Chapter Four

The position had come down to a final two candidates and the firm had offered each of them a three week "test run" so they could see the eager new attorneys in action before making an offer the partners were sure that neither would want to refuse. Rather than have them both there simultaneously, the partners had decided to bring them in consecutively. Veronica was selected for the first three weeks while the other candidate would take the second three weeks. After those six weeks, the partners would take another week to deliberate before making their selection.

It was grueling and intense but Veronica made it through her run feeling satisfied with herself and knowing she'd done the best that she could do. The hardest part, she thought, was sitting at home waiting through the second three weeks and then the awful week of deliberation.

Just when she thought she was going to go stir crazy the second week of her competitor's three week run, a knock sounded at her door in the middle of the day. Her brow furrowed as she moved to answer it, wondering who it could be. She really didn't know anyone but Piz in the city regardless of how long she'd been living there now.

On a whim, and to be extra cautious, Veronica called before unlocking the bolt and chain, "Who is it?"

The only response she received was a surprisingly familiar sounding, "Delivery!" with a girlish giggle and a masculine chuckle ensuing.

Once the bolt and chain were off, Veronica swung the door open and gasped in shocked delight when she saw her two best friends in the world standing there yelling, "Surprise!" at her.

Squealing and bouncing with delight, Veronica threw her arms around them both and cried, "This is better than a pony! And it's not even my birthday!" Immediately, she dragged them both inside and they all started talking at once.

When they'd gotten all their giggles and hugs out and their words were making sense again, Veronica finally managed to breathlessly ask, "How in the world did you guys make it out here?! You're both crazy busy with work, I'm sure, and a cross-country flight is definitely NOT cheap!"

Wallace and Mac looked at each other smugly and shrugged. Wallace said, "That's our little secret," while Mac nodded and added with the straightest face she could manage, "Mum's the word."

Rolling her eyes, Veronica said, "Puh-lease," before adding, "Forget it. I don't even care. I'm just so happy that you're HERE! How long can you stay?"

The pair of friends looked at each other again, some sort of secretive non-verbal communication going on between them that was driving Veronica insane. Neither had answered when she burst out with, "WHAT? What aren't you telling me?" in such a whiney two-year-old voice that they all busted out laughing.

When they calmed down, Veronica refused to leave it alone and demanded yet again, "SPILL!"

"Ok, ok, Supah Fly," Wallace said in his cool, calm way, "I'll give you the 4-1-1, but you gotta promise to chill!"

"I'll 'chill' when I have the '4-1-1'," Veronica replied with the typical sassy snark that she'd once been known for.

Mac gave him a nod and motioned for him to get on with it so Wallace finally said with a grin, "We're here for a week. You get seven days to drag us around this fair city and show us the sites before we drag yo' sorry ass back to Neptune to visit your dad before Piz comes out to join us for the reunion."

Veronica's jaw dropped and it took a few moments for her to be able to formulate words but when she did, she stood and backed away from them, holding her hands up in front her as she said, "No way. No how. I already told Piz I'm not going and I'm not gonna change my mind now!"

Wallace jumped up and sauntered toward her with a cheshire cat grin on his face as he said, "You ain't got a choice, V! Ticket's bought and paid for, non-refundable. You wouldn't waste yo' dad's money and crush his soul like that, would you?"

Frowning at the mention of her father, his money, and his soul all in one sentence, Veronica knew she'd just lost every fathomable protest she might have had. Glancing at Mac with a look of resignation, she accused in disbelief, "You were in on this, too?"

Gleefully, Mac nodded, jumping up now as well, saying happily, "Yep! It's been too long, Veronica Mars. Neptune just isn't the same without you."

A brief look of sadness and longing crossed Veronica's features and the ghost of those emotions remained as she met her friends' gazes and slowly nodded her head, "Alright. I'll go. But on one condition."

"Anything!" Mac agreed quickly but Wallace gave her a warning look, saying instead, "Let's hear what her condition is before we agree to it." He'd been Veronica's friend for longer than almost anyone and he knew that if there was a way for her to weasel her way out of something she didn't want to do, she'd find it, exploit it, and never feel the slightest bit of remorse.

Sobering, Veronica's eyes darkened to a nearly stormy blue as she said somberly, "Logan. I know I'll have to see him if I go to the reunion but please, PLEASE don't leave me alone with him." By the end, her words were pleading and so were her eyes.

Wallace looked at his best friend with concern while Mac looked at Wallace with a very similar expression. It was Wallace who reached to give her shoulder a squeeze before saying matter-of-factly, "V, you know he's with someone."

She nodded rapidly, unable to hide the vulnerability in her eyes as she said, "I know. It's just...that's all the more reason for me not to see him."

Pulling Veronica in for a bear hug, Wallace shared a look with Mac that spoke volumes. Mac nodded in agreement at whatever it was that Wallace was silently conveying before putting her arms as far around both Veronica and Wallace as she could before saying, "Group hug!" with a girlish giggle. When she pulled back, Mac gave Veronica's arm a squeeze and said as reassuringly as she could, "It'll be ok, V. We won't let you down."

Grateful for her friends, both their presence and their understanding, Veronica hugged them both before changing her attitude entirely, making it seem as if the few minutes before had never occurred. "A week," she said decisively, "We have a week to hit the highlights of the city that never sleeps. We'd better get cracking!" Before she was done talking, she was already dragging them off to the first stop on their whirlwind tour where she was determined they would explore tiny treasures and tourist traps alike.