Title: Mutual
Author: brencon
Pairings/Characters: Logan/Veronica, ensemble
Word Count: 2,067
Rating: PG-13, so far.
Summary: What if Logan and Veronica got together before everything went to hell?
Spoilers: Set pre-series, but is now including season one plot.
Warnings: Swearing.
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars belongs to Rob Thomas and the nice people at the CW
Author's Note: Italics represent Veronica's thoughts and/or voiceovers.
Doctor Craig Dean snapped his gloves off and tossed them into the medical waste bin and followed them with his scrubs. He headed to wash up before moving to his patient's room, to converse with her parents. Once surgery had been finished, she had been transported to post-op to rest up before returning to her private room.
He passed by a blonde girl, her face red, eyes like slits as she passed by him as if the whole building was on fire and she was the only one to have a fire extinguisher. He knocked twice on his patients privately paid room, nodding to her security crew as he entered the room.
"Mrs. Kane…," he started, only to find himself in the room with the patient's brother, not her mother or father. He took a moment, smiling at the kid before switching the light on, wondering why the boy was hiding in the dark.
Bathing the son in fluorescent lighting, he found the boy red with embarrassment or anger, Dr. Dean wasn't sure. He interlocked his hands and smiled at the boy.
"Hello, Mr. Kane. I was wondering where your mother is?"
"Why?" Duncan asked, looking the doctor straight in the eye, "Has something happened to Lilly?" Worried, Duncan jumped to his feet, his hands clenched; his finger nails dug into his palms, creating half moons.
"I have pressing matters to speak with your parents, about your sister's condition. Do you know when they will be coming back in?"
"Mom said she'd be back before three. Can't you just tell me, though? She's my sister!"
"I'm sorry son, but I'm not at liberty to say anything before I speak to your parents. All that I can say is that you're sister's surgery went well, and that she's in post-op at the moment. I'll come back at three."
"Can I see her?" Duncan begged, his voice small.
"I'm sorry, but she's connected to too many machines right now for any one to go near her," the doctor explained, smiling sympathetically at the boy. He gave his goodbyes and left the kid to his own devices, turning the light off as he left the room.
The time was 13:13 in the afternoon.
--
Furious, Veronica opened the door to Logan's room and sighed angrily as she closed it behind her. She groaned in frustration and kicked the wall, wincing at the pain that shot through her foot.
"I can't believe him!" She shouted, throwing her arms into the air in anguish. She dropped herself in the chair by his bed. She grasped her head in her hands, pulling at her hair in anger.
"Everything okay over there Ronnie?" Logan asked, nervously smiling at her, glancing at his mother to see if she knew what the problem was.
"Oh, everything's great! Fan-fricking-tastic!" She mocked, laughing bitterly as she lifted her head up.
"Okay, we get it – you can snark with the best of us, but what's got you in this twist?" Logan asked, sitting up in his bed, the fresh sheets pooling around his waist.
"Duncan!" She roared, forcing herself to sit up straight in her seat. She took a deep breath, feeling her heart rate slow.
"What did he do now?" Lynn asked, sharing a look with Logan before returning her eyes to Veronica.
"He kissed me! He thought that I wanted to get back with him just because I went to check up on Lilly."
"Why would he do that?" Logan asked through clenched teeth.
"Because… because his mother told him we're not related, because he thought you had gotten worse… because… Oh I don't know!" she said, getting to her feet and beginning to pace.
Aghast, Lynn looked to her son for answers, only to find his face covered in shock too. She shook her head, trying to comprehend what she just said.
"Veronica, do you mind if I ask you something?" Lynn questioned, sitting on the edge of Logan's bed.
"I think you just did," Veronica joked, realising that in the moment they were in that her reply was least in appropriate, Veronica took a serious stare and smiled at her, "Go ahead, Mrs. Echolls."
The time was 13:28 in the afternoon.
--
Yolanda was lounging on her bed, her trig book propped on her pillow as the television in front of her reported news of an apparent spate of burglaries of homes in the prestigious 90909 area. The prime suspects were a biker gang that had tarnished the face of Neptune.
What Yolanda couldn't figure out was why the news stations had quickly left all reports regarding the attempted murder of Lilly Kane at the hand of Aaron Echolls. His face had been on every channel for two weeks following his arrest and then nothing. The messages and phone calls that she had shared with Veronica had kept her abreast with the current situation with both Logan and Lilly.
Their last conversation, held last night before she returned to his bedside, she'd listened as Veronica had cried out her worries, gave advice when asked taxing questions and tried to give her a ray of hope in the darkened skies.
"…his lawyer said, forcing his way through our reporters. Once more, let me just explain – Aaron Echolls has been given bail by high powered judge after almost a full month of seclusion in the Balboa County Sheriffs office. More details when we get them. In local news, another body was found in…," Yolanda frowned, flipping the channel in search of another news report, needing to check the facts before she called Veronica to break the news.
The time was 13:42 in the afternoon.
--
Sheriff Mars was feeling an anger, one that he hadn't felt since realising that his wife had been having an affair with her former lover. Knowing that his work, his reason for being, had failed to keep a criminal like Aaron Echolls of the streets was causing him a great deal of strength. He'd ordered Deputy Lamb to keep watch of their suspect.
Sitting in his office, reading over the reports he'd filled since Echolls' arrest 26 days ago, he realised that the interrogations that had been held and yielded little information. Anything regarding Lilly Kane, or his own son had caused Aaron to clam up. He'd not spoken a single word that went against what they knew, and without any corroborating evidence they had found and lack of evidence from Lilly Kane, the judge had seen fit to let bail be granted, allowing Echolls to return home under house arrest.
Even with the videos that Logan and Veronica had found, their statements, he had only gotten one side. With Lilly's report, he would finally be able to file a warrant for arrest against Aaron, but for that to happen, he needed Lilly alive and well.
After the release of Echolls', Celeste Kane had come marching in and slapped Keith. She'd raised her hand to slap him once more only for her to be stopped by her husband. Keith explained his situation and asked for an update on their daughters condition.
They'd gone, at least accepting the fact that any evidence Lilly could give would be needed before charges could be filed.
So Keith sat back, reaching for cell phone as he drank his coffee. He toyed with his phone, contemplating wether he should tell his daughter of the situation now or allow her to relieve some her pain in the arms of her very much alive boyfriend.
Taking the option of peace, even if it only lasted for the briefest of moments, Keith returned his cell phone to his breast pocket.
The time was 13:53 in the afternoon.
--
Having explained everything that happened before that bright October day, Veronica sat back, grasping the Styrofoam cup in her hands, warming her fingers as if she had dunked them ice cold water. She watched the heat rise from it, watering her eyes. She blinked, blew on the liquid to cool it and took a sip, shifting at the pain.
"So… you're mom had an affair with Jake Kane? And there was a worry about who the father was? And that's Duncan was so weird before you two broke up, because Celeste told him the two of you were brother and sister?" Logan asked, wanting to confirm the facts to see he had gotten everything sorted in his mind.
"Yep," Veronica started, taking another drink, "it's also the reason why my mom left and why Celeste Kane has always hated me, even before I was dating her son."
"So, even with that whole paternity issue, your mom and Jake still let you two date?" Logan asked, shaking his head in disbelief at the situation he found himself in.
"In a nutshell. It was only a couple of weeks ago that we found out the truth, I'm a Mars, through and through. And I'm guessing that Celeste told Duncan today, hence the kissage."
"I never liked that woman," Lynn interjects, placing her cup on the bedside table, "She was always snobbish, even when she was around people richer than her," Lynn said, pouring Logan a fresh glass of water. "Whenever someone was saying what their latest project was, or what they'd recently completed, Celeste would have to interrupt and mention what project Jake was currently working on, or how well Duncan was doing in school and what she had planned for his future."
Laughing at his mothers comments, Logan gladly accepted the glass she was offering.
"I really like this new you, Mom," he said, smiling at her. He squeezed Veronica's hand, feeling her squeeze back in appreciation.
"So, how's school been?" Logan finally asked, having avoided the topic with her since he finally woke up.
"Like a mad house," Veronica sighed, smiling at his glowing face. "Reporters everywhere. Van has gotten a court order to keep them off school property, but last week this woman was thrown out of Yolanda's bio class for asking questions about Lilly. They searched her bag and found a dictaphone and a reporters notepad, along with two spy cameras."
"Wow. Must be hot news."
The door swung open and Yolanda entered, her outfit a simple t-shirt and faded jeans, but in the glare of the sun, she appeared like Wonder Woman or Supergirl.
"Look what the cat dragged in!" Logan joked, returning his glass to the tray before him.
"Watch that tongue of yours Echolls, before I cut it out!" Yolanda mocked, pointing her finger at him.
"A-ahem," Lynn coughed, gaining her sons attention.
"Oh, right, you two haven't met. Yolanda, this is my mom, Lynn Echolls. Mom, this is mine and Veronica's friend Yolanda Hamilton."
The new acquantances shook hands before Yolanda continued with her story.
"It's all over the news, and I didn't get any answer when I called Veronica's phone," she started, sitting in the last vacant seat in the room.
"I left it at home, was in a bit of a rush to get here," Veronica explained, motioning for Yolanda to continue on.
"Well, like I said, it's all over the news…"
The time was 14:21 in the afternoon.
--
Celeste Kane had just re-entered her daughter's room and had switched the light on, only to jump when she found her son, sitting on a chair in the dark, his legs pulled to his chest as he rocked back and forth.
"Duncan, what is it son? Duncan?" she asked, kneeling before him. She reached into her purse in search of his pills, fearing he had forgotten to take them. The last time he'd failed to take them was an experience she wished never to live through once more… it was only now that she could swallow her found without her throat hurting.
"Duncan, here take your pills. What's happened?" she asked, forcing a tablet into his hand. She grabbed his shoulders only to steady him, but fell back on the floor as he got to his feet. His eyes were dark, and his hands shook with anger.
He pushed past her, knocking her back to the floor as he ran for the door and knocked Dr. Dean to ground too. She gasped in fear, pulling her hand to her chest, above her heart. When the doctor offered her assistance, she gratefully accepted.
"Are you okay, Mrs. Kane?"
The time was 14:29 in the afternoon.