try again," he says simply, shifting in his head so he's facing her head on. "Veronica, you can't put bury your head in the sand and pretend everything's fine, because one day it's all just gonna boil over then there'll be no coming back from it. You need to tackle this head-on and sort it out now, before it's too late."

She looks down at her hands with resignation. "I know."

"Do you?" He probes. "Way I see it, you got two options: one: cut your losses and end things once and for all." Veronica blanches at that, the idea of not being with Logan too horrific to even contemplate. "Which, by your expression, you really don't want to do, or two: sit down and discuss this with Logan calmly and rationally, and try to come to some kind of understanding."

"I know. I just… I don't know how I can..." she trails off.

Wallace studies her for a moment before saying gently, "Just tell him how you feel. Explain why you feel that way. And find out why he feels the way he does. You need to understand each other's motivations before you can find a solution."

"Yeah. Okay." Veronica nods slowly, his words making a lot of sense. "Tell me, how did you get so wise, Fennel?"

He shrugs. "I teach high school kids; it's nothing but relationship melodrama all the time with them. You pick up all kinds of useful advice."

"Well, thank God for high-schoolers then." She smiles, and this time, it's not forced. "Thanks, Wallace."

"Anytime, Mars." He grins. "And, for the record, I'm rooting for you two crazy kids."

"Thanks," she says again, mind whirring.

Wallace was right, she needed to talk to Logan… the only problem was figuring out exactly how to do that without starting another fight.