The road to Seattle was rough. Veronica's brain would not let go of Duncan's plan for her, and she was plagued by terrifying nightmares every time she tried to sleep. After the first night in the hotel, Logan decided to try and push through as fast as they could to Seattle, in the hopes that when she felt safe again, her mind would rest. Relying on his Navy training of piloting for long hours, Logan kept himself going on a steady supply of protein bars, water, and the occasional coffee. When they limped into Gareth's house at 1:00 am, after two days of non-stop driving, they were both ecstatic but exhausted.

Logan could feel something on his face. Air. Breath. Peanut butter? He opened his eyes and there was Hunter, his lips pursed, about to blow on him again. He closed his eyes and chuckled. "Good morning, little dude." He whispered.

"It's afternoon." Hunter whispered back. "Veronica sent me in to wake you up."

Logan rolled on his back and stretched. He was still in the t-shirt and boxers he was wearing when he arrived, having just tossed off his jeans and socks before climbing into bed. He scratched at his long stubble, which was about to be his new hipster-beard disguise. Hunter saw his opportunity and scrambled up onto the bed and climbed on top of Logan, giving him a big hug. Even though he was almost 7-year-old, he still enjoyed being close to the people he loved. Logan understood; he was the same way as a small child. "I'm glad you guys are here." He said quietly. "I haven't seen you since your wedding."

Logan did the math in his head. One month since they lost the baby. Three months pregnant. Honeymoon one week after they were married. He and Veronica had only been legally married for almost five months, but it felt like five years. "Yeah. It's been a while. I'm sorry. But we have Skype'd a few times since then."

Hunter smiled. "You're right. But now you're here and dad said I get today off of school so we can hang out!"

Logan ruffled the boy's blond hair. "That's awesome news! You can show me what you've added to your Lego collection."

Hunter rolled off Logan and landed back on the floor. "You get dressed! I'll go get my new airplanes. You'll love them." And the boy scampered off.

Logan smiled and rolled out of bed too. His jeans were exactly where he left them on the floor and he pulled them on quickly and went downstairs in search of his wife.

Veronica and Gareth were in the living room, sitting together on the couch and talking. When Veronica saw her husband, her eyes lit up and a big smile appeared. "Hi!" She exclaimed and walked over to give him a small kiss on his lips. "Are you finally rested?"

Logan yawned. "I think so. How did you sleep?" Wrapping his arms around her, lovingly.

She settled into his embrace. "Good. Better than I have in a few days." She answered. "I was in contact with dad this morning, through Alicia. He said that we needed to go out and take a bunch of selfies around Seattle and text them to Alicia's phone over the next few days. No disguises." She wrinkled her face. "Said it was part of his plan."

Logan frowned. "Okaaaayyy. So much for my hipster beard. Any idea why we need to do this?"

"Maybe he misses us?" She shrugged in his arms.

Gareth stood and walked over to the couple. "So Logan, are you hungry for breakfast or lunch?" He chuckled and slapped Logan on the back.

Logan laughed. "I am hungry for a coffee and a shower." He said, not letting go of his wife.

"Well, how about some scrambled eggs first. Once Hunter gets back, you'll be lucky if he lets you eat. He's been waiting all morning for you to wake up." Gareth remarked and walked over to the open kitchen, which took up he majority of the first floor of the house.

Logan released his wife just as Hunter came down the stairs, carrying a large container filled with Lego. "Okay. These are just my planes, some of them are regular planes and some are Star wars and some I made up..." He swept past Logan and set the bin down by the coffee table. He then dropped to his knees and began gently unloading them into formation. "...COME ON! Let me show you!" He called to Logan enthusiastically.

Logan's chest became warm and his heart swelled. He was always amazed at the effect this little boy had on him. "I'm coming." He said and left Veronica's side to go sit on the floor with Hunter.

Veronica paused for a moment, enjoying watching her 'boys' play. Making her way to the kitchen, she took a mug out of the cupboard and poured a coffee for Logan. As she did, Gareth sidled up beside her. "Keith was right. Looks like Logan needed a little 'Hunter-time' too."

Veronica looked down and saw her smile reflected in the black coffee. She heard the two making airplane sounds, giggling, and let out a soft sigh. She turned to see them flying their planes, high above their heads. "Yeah. My dad is right about a lot of things."

Keith Mars stepped back to admire his demented handy work, slapping his latex gloves together with satisfaction. The entire bedroom wall was a ode to his daughter in creepy cut-out photos. He started with a print out of Veronica and Logan's wedding – courtesy of People magazine – and pasted Duncan's head on Logan's body. His stalker-collage grew from there. Weidman had provided Keith with a box of photos that Duncan had collected, but he also gave him the small colour printer from the Kane residence to print others. After days of printing, collecting, and cutting, Keith had assembled a massive collection of images to work with.

He arrived at the Kane cabin, just inside the Balboa County line, that morning while it was still dark outside. Following Weidmen's plan, he parked in the garage for cover and changed into a full protective outfit, before going into the house and turning off the alarm using Duncan's code. The large master bedroom was located through the main sitting and kitchen area and Keith had left all the lights off, just in case one of the neighbours showed up, even though there were miles of forest between each residence.

Any reservations Keith had about their plan suddenly evaporated when he entered the bedroom. Spread out on the red silk duvet were a series of straps, meant to hold someone down. On a hook near the bed hung a long white wedding dress. Dark black-out curtains covered the windows and when Keith peaked behind them, there were wrought iron bars. This room was meant to be his daughter's prison. Instead, it would be her salvation

Against one wall, there was a heavy wood desk with a computer, printer, and video camera on top of it. Once the photos of Veronica were hung, Keith swapped out the printer he had been given by Weidman for the one that was originally on the desk, leaving a couple of pictures of Veronica that he printed, next to it.

Keith glanced at his watch; it was almost 5:00 pm. Taking one long look at the wall he had covered from floor to ceiling in pictures of his daughter, he realized something was missing. Looking in his envelope, he pulled out a cut-out picture that he had scanned from Veronica's collection. Walking over to the middle of the giant collage, he glued on a picture of Duncan, Lilly, Logan, and Veronica, smiling, all together, at Homecoming. He then went and sat in a chair in the main room and waited for Weidman to show up.

The heat of the protective suit made Keith fall asleep the big armchair. He woke with a start when the front door opened. Clarence Wiedman jumped a bit when he saw Keith Mars, dressed from head to toe in a white protective garment and white gloves, launch out of his seat.

"Shit, Keith!" He muttered, throwing a duffle bag onto the couch.

"Sorry Clarence. Been a long day." Said Keith as he rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"20:00. A little later than I wanted. He drank the water on the way up but the GHB took some time to work so I had to drive around a bit." He said and walked over to the duffle bag. Extracting another protective uniform and gloves, he slipped everything on over his clothes quickly. While he did, Keith went and propped the bedroom door open and angled the big office chair towards the door.

"Ready?" Said Keith.

Weidman snapped his gloves. "Ready. Let's go get him." He exited the cabin first with Keith stopping to prop the front door open.

Duncan was slumped in the passenger seat. Wiedman opened the door and Duncan slipped towards him. Keith stepped up and caught him as Weidman reached over and undid his seatbelt. Keith caught Duncan's torso as Weidman slid his legs out the door. Each man took a positing under Duncan's arms and lifted him between them. His drugged body was limp but the two managed to take him up the walk and through the door, slamming it behind them.

They carried him to the office chair and placed him in, as gently as they could manage. Duncan let out a groan as they turned the chair and wedged it under the desk to help keep him upright. Keith made sure he didn't fall over while Weidman returned to the duffle bag and set to work.

Weidman grabbed several vials of GHB, including an empty one and came back to the room. Opening the top drawer of the bedside table, he dropped in the containers and extracted in exchange, Duncan's handgun. Returning to the bag again, he got out a DVD marked "Veronica and Lilly" in Duncan's handwriting, and returned to the desk. Setting the gun and CD down on the top, he lifted Duncan's right hand and formed his gloved hand around it. Using Duncan's finger, he pressed the power button for the computer. There was silence between the men as they machine started up. When it was ready, he picked up the DVD and slid it in. Placing Duncan's hand on the mouse, he selected "play".

The sound of squealing pierced the air and the original Lilly Kane appeared on screen, followed by Veronica. They were in their bikinis, playing by the pool. They must have been about 15 or 16 years old. "Duncan you perv! Get that off of us!" Called Lilly as they jumped in the water for cover.

Logan floated into the screen in his swim trunks and a muscle shirt. "I don't know about you, but I don't need a camera to remember what Veronica looks like in that bikini." He said to the camera, wiggling his eyebrows. Keith shook his head. If only the boy knew then, where he would be today...

"Are you ready?" Clarence asked, piercing through the talking. Keith refocused on the task at hand. He took one last look at his daughter's image on the screen and then looked back at the wall.

"Ready." He said calmly.

The two men readjusted Duncan's positing in the seat so he was sitting up, is head just above the chair. Keith crouched down and took him by the neck, holding his head up in place with the ends of his fingers and ducking his own head down. Clarence placed the gun in Duncan's hand and wrapped his own around it.

Pushing the barrel of the gun to Duncan's temple. He let out a low sigh. "Goodbye, Mr. Kane." He said and pulled the trigger.

Keith took a long, hot shower and crawled into bed with his wife. It was almost morning by the time he and Weidman got back into to town together, discarding their evidence in random hotel garbage bins all the way back. Alicia felt Keith wrap around her and she moved her body into him. It took her a moment to realize her husband was crying. She rolled over and took his head to her breast.

"It's over. It's finally over." She cooed at him gently.

"I took a man's life, Alicia. I swore to protect lives, not take them." He whispered into her. "What have I done?"

Alicia exhaled and rocked her husband. "Keith, I truly believe that it is up to the Lord above to judge us and our actions. And one day, when you are at the gates of Heaven, God will ask if you 'Have known the devil, Keith Mars?' and you can say to him...'Lord, I looked the devil in the face and I sent him straight back to hell.'"

Keith looked up at his radiant wife. Lifting his head, he took her lips with his and kissed her, gently at first, then with increasing passion. Alicia rolled Keith onto his back and pressed her body against his. They made love quietly before falling asleep in each other's arms.

Sherriff Dan Lamb surveyed the scene. One dead billionaire. A kinky sex prison room. A crazy-stalker wall. Videos of young, frolicking teenagers. And a boatload of hallucinogenic date-rape drugs. This was turning into a terrible weekend.

Clarence Wiedman's voice pierced Lamb's thoughts. "He was obsessed with Ms. Mars. Nothing I could do would disused him from his crazy notion they could be together. When she was finally able to get him to believe she wouldn't leave her husband, he became despondent" He sighed deeply. "I guess he felt that he couldn't live without her."

Lamb turned towards C.W. "This is truly one of the most fucked up things I've ever seen." He groaned. "This is going to be a nightmare to process. And the press is going to go ballistic."

The imposing man put his hand on Lamb's shoulder. "Sherriff Lamb...I do know that you appreciate the highly sensitive nature of Mr. Kane's suicide. If the details of his obsession with Ms. Mars got out, it could be ugly for his daughter, Miss Lilly Kane, as well as the entire Kane Software board of directors." He dropped his voice and placed his face near Lamb's ear. "I am willing to help you be discreet about this investigation in any way possible...either with personal or monetary resources. They would like this matter dealt with as quickly and privately as possible."

Lamb snapped his head around to look Weidman in he eyes. "How monetary are we talking about?" A shrewd smile playing on his lips.

Clarence Wiedman smiled. "Very."

The staff at Gareth's restaurant smiled at Hunter every time they passed their table. "Desidero" was an upscale Italian fusion restaurant in downtown Seattle, that happened to have a kids menu for one special customer. While Gareth, Veronica and Logan feasted on fine cuisine, Hunter was happily eating his hand-made chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries with truffle aioli.

Logan was just about to respond to a dig from Gareth when something caught the corner of his eye. Just past Veronica's head, he saw Clarence Weidman, across the room, on the television by the bar. He quickly pushed himself out of his seat and wove his way trough the chairs and tables to the screen. "Turn it up!" He yelled frantically at the bartender.

The young man made a face and Gareth's voice boomed. "You heard the man, Frank! Turn it up!"

Logan was so captivated by the image of Weidman, standing in front of a large cottage, police and reporters around him, that he almost didn't notice Veronica come and stand next to him, her mouth wide open.

"...cooperating with Balboa County Sherriff department. Mr. Kane's daughter, Lilly, has been informed of her father's suicide and is currently under the care of a psychologist to help her deal with the trauma. As the last surviving member of the Kane family, and a minor, I ask that the press grant her privacy during this terrible time. The board of directors of Kane Software have also been informed and this will, in no way, disturb the operations of the company." Lamb stepped up, put his hand on Weidmen's shoulder, and whispered something to him. C.W. nodded and began speaking again. "I worked for the Kane family for several decades. Duncan Kane suffered for many years with mental illness, much of it brought about by the death of his sister many years ago, and made worse by the death of his parents last year. I hope that Mr. Kane finally found some peace." He bowed his head and walked away from reporters with Lamb following close behind.

Veronica clutched Logan's arm, feeling like she was going to fall over. He looked down and wrapped his arms around her for support. They were quiet, both not knowing whether they should be happy or sad. Gareth leaned over the bar to talk to the bartender and the TV suddenly turned off. He walked past the couple, back to the table and Hunter, leaving them together.

"We're free." Veronica said quietly.

Logan closed his eyes. "I know."

There was a moment of thought before Veronica spoke again. "Do you think this was part of dad's plan with C.W.?" She asked, in a whisper.

Logan kissed the top of her head. "I don't know. And I don't care."

Veronica let out a sigh and looked up at her husband. She slid out if his grip and took his hand, then gently led him back to their table.

Another morning came quietly into the Mars household. The surveillance equipment had been dismantled. The bugs from the Kane house were removed by Clarence and returned to Keith. Alicia sipped her coffee and read the paper while Keith made her pancakes and bacon.

There was a low knock at the door. Alicia smiled at her husband. "I'll get it."

She opened the door and smiled. "Sherriff Lamb. What brings you to our door this fine Sunday morning?"

He took off his hat. "Mrs. Mars. I'm actually looking for Veronica. I need to talk to her about Duncan Kane."

"Oh! Well Veronica and Logan have been visiting her brother in Seattle for the past few days. We don't expect them back until later this week." She said as Keith approached her, still wearing his 'Kiss the Cook' apron and pajamas.

"Why do you need to talk to her?" Keith asked.

Lamb cocked an eyebrow at Keith's outfit before speaking. "Just cleaning up a few lose ends. It seems that Duncan Kane had a plot to kidnap her and I wanted to make sure she wasn't somehow involved in his suicide."

Alicia went and grabbed her phone off the counter. She returned and flashed the screen at the officer. "She texted me this photo from the Space Needle yesterday. She is safe and sound in Seattle with her family. No where near Duncan Kane."

Keith interjected. "Duncan Kane wanted to kidnap my daughter?"

Lamb nodded. "From the looks of it, he was pretty obsessed. A deep, disgusting fixation, in my opinion."

Alicia clutched her chest. "Oh my, I'm glad he didn't harm Veronica!"

Lamb thought back to the sick scene he encountered at the cabin. This could have been a lot messier than it already was. "I'm glad he didn't either. Thank you both. Enjoy your day." He said and stepped back off the porch and down to his car.

Alicia closed the door and leaned against it, letting out a deep sigh. Keith kissed her nose and smiled. "Would you like a splash of Baileys in your coffee, my love?" He asked.

Alicia rolled her eyes. "Let this be the last covert operation I am ever involved with. My nerves can't take this much excitement."

Keith wrapped his arm around his wife and led her back to the table.

Logan found Veronica standing on the porch Sunday morning in her nightgown and a big sweater, coffee in hand, staring at the sunrise. She turned when she heard the do open. Logan stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her, tenderly kissing her neck as he did.

"We can go home and start again." She said wistfully.

Logan kept nuzzling her neck, enjoying the smell of marshmallows. "Start what?"

She smiled and leaned into him. "Everything. Push the reset button and begin again. Before the baby. Before Duncan. Before the arguments and sadness and fear."

Logan pulled his face up and inhaled the morning air. "Your doctor's appointment is only two weeks away." He reminded her.

Delicious thoughts came to her mind. "Oh yeah?" She said quietly. "I almost lost track of time."

Logan kissed her head and leaned his chin on her crown. "I was thinking...now that things are safe again...and depending what the doctor says...maybe we can try again...soon...sooner..."

Veronica giggled. Apparently her dad's secondary plan worked. "What changed your mind?" She asked, unable to keep the happiness out of her voice.

He gave her a squeeze. "Hunter. Gareth. All of this. Hunter has been through so much in his life and he's still so happy and so positive and so...awesome. It makes me think we are missing out on something big by not being parents. You know?"

Veronica took his hands and slid them down to her stomach and held them there. "Yeah. I know."

The couple stood there for a time together, in silence, each one contemplating the endless possibility for their new future.

Chapter End Notes:

Hope you all enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it. One more chapter and an epilogue to go and that is all for this story! Thanks for reading and leaving kudos and comments. They make me smile.