A/N I've given Thumper a little more of a role in this chapter. In this au the PCH has been looking over V since Lilly died. Now she is with Weevil-so the relationships between all of them have changed.

Hot Dogs

Thumper pushes the math book away.

"I'm never going to need this shit, why am I doing this again?"

"Because your girlfriend told you that if you get a decent grade on your next test, she'll stop bugging you to meet her parents." she tells him. Marisol had askes her to help him and she had agreed as a way for thanking him for standing up for her at Eli's birthday party.

"Yeah."

"I um hanven't thatked you for ..."

"Blondie, you are Weevil's girl. Anyone with half a brain can see how much you love him. I wasn't saying anything that wasn't the truth."

She just smiles at him and they go back to going over the math problems.

Thumper is packing his stuff when her dad comes in.

"Sheriff." he says as he leaves.

"Honey..."

"I was helping him with math."

"Do we need to go over the rules again. No running with scissors, no overnights with Eli and no smarting up the local ..."

"Dad." she says laughing. "On that note, I am heading home to spend some time with the only sane member of the Mars family."

"The one who eats out of the garbage."

"That's the one."

She turns form putting her books into her locker to find Logan, looking uncomrtable, behind her.

"Logan."

"I'm sorry."

"What was that?"

"Please don't make me say it again."

She smirks at him.

"I was drunk off my ass and crashed your boyfriend's party. I was an idiot and talked out of my ass."

"Okay, personally I should make you grovel but I am in a good mood today." she says staring to walk off.

"You hanve any idea where Duncan is." he says walking with her.

"No and I'm getting worried. Not for him but for Meg."

"Yeah, you know Celeste called me to find out if I knew anything."

"Surprised she didn't accuse you of helping him run off."

"Yeah, me too." he walks away as the bell rings.

She notices some 09ers laughing at a girls putting up flyers.

Going over to them, they quickly scatter.

"You lose you dog."

"Yeah, your Veronica Mars right." the girls turns, and she realizes its Mandy. A 02er that keeps to herself.

"Yeah."

"Do you think...?" she starts.

"Mandy, would you like some help with this?"

Mandy smiled, a real You are my hero smile and walked away.

'V..." Wallace calls running up to her.

"Where's the fire?" she jokes.

"The Sheriif just called Clemmons. Weevil was arrested last night."

"What...No.." she turns to find Felix or Thumper or someone to tell her what the hell is going on.

"Supafly, he was arrested breaking into the Kane's house. The security guys found him in Lilly's bedroom."

What!

She felt like the rug had been ripped out from underneath her.

She walks in and the first person she sees is Leo.

Taking a deep breath she asks to see Eli.

"What is it about bad boys." Leo asks.

"Tattoos, leather, parole violations...I can give you a list that will make you blush or you can let me in to see him." she snarks.

"You have that nail file I asked for?" he asks not looking to see who came in.

She sits down and he has yet to look at her.

"Could you explain to me why you were breaking in..."

"Querdia, shit..." he said sitting up and facing her.

"Eli..." she says wrapping her arms around her waist.

"I wrote letters to Lilly..."

"I know."

"How..of course you know, there were more and some of them I don't want to see the light of day."

"Why didn't you tell me about them? I could have found a way..."

"V, I had honestly forgot about them but we are getting really serious and the thought of them being found and you reading them..."

"Did you find them?"

"Some but the problem is the Kane's want to crucify me and now that I'm eighteen..."

"Goodbye juvie, hello community soap." she whispers. She places her hand over his through the bars.

"I'm sorry, I was trying..."

"I know." she whispers.

She and Mandy go to the pound but Chester, Mandy's dog, hasn't been found.

They leave a flyer and are on the way out when a kid from there school comes out.

He says something about a bug in the teachers lounge had kept her from being expelled and for once even she is confused. I don't think I put a bug in the teacher's lounge. Did I? No...

The two of them are walking into school when Mandy's phone rings.

She starts smiling thinking someone has found Chester but it turns out to be a prank.

Noticing a group of guys laughing, she stalks over to them.

"You prank call Mandy."

"So what if I did?"

"Congratulations! You've been named the world's biggest cockroach. This award is given in recognition of your unparalleled lack of decency and humanity. Bravo! You're gonna die friendless and alone." she turns to walk through the crowd that has formed.

Everyone starts cheering at the idiot can't seem to keep his mouth shut.

"Hey, everybody knows you're the biggest.."

She turns around quickly.

"Shut up! If I want you to speak, I'll wave a snausage over your nose. If you use Mandy again to try to convince yourself that you're not a loser, I will ruin your life,got it?"

"Okay, geez."

Mandy looks at her in awe. "I can't believe you did that."

"I can't believe that you didn't. If you want people to leave you alone, Mandy, or better yet, treat you with respect, demand it. Make them."

"Blondie..." Felix calls coming over to her.

"Hey.." she says softly as Felix throws his arm over her shoulder ans pulls her into a side hug.

"You doing okay?"

"Trying to not think about him in there."

"I can tell. Want to explain that little show." Thumper says as the two them join the rest of the boys. They all smile softly at her but Thumper is the only one, other than Felix, to hug or touch her.

"Stupid idiot called Mandy pretening that he found her dog."

"Her dog?" Hector asks.

Grabbing one of the flyers out of her bag, "Mandy's dog went missing and he means the world to her. Can you guys keep a look out?"

Most of them have animals and understand, so each have no problem keeping a look out. They pass the flyer around.

She runs home and is about to take Backup for a run when the pound calls her.

She and Mandy go and are told by Hans, the kid that goes to their school, that Chester was found on the side of the freeway. There was nothing they could do so he was put down. Hans gives Mandy his collar.

Taking Backup to the beach, she notices a board is now covered with 'lost dog' flyers.

She goes to the office and calls the owners.

She finds out that the flyers with high rewards got their dogs back while the others did not.

Pissed that someone is stealing dogs, she takes one of the flyers to change the reward amount.

Celeste walks in.

"what did you say to Duncan?"

"Excuse me?"

"What did you say to my son to make him leave?"

"How about what I didn't tell him. I didn't tell him that his mother threatened to kill me. I didn't tell him that his mother drove mine out of town."

"I know you think I hate you, Veronica but I don't. It's just everytime I see you I see everything that is wrong with my marriage."

"Why are you here." her dad says coming in and moves around Celeste to stand next to her.

"You don't scare me, Keith. If you were such a great detective, you would have seen what was going on right underneath your nose." Celeste turned to go.

She followed.

Celeste wasn't the only person who needed something.

"Wait," she said as Celeste reached the door.

"I'll help you find Duncan if you drop the charges against Weevil."

"You want the intruder caught in Lilly's bedroom released. I'm sure I should be surprised but I'm not."

"Nothing was stolen, nothing was damaged and he has more important things to deal with right now. I might have an idea where Duncan went. That's my offer."

I have no clue where Duncan is but I am not letting my man be stuck in jail because you have a stick up your ass.

Going back to the beach she puts up the fake notice.

"Whatcha doing Blondie?" Thumper asks as he and Marisol bump into her.

"Smoking out a creep." she says smiling at them, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes.

"Veronica?" Marisol asks.

"I think someone is stealing dogs for big payouts. Oh, umm can you let the guys know that they don't need to look for Chester any more."

"You found him." he says with a grin.

"No..he was put down."

"Shit..." Thumper says.

"Yeah, it I find this guy think you and the boys..."

"They will." Marisol tells her.

Oh yeah, Marisol is a huge dog lover.

"See you guys at school tomorrow." she says walking back to the office.

"She's not doing good." Marisol says as they watch V walk away.

"She'll be fine. She has Wallace, Mac, the boys and us." Thumper says.

Wallace tells her about that their parents making out last night.

"Stop, why would you tell me that?"

"I can't be the only with this knowledge."

They sit down with Mac, who wraps a arm around her waist and gives her a quick side hug.

"How is Bond doing today?" Mac asks.

"Doing okay, Q."

"Any leads about who is taking the dogs?" Wallace asks.

She is cut off by her phone ringing.

Someone has suddenly found the dog from the notice.

She tells them to meet her brother at Dog Beach that afternoon.

"Your brother?"

She just smiles.

The instant Wallace walks away with the dog, she sends Backup to punch to the guy.

Placing a tracker she follows him and is suddenly in the middle of a group of Spanish speaking men.

Shit should have seen if Felix could be with me today.

She is able to get that a "dog man" gives them the dogs to take back. That he drives a white van and likes riding horse and busty women.

They just described half of Neptune.

Walking through the parking lot she notices a white van with busty lady mud flaps and a decal of a man riding a horse. enters a mysterious van, but the occupant denies any involvement.

She gets in a sits in the back.

"You kill dogs."

"What are you doing in my van." Hans says.

"You steal 09er dogs and hold them at the pound for a good pay out. What Mandy and I made you nervous so you killed her dog."

"Get out of my van."

She goes to get out, "Ho old are you?"

"Eighteen, why?"

"Community soap." she smirks.

"Always getting out of some dude's van, aren't you querida." Eli says as he walks toward her.

"You're out." she breaths as he pulls her into his arms. They wrap their arms around each other and she buries her head in the scent of him.

"How many "Get out of Jail" free cards do you have up your sleeve anyway?" he asks as the walk, still holding on to each other, to her car.

"That was my last one, so please keep your felonies to a care minimum."

"I am what I am, V. Leopards. Spots. you know what they say."

"I know." she leans up and kisses him.

She is straddling him, mid make out and in the process of undoing his belt when Logan bursts into the office.

"I need your help. Fuck sorry." Logan quickly turns to face the wall.

"Need to start locking the door." Eli mumbles as V gets off him and walks over to the desk.

"Would it be weird if I started my own drinking game. I do a shot every time someone asks for my help."

"Or interrupts us." Eli mumbles only loud enough fro Logan to hear. He grins in spit of why he is there.

"I need you to track down Trina's leech of the week boyfriend." he asks as he turns around to face her.

Know how Logan feels about his sister, she is a little worried.

"Why?"

"He beat her up and I plan on returning the favor."

Eli clenches his fist, he might not like Opie and he thinks his sister is a piece of work, he was raised that no mater what you never raise your hand on a woman.

"Want help?" he asks standing up.

"I'll get back to you on that. All I know is that his name is Dylan and he is producing this stinker." he says throwing the script on the desk.

"Easy."

She pretends to be an agents assistant and finds out that his name is Dylan Goran.

"Seems Trina sure can pick 'em. Dylan Goran has two restraining order placed on him."

Logan grabs his phone and starts dialing.

Looking like a deer caught in the headlights, he tells them that Dylan is going to his house where his dad is cooking dinner.

Without even thinking the three of them rush out of the office.

The three of them burst in to the house to find Aaron beating the guy with his belt.

"Hey son, how was school?" looking at them like this was nothing out of the oridanary.

"Logan, could you see this man to his car."

"I'll be happy to." he says as he and Weevil drag the guy to his car.

They watch as Dylan peels out of the driveway.

"Father knows best." Logan says.

"So you and Lilly, huh?"

"Logan..." she starts.

"It's okay. I loved Lilly but Lilly loved guys."

"She loved you.' she tells him as Eli stand behind her and wraps his arms around her waist.

"Not like I loved her. Look I..I've been an ass. The two of you work, okay?" he says and starts to head inside.

He kisses her head before going over to Opie.

"Hey...I ummm"

"Don't worry about it. Just keep making her happy."

"I plan on that for a long time."

"You're lucky, you know."

"I know."

She talks to Mandy, and they decide to visit the pound to report Hans. One way or another they are going to find proof.

She asks Leo helps them get an official search for the pound.

She, Mandy, Wallace and Eli go to the pound with Leo.

In a locked room in back, they find all the dogs from the flyers.

Unfortunately seeing that Chester isn't there Mandy rushes out of the room.

Leo is putting cuffs on the worker when the hear yelling from the other room.

Mandy had taken her taser and currently had Hans on the floor in pain.

While begging her to stop, he reveals that Chester isn't dead, they sold him

She brings Wallace and Mandy home.

She pulls in behind his bike and he meets her at the car door.

"Anyone home?" she asks as they walk in and go to his room.

"Abuela is visiting one of my cousins with Ophelia. We have the house to ourselves for maybe three hours before she gets home." he tells her as they head to his room.

"Than lets not waste them." she says as she pushes him onto the bed shutting the door behind her.

He watches as she removes her shirt.

"I'm not the only one getting undress here, vato." she says leaning over him and runs her hands under his shirts and help him remove it.

"I think I created a monster." he laughs softly as he unbuttons her jeans and feels himself get harder as she shimmies out of them until she is standing in front of him in her bra and underwear.

"No, I just need to feel your skin against mine." she whispers straddling him.

"I love you." he whispers kissing her and rolling her underneath him.

"Te amo." she whispers as she undoes his jeans.

If anyone bursts into this room right now, I'll kill em.

She goes with Mandy to get Chester.

Thankful that the woman who bought him is understanding.