A/N: I'm sorry about the wait on this one. I was having trouble ironing out the kinks, and having trouble figuring out where to go. This is the last official chapter, there will be an epilogue following though. I hope you enjoy!


Chapter 19: Down to the Wire

Veronica sat in the backseat of the car, trying desperately to hold back the tears that hung at the edge of her eyes, fighting to escape. In all her spying for her dad and following criminals and adulterers, in all her hanging out with gang members and policemen, Veronica had never been this frightened. She didn't think Logan could manage to kill Lilly's baby, and she didn't want him to. But the cost of that decision would be her life, and if Veronica knew Logan, she knew he would rather Lilly was hurt than Veronica.

Logan was sitting in the front seat, and Veronica couldn't see his eyes. She willed him to turn to look at her, but he kept his eyes focused on the road in front of him. She considered the phone in her front pocket, but knew Trina would block her from being able to contact Keith.

Logan was texting. Aaron was too busy focusing on the road to pay attention to the boy next to him. Veronica couldn't see it from her vantage point, but he was sending messages to Duncan, Lilly, Weevil, and his own mother. Trina was painting her nails (the smell was truly nauseating, Logan was afraid he would blow any minute now).

The message to Duncan told Duncan to get out of the house now. Logan warned him what was coming, and ordered him to find a way to remove his parents and himself. He wanted it to be only Lilly and himself. No one else attempting to interfere with what was about to happen. To Lilly, he explained that he'd be there soon, he needed to talk with her. And to Weevil, he requested Weevil roll by with the boys in about 20 minutes. It would take an entire gang to save Veronica when all hell broke loose. The message to Lynn Echolls wasn't one he cared to discuss, but he knew his mother loved him, and would forgive him for what was about to happen.

They pulled into the Kane driveway, just to see Jake and Celeste driving away with Duncan in the back seat. Jake waved to Aaron, and Aaron gave a curt nod, not wanting to get too friendly. After all, they were there to dispose of Jake Kane's grandchild. It would destroy the friendship in a heartbeat.

"Wow, luck seems to be on our side. It'll just be you and Lilly, Logan. Now, do you have the vial?" Trina declared, a grin wide enough to show all her teeth on her face. Logan only nodded, not wanting to look Trina in the eye.

"Let me see it. I don't want you going in there and pretending you forgot it at the house." Trina warned, holding her newly painted claws out. Logan slipped the vial out of his pocket and showed it to Trina, his eyes challenging her to find fault. She couldn't and she settled back into the seat calmly.

"Okay. Go for it. Oh, and so you don't think I'm playing you…" Trina whipped a gun out of her purse, and yanked Veronica over so that the gun was pressed to Veronica's cheek. It was all Veronica could handle, and the tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Trina! I know you're serious, now put the gun down." Logan yelled, reaching to pull it from his sister. Trina cocked the gun, and tilted her head, a triumphant smile on her lips. Logan slammed the door open and threw it shut, and the car shook on the impact. He strode quickly to the door, ringing the doorbell incessantly.

"Logan, what is your deal? Jesus Christ." Lilly swung the door open, a lollipop in her hands.

"Let me in, Lilly." Logan demanded, not in the mood for Lilly's games.

"Seriously, Logan, if you came here to like, yell at me or whatever, go home. Where's your car anyways?" Lilly asked, peeking around him.

"My dad drove me. I don't have a lot of time Lilly, let me in." Logan pushed Lilly gently into the hall, finally making it into the house.

"Logan…is everything okay?" Lilly asked, locking the door behind her.

"No, Lilly, everything is not okay. Trina is in the car holding a gun to Veronica's head. My sister is apparently as mentally screwed up as my father, and has blackmailed me into killing your baby." Logan shouted, cupping his head in his hands. Lilly stood, looking at him, her mouth wide open in shock.

"It's Trina? Trina? You're serious?" Lilly started shaking her head, her long blonde hair flipping with it.

"Yes. Here's what I'm supposed to kill your baby with." Logan took out the vial and showed her. Lilly looked at him, her eyes filling with tears.

"She'll kill Veronica if you don't?" Lilly confirmed, tears beginning to spill down her cheeks. Logan nodded seriously.

"Okay, then do it." Lilly replied defiantly. Logan began shaking his head.

"That kid deserves to live Lilly. I won't do it." Logan informed her. Lilly shook her head more fiercely.

"I won't let Veronica die for my bastard kid. I can have more, ones that are for sure Eli's. Please Logan, Veronica doesn't have to die. We can fix this." Lilly's breath was ragged, her voice cracking with each word. Anyone could see she wanted nothing more than to hold this baby, but she was willing to sacrifice her child for her best friend.

"I've made my choice, Lilly." Logan told her seriously, before throwing the glass vial to the floor, and watching it as it shattered. Lilly broke out into bone chilling sobs, collapsing on her knees to the ground. Logan looked at her, and then turned to the door, where someone was pounding on it.

"I thought so." Logan said, conversationally, leaving Lilly lying on the floor as he answered. Aaron Echolls stood, with Trina and Veronica standing closely behind him. He threw his fist forward, and it collided with Logan's nose, and even Veronica heard the crunch. Logan stumbled back, holding his nose, which had blood pouring out of it.

"You asshole. I can't believe you didn't do it." Trina sighed as she entered the house, pulling Veronica with her.

"You bugged me." Logan replied, his voice filled with defiance, even as he held his broken nose.

"Of course. I wanted to hear what you said. I'm not pleased." Trina shook her head, as though she was truly disappointed in Logan.

"You also didn't load the gun. You were playing me." Logan laughed, proud to have figured Trina's plan out.

"Very good, young one. But you didn't expect this…" Trina pulled a butcher knife out of the kitchen drawer and held it to Veronica's neck. Logan lunged forward, but Aaron grabbed his collar and yanked him to stand by his father.

Before anything more could happen, the door slammed open again, revealing Eli and his gang, along with Lynn Echolls, who was dialing 911 as quickly as she could.

"Shit…" Trina cried out, before moving the knife and pressing it to Veronica's chest. She pushed, and Veronica screamed in pain. Logan was struggling against his father as much as possible. Eli rushed forward to hold Lilly, while his gang ran to Trina and pulled her from Veronica. The knife clattered to the floor, and Trina was suddenly in the hands of the boys. She was laughing manically and Lynn was telling the dispatcher to send an ambulance and the police. She hung up, and walked over to Aaron, who dropped Logan's collar, and adopted a sheepish attitude.

"Lynn, I had no idea what Trina was doing. I came here to protect Veronica-" Before he could finish his crappy explanation, Lynn slapped him hard across the cheek. The handprint rose immediately, and Aaron was cringing from the sting.

"The divorce attorney will call you in the morning." Lynn stated, turning to look at her son. He was holding Veronica in his arms. Her shirt was covered in blood, and Lynn didn't know if it was Logan's or Veronica's.

"You'll be okay Ronnie, you'll be okay. Everything's okay, Lilly and the baby are fine, I'm here, you'll be okay." Logan kept repeating this over and over, almost like a prayer. Lynn kneeled close to her son, her hand brushing his shoulder. He was shaking in sobs, and Veronica was smiling weakly.

"You…didn't…tell me….you bastard." She managed, and Logan choked out a laugh.

"You might've opened your big mouth and ruined it all." He told her honestly. She laughed weakly, before shutting her eyes for a minute.

"Veronica? Veronica, don't you dare, don't you dare, open your eyes." Logan commanded, and she obliged quickly.

"The…baby…" Veronica questioned. Logan nodded, reading her thoughts.

"Fine. You and I will be godparents." Logan answered, looking over at Lilly, who was still crying. She smiled and nodded with Eli.

"The ambulance is here. And so is Keith. He's frantic." Lynn informed him. Logan nodded, and lifted Veronica into his arms, carrying her over to her father and the paramedics.

She was loaded into the ambulance, along with Keith and Logan, Logan still praying that Veronica would live to see the birth of Lilly's baby.


A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Epilogue is coming up, and then it's all over! I loved writing this, and it'll be the first story I've ever actually finished! I hope the wait was worth it, and I apologize 1,000,000,000 times for how long it was.