Chapter Ten: Welcome Home, Honey

"So what kind of bed did you want, Logan?"

"Whatever kind you want," he answered, smiling.

Veronica rolled her eyes. She knew he was only half-joking. After all, she knew very well that she'd probably end up sleeping with him. Not "sleeping with" him, but actually sleeping with him. She always felt safer in his arms. While she couldn't deny there wasn't a slight desire within her to "be with" Logan, she rather enjoyed their relationship the way it was. There was never any doubt that their connection in the bedroom was undeniable. It was magic; it was intense; it was awesome. But when there was no sex, it forced them to dig deeper and connect on a spiritual level, not physical. It was nice, and Veronica was in no hurry to dive into a physical relationship just yet. She did feel sorry for Logan. She knew it must be extremely difficult for him not to be…physical, but he didn't pressure her. Their relationship was so good right now it almost scared her. Her insecurities kept nagging at her, waiting for something to go wrong. She tried to push those thoughts away, as each day Logan's amazing transformation revealed itself to her in new ways. He was definitely changing, and she was changing along with him. They were definitely at a good place and she didn't want to change that, for now.

"Well, we're not picking out my bed, we're picking out yours."

"Oh," said Logan with fake understanding. "I guess I was confused."

She hit him on the arm playfully and strolled past him to the bed section.

He quickly picked out his whole ensemble while Veronica struggled to find something she liked.

"What about this one?" Logan asked, with his hand on one of the posts of a four-poster bed. It was a masterpiece of beautiful mahogany. With delicate engravings on each post and the headboard, Veronica thought it was amazing. But the price tag was just as amazing.

She frowned at Logan and said, "Not in my budget, dude."

"Hey, my house, my furniture. Not asking about your budget. I'm buying the furniture, you're just renting the place."

"But, Logan…"

"But, nothing, Ronnie. When I kick you out in August, the furniture stays."

Veronica knew there was no point in arguing with Logan. He would have his way.

"Fine, but I'm sure we can find something more appropriate…"

"What does that mean? I kind of think it looks fit for a queen. Seems kind of appropriate to me."

Veronica smiled. When did Logan get so absurdly cheesy. She kind of liked it.

"Fine, fine. Why am I even here?"

"To pick out what you like."

"But if you don't let me actually pick…"

"But you did. I saw the way you looked at it. Your eyes speak the truth, even when your mouth doesn't. Just keep looking around. I'll handle this."

Logan grabbed a sales lady and she grabbed a pad. She began to write and follow behind them. When he had everything he wanted, they headed to Pier One to buy some deco stuff. This time, he let Veronica handle everything. After that, they went to buy linens and other household stuff. After it started getting dark, they were exhausted and hungry.

"There's a little seafood dive just up the street from the hotel. You game?"

"Sure," Veronica answered.

They sat and ate in relative silence. They were both tired from their full afternoon of shopping. They looked out over the water and Veronica couldn't help but feel a sense of wholeness. She was in a beautiful place, with a beautiful man, and she was finally happy. She had let herself forget about the dangers that lurked back in Neptune and the baggage of her past back there, too. She breathed in the warm Virginia air and the cool mist off the water. She closed her eyes to soak it all in.

"Everything, okay?"

"Yes," she answered. "Everything is great." She squeezed his hand and smiled. They finished dinner and walked slowly back to the hotel.

"Everything should be delivered tomorrow morning. The real estate agent said she'd handle everything. Our plane leaves at 10am."

"Do we have to go back?"

"Yeah, but only for two weeks—then we're back here. And when we get back here, everything will be all set up and we'll get to enjoy life away from Neptune for a little while."

"Ahh. Sounds good," she smiled, holding her head back and taking it all in.

"Are you sure you want me to come back with you?"

"You mean I have a choice?"

"Well…"

"That's what I thought."

Logan stopped and took Veronica's face in his hands.

"If you don't want me to come back with you, just say so. I can make other arrangements. You can have the whole townhouse to yourself, and…"

"Shh," she said, putting her finger to his lips. She gave him a soft kiss and continued, "I want you to come with me. I'm really glad you are. It'll me much more fun with you here. Although, it will probably be boring to you, after all, I'll be in an office all day and you'll be home alone."

"I'll find something to entertain myself with," he said, grinning.

"Oh, I'm sure."

"Are you?"

"Yes, Logan. I'm sure. I want you here." She turned away from him and threaded her arm through his and led him through the hotel's entrance.

"My dad, on the other hand…well, I'm not sure how I'm going to tell him about it. Maybe we could hide that somehow…"

"I don't think your dad will be a problem," Logan said silently.

She stopped short of the elevator.

"What do you mean by that, Logan Echolls?"

"Um, well, I sort of talked to him about it already."

"You told my dad you were coming to Virginia with me this summer."

"Well, we did some talking…mostly about you…and keeping you safe…"

"Logan," Veronica said, a little irritated.

"Look, Veronica. We've talked about this. I can't not protect you. I will die protecting you if I have to."

A tear formed in Veronica's eye, but she blinked it back. She knew he meant it. And she loved him for it.

"Your father and I are concerned about you. Hell, I'm concerned about me, too, Veronica. Gory has made a promise to get his revenge, and…"

Veronica put a finger to Logan's lips again and shushed him. She rubbed his cheek in the palm of her hand.

"I know, Logan. I'm a little freaked, too. I meant it when I said I'm glad you're going to be here with me. And while I'm a little annoyed that you went behind my back to talk to my dad…"

"I didn't go behind your back, Ver…"

She shushed him again.

"While I'm a little annoyed that you conspired with my father against me," she said with a grin, "I couldn't be happier that you are acting all mature and manly about this. I can't believe you and my dad had a civilized conversation that didn't involve bars between you."

"I know, right?"

"I'm…I'm impressed, Logan."

"Just so you know…" he said as they stepped into the elevator. "I told him how I felt about you."

Veronica nearly choked. Coughing, she said, "What?"

"He asked me to be upfront about how I felt about you, so I was."

"And you told him what, exactly?"

"The same thing I told you. That I'll do anything to protect you. That I love you, and I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

It kind of sounds like you asked him for his blessing, Logan, she thought.

"I see," she said out loud.

"Are you mad."

She turned and smiled at him.

"No," she said simply. After the elevator beeped and the doors opened she took his hand and led him out. "How could I be?"

They headed back to the hotel room and settled in bed, watching tv. Veronica fell asleep on Logan's chest. He slid her over and held her as he fell asleep, too.

….

It was nearly sunset when Logan drove Veronica home.

"Logan, where are we going? My apartment is in the other direction."

"Yeah. I know."

"So where are we going?"

"Home."

"Well, if you're taking the around-your-ass-to-your-elbow approach, I'm not amused."

"See, we're here." Logan pointed to a rather familiar looking house in front of them.

The "For Sale by Owner" sign was gone now. And there stood her dad on the front porch, arms wide open, yelling surprise even before Veronica could hear him.

"Logan, what have you done now?"

"Just made some phone calls, that's all. I swear."

Veronica unbuckled her seat belt and sprinted for the front door.

"Dad, what's going on?"

"Welcome home, honey."

"Did you buy this house while I was gone?"

"It's amazing what a positive bank account can get you. The owner was eager to sell, liked you a lot, was a big fan of mine, and they were more than willing to hurry out. Logan was nice enough to make a few calls to a moving company, and…well…here we are."

"I can't believe it."

"I could tell how much you liked the house by the way you described everything. At least I can finally give you a decent place to live—even if you won't be enjoying it very long."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're leaving for Virginia in a couple of weeks…"

"Just for the summer. I'll be back."

"Yeah, well, we'll see."

Before Veronica could push the issue, Keith continued.

"There is one weird thing, though. Some of our furniture—what there was of it—didn't seem to make the move and there is some furniture being delivered that I didn't order."

Veronica looked at a very calm looking Logan.

"You said you just made some phone calls."

"And I told the truth. I found out the store we bought the townhouse furniture from in Virginia has a store in LA, so I made a phone call."

"And…"

"And ordered another bed like you liked and a few other things, maybe."

"Logan…"

"Logan, that is very nice of you, but I'm afraid we can't accept…"

"Look, Mr…uh…Sherriff Mars…"

"Logan, you can call me Keith."

"Ok, Sherriff, considering all you two have done for me over the years…the least I can do is give you a nice housewarming present."

"There's really no point in arguing with him, dad," Veronica huffed.

Logan stood there, smiling sheepishly, rather proud of himself.

"Well, don't just stand there. I've prepared a spread for our first dinner in our new home."

"Ooh, la, la," Veronica teased.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later, V…"

"Where are you going? Don't like my cooking?"

"No, Ke…Sherriff, it's not that, it's just, I don't want to intrude."

"Well, we crossed that bridge a long time ago, didn't we, Logan? " Keith joked. " The meal was prepared for all three of us. Please join us."

"I'd love to. Thanks."

Keith had noticed a change in Logan, too. While he couldn't forget all the trouble he had been through because of Logan Echolls, he didn't dislike him. He'd tried, but he just couldn't seem to escape how much good Logan had done for Veronica. While he wasn't crazy with the thought of the two of them living together, he felt much safer having Veronica protected by Logan than all alone.

They enjoyed the nice dinner that Keith had made. They talked about Virginia, and Veronica told Keith all about the townhouse, the view, the furniture they bought, and all the sights they saw on their DC tour. After they finished, Logan helped Veronica clean the dishes.

"I could get used to this," Keith said.

"Me, too, dad. That dinner was great."

Keith looked at the smile on his daughter's face as she and Logan playfully splashed each other with water as they cleaned off dishes and put them in the dishwasher. He was glad she seemed so happy. But deep down a sour feeling began to churn in his stomach. He had news to share with Veronica…news that he and Logan decided would be best to keep from Veronica until after they returned from Virginia. But they couldn't keep it from her much longer. She needed to know. Keith was genuinely worried about his daughter and was scared to death to have her on the other side of the country for a whole summer. Thankfully, Logan was just as concerned and already assured Keith he would be hiring his own private security to protect them. Keith knew Veronica would not like that, but she didn't have a choice. They were up to their eyeballs in this one, and damn if she wasn't going to have to put her stubbornness aside for once and listen to the two men in her life that wanted to protect her. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the laughter he heard. He would enjoy it for one more evening. Tomorrow, they would tell her everything.