Chapter 4: Work it Out.

A door slammed and after the night Veronica was having it set her already frazzled nerves made her jump. "What the hell where you thinking?" Weevil asked as he walked further into his apartment, she was lying on the couch, but had pushed herself up into a sitting position when he'd slammed the door. "You were told to wait." He was angry, it was clear in the way he was yelling and while a part of her understood why he was mad Veronica's defenses were raised and she hated the idea that he could think that she needed help on a case, that she wasn't as capable as him or her father. "I had it under control." The second the words where out of Veronica's mouth she knew it was the wrong thing for her to say…

"You had it under control. YOU HAD IT UNDER CONTROL!?" Weevil yelled it, making her look away before she turned her attention on him, not one to back down, even if the last time she had seen him like this was when Felix had died and he had confronted Molly Fitzpatrick. "Yes, I did." Weevil growled something under his breath as he shook his head. "Really? Because from where I'm standing you don't like you had it under control." "Then move." Veronica said with all the sass she could muster. It had been a long time since she had seen Weevil this mad, let alone fought with him over anything other than something stupid like him leaving the office a mess or other trivial matters. He gave her a look that said her comment wasn't appreciated but she stood her ground. "Have you even looked at yourself yet? Did you forget what happened an hour ago!?"

"Your dad specially told you to leave this one alone Veronica." How many times had her dad told her that since she had started helping him at the office? Too many to count, and she hadn't listened then either. "I asked you to stay out of it." He was pacing now; hands that touched her so tenderly just that morning bawled into fists. "And I didn't listen, I had it under control." Veronica said again, as if repeating herself was going to make this situation just resolve its self. "That's the fucking problem! You don't listen and then you go and put yourself in unnecessary danger." Weevil turned to face her, his brown eyes showed concern where Weevil's face hardened by anger.

"I'm fine, I've been doing this for years, it's who I am Weevil, and you know that." Veronica said anger in her own voice, she should have just gone to her own apartment…why she was here when she knew he was just going to be pissed off was beyond her. "You were pulled from your car by your hair Veronica, he hit you." These were all things she was painfully aware of, she had let her guard down and she'd been reminded why being alert at all times was important. "But we got him." The disbelief on Weevil's face was almost painful for her to look at, but Veronica refused to turn away from him. "You could have been seriously hurt Veronica!" He kept reminding her how bad it could have been, but it hadn't so that was what she was focusing on.

"But I wasn't." She had been in worse situations, Aaron Echolls had trapped her in a fridge and then set it on fire, she'd been drugged and raped at a party and the list went on; being pulled out of her car by hair and then slapped a couple of times because she wouldn't tell him why she was tailing him was the least of her worries. He cursed again and Veronica took the time to really study him, his brow furrowed, mouth drawn tight along with his fists, but now that she really looked she could see bruises forming on his knuckles and a fading pink patch on his left cheek. "What did you do?" Veronica asked, her jaw clenched. "Nothing." "Nothing? The why are your knuckles bruised? Eli tell me you didn't hit him."

"He hit you Veronica." Weevils reply made her heart race. "So you hit him back? Eli have you forgotten you're on parole?" She asked as he walked over to her. "He. Hit. You." Weevil broke the words down like he thought she needed him to do that to get her to understand. "That doesn't mean you hit someone back." He shook his head. "That's exactly what that means, if you seriously think I would just stand by when some asshole hits you. Then you don't know me at all." But Veronica did know him, and she knew that the second they got back together Weevil would consider her his woman. And no one messed with that. "And if he presses charges? You'll go back to jail." He shrugged reaching out and gently touching her bruised and swollen cheek with the pad of his thumb. "No one gets away with hurting you V."

A sigh left Veronica's lips as she closed her eyes. "Doesn't mean you hit them." She muttered softly, but that was what Eli did, what had he said that time in high school? Leopard, spots and all that…he didn't change; he just picked his battles better. He'd gotten wiser with age, but he was still Weevil. "What you did today was stupid, if something serious had happened to you…" Weevil trailed off, his hand trailing down the side of her face to rest on her neck. "I can't lose you V." Veronica sighed resting her hand on his as Weevil rested his forehead on hers. "I'm sorry." He chuckled and looked at her, his brown eyes taking her in.

"How bitter did that taste?" Weevil asked making her laugh. "Like acid." A kiss was pressed to her forehead and he stepped away. "Next time can you just wait till someone else can go with you?" Weevil asked, they both knew that this wouldn't be the last time they fought about her doing something reckless, but they needed to be able to work it out. "I don't need anyone else to go with me." Veronica held her hand up to silence his protest. "But, I will wait if it's something that you or my dad tells me not to get involved in. However, if either of you over use that, it goes out the window." Weevil frowned and then rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "Fine." It was the best she could do, they both knew it.

Weevil walked the short distance to his couch before sitting down with a half grunt, she looked over as he relaxed into it, legs spread slightly as he rested one arm along the arm rest and the other across the back. Following his path she sat on the couch resting her feet in his lap, Weevil moved his arm from the arm rest so that he could rest it along her leg. "Have you called your dad? When I left he was barely maintaining a freak out of his own…" Veronica sighed, she'd been avoiding his calls and it was only a matter of time till he called Weevil. "I'll call him." She said watching as Weevil lifted his hips and dug into his pocket, handing her his cell phone; but he didn't give it to her right away. Instead he pulled her petite body against his, nuzzling his face into her neck. "Stay with me tonight." Muffled words were followed with lips against skin.

"What about my dad?" Not that Keith was dumb, he was well aware of the amount of time Veronica was spending over here…he didn't know that she had a key now, or a drawer of clothes; the longer they stayed together the more of her things ended up at his place. "He's never protested before." Came Weevil's reply as he teased her, work roughened hands slipped under her sweater touching the smooth skin of her back. "He says I spend too much time here." A growl sounded against her neck followed by a scrapping of teeth making her moan and lean even further into his touch. "You don't spend enough time here." Veronica closed her eyes against his actions and his words, summer was coming…and she would be gone for three months.

Not thinking anymore about it, she grabbed the forgotten phone from him and dialed her dad's number. "Eli? Are you with Veronica? I she okay?" A twinge of guilt settled over her as Veronica heard the concern in her father's voice. "It's me dad, I'm fine." He sighed over the phone and she shivered as Weevil continued to tease her. "Veronica you had me worried, are you sure you're okay honey? Do you need anything?" "I'm sure. No no." Her breath hitched and Veronica reached down to stop Weevil's wandering hands. "Everything is fine, I'm going to spend the night here and I'll come home tomorrow after class." The silence had her worrying her lip between her teeth, but he sighed and she knew he was just reminding himself she wasn't a child anymore. "Fine, but you tell Eli that he better be on his best behavior." Veronica felt him grin against her skin, and knew he was taking her fathers words in a complete different way. "I will." She sighed. "And dad? I love you." "Yeah…I love you to honey." They said their goodbyes and hung up.

The phone was taken from Veronica's grasp and tossed onto the coffee table, as he pulled her against him. "God damn V." Weevil muttered as he pulled her into his lap, lips finding hers in a deep kiss. Returning his kiss Veronica wrapped her arms around him and rolled her hips into his making him moan. He pulled back, and reached out touching her cheek again before pressing a kiss to it. "You're okay, no other bruises right?" Weevil asked, as he tenderly checked her exposed skin. "I think so…but maybe a more in-depth investigation is in order." "Playing detective is my favorite." Weevil muttered as he scooped her into his arms and carried her to his room her laughter following their path, he never always seemed to be able to surprise her.

A/N: Another part done. More to follow.