A/N:As per my usual, I super appreciate your continuation of reading this story. I thank Bondopoulos for her patience with me, my second guessing and her being my personal cheer corner without which I would not likely be anywhere near where I am with this story. So thank you, thank you. And to all of you, thank you.

And here we go..

Chapter 5 Escape

After watching the capped figure at Logan's car, Veronica was more convinced than ever that someone was attempting to get rid of a potential witness. Just because Logan said he hadn't seen anything didn't mean someone wasn't determined to rid themselves of a potential problem. He'd been concentrating on the emergency and not what was going on around him, but that didn't mean that anyone else knew that. If Logan was now a target, she was sure someone was tidying up after a botched job. Whomever was behind this had intended for her dad to have died along with Sacks; Logan's intervention had messed up the plan.

From what Logan had told her, he hadn't given a formal statement to the sheriff's department. But the death of a deputy was high profile enough that it would undoubtedly warrant some kind of police report. Veronica wanted to see that file. If she could see what the police were saying about Sacks' death, she'd know what she was up against.

While Logan waited in the front office, Veronica gathered the laptop and some random files and stuffed them into her bag. Next, she unlocked the bottom drawer of the big mahogany desk and pulled out Keith's handgun. She'd found the key to the drawer earlier and had set it aside, not wanting to touch the thing. Now it seemed very important for her to keep the weapon with her. Feeling spooked was trumping her dislike of firearms. She stowed the semiautomatic carefully in the holster that hung on the coat rack and then shrugged it on. She then pulled her jacket on over it to conceal it.

In the main office, Logan stood at a window and was watching the street below.

She shut the inner door behind her. "I'm ready."

He turned to look at her and Veronica stopped for a moment. At the hospital, he'd looked frail. Now, even with his injuries, he had a spark in his eye and serious set to his jaw. He looked more like the Naval officer that he was.

"Shall we go out the front together?" He asked, coming around the reception desk to stand in front of her.

Mildly distracted by watching him, Veronica tightened her jacket around her and swallowed. "Uh, no, I think we should both go down the service stairway together. You can walk me to Dad's car and then I can drive you to the front."

"I think I can manage walking to the front without an escort," Logan said, "I'm not going to do anything stupid to that asshole."

She gave him a dubious look. "Really." Veronica started toward the door. "Would ya believe that I'm not so much worried about the asshole?"

"Well, that's really too bad," Logan said into her back, "I was planning on getting his number for you. Maybe a name. You could friend him on Facebook. Or follow him on Twitter."

"Could I?" Veronica responded, throwing a smirk over her shoulder at him, "I'm so glad I have you here, watching out for me."

Once in the hallway, Veronica made sure that all of the lights were out before she locked up the office. They headed to the end of the hallway to a set of stairs that led down to the back parking lot. Now that they were in the darkened hallway, Logan looked somewhat listless. He was holding his injured arm closely to his body, and Veronica suspected that it hurt more than he was willing to admit. The temporary resolve she'd seen on his face in the office was now gone and now he looked exhausted. She wasn't surprised, though, that Logan kept up with her. He remained right behind her as they started down the stairs without speaking another word.

Veronica wasn't prepared for their close proximity in the stairwell to make so her hyperaware of him. Although he consistently stayed at least two steps behind her, giving her plenty of space, Veronica could feel Logan's eyes on her ass. It was disconcerting. She felt stiff, almost awkward, at the thought. She'd thought that her physical response to being near him would have lessened over the years, but it was as strong as ever. Despite how hard she tried to concentrate on the dangers that might be waiting for them outside, she couldn't seem to get her mind off of where Logan Echolls' eyes were now trained. All she could think about was him.

God, he looked so unbelievably good. The internal battle she'd been fighting ever since seeing him the previous morning was slowly making her forget all the reasons that she'd stayed away from him in the first place. Everything about him was so…attractive, so…Logan. Veronica was becoming momentarily sidetracked by something that she wanted to attribute to mere nostalgia, but deep down she knew it was likely something more.

Questioning him back at the office had been…well; she'd always been more than versed on how to keep personal emotions out of business. And tonight was all about business. There was no time for her to notice things like how short Logan wore his hair now or the proud gait of his walk. She couldn't focus on his wince of pain when he'd sat down or how carefully he moved because of his injury.

She'd carefully schooled her features and avoided eye contact at all costs. She'd kept all inflection from her voice.

But inside she's been dying.

It was killing her to see how much he'd changed. It was selfish of her; she knew. But even knowing that she was being irrational wasn't enough to keep her from thinking about it.

Logan had loved Carrie. It was obvious by the impassioned way he'd spoken of his reasons for hiring a private investigator. Nothing short of love would have allowed Logan to approach Keith Mars. Veronica's father was the best, and Logan had wanted the job done discreetly and right.

It wasn't that Veronica begrudged Logan loving Carrie; that wasn't the issue at all. The issue was that Veronica had always had a very myopic of Neptune and everyone who belonged there. In her mind, everyone in Neptune had continued living much the same as they had when she'd left them nine years prior.

The evidence she'd collected worked in her favor. Her father was essentially the same. A nicer house, sure, but otherwise he was the same. Wallace was still playing basketball. Mac still toyed with computers. Hell, even Dick was the same ol' dick she'd left at Hearst. Knowing all that, adding Logan into the mix had been an innate continuation of that line of thinking. She'd naturally assumed that he would be up to the customary jackassery to which he'd always excelled. He'd always been too wrapped up in hate to have any room left over for love.

Even as that last thought flittered through her mind, Veronica flashed to a night in college during a rather heated exchange. Logan had proclaimed he loved her; she'd been stunned to silence.

Logan very much loved the idea of love; Veronica knew that. But she'd never let what he had declared as love to seep through her hardened shell. She'd never allowed him into the part of her that was completely hers; the part of her that no one had ever had access to ever since her sophomore year of high school.

But Carrie was someone that had let Logan in. Logan's startled look when Veronica had commented on his love for Carrie had been validation enough. Carrie had been very lucky to have his devotion. Logan had always had a protective streak, but this thing with Carrie was more than just protectiveness. It was love.

She drew herself out of her reverie as she came to the last few steps. She felt Logan's hand lightly touch her shoulder. "I think I should go first."

Wanting to laugh at the irony, she ignored his comment and reached for the handle of the door. "I'll go slow."

"I'm sure you will," Logan commented, his fingers unexpectedly covering hers on the handle, "But I think your father would tell you to let the chauvinistic pig get his comeuppance." He nudged her gently away. "I mean, what harm could come of letting me go first?"

It was the first they'd touched in over nine years, and the electric current was ridiculously intense. Veronica's breath caught in her throat, and she was ashamed of the disappointment she felt when he quickly he let go of her hand. She was supremely relieved at Logan's preoccupation with letting himself out of the door; somehow he hadn't been electrocuted like she had and she was thankful that he'd missed her appalling reaction.

The sunlight broke through as the door creaked slowly open.

*** Break***

He was in serious trouble. Logan kept his back to her; his prayers going up to any of the gods that she wouldn't see how hard his heart was racing. He could feel each beat at his throat, and he felt clammy at his ridiculous physical response to her. If she saw any weakness he'd be done for. She would never let him live it down if she thought, for one moment, that she could use her power over him.

And God help him.

Nine years had not been long enough for the power she wielded over him to be broken. He wondered how long it would take for her to figure it out. He was the product of two very talented actors. Coming off as aloof and uncaring was something he'd perfected at a very young age. But being around her made it evident how out of practice he was. No one else was worth the effort it took to act so indifferent.

He felt rusty. But alive at the same time.

Holy shit!Veronica Mars was here with him, in the flesh.

Sunlight broke flooded through the now open door, and his mind jumped back to the issue at hand. Screw his juvenile, hard-on response to Veronica's blue eyes and firm ass; there was an enemy close by that could be watching their every move. He didn't like that his injuries left him vulnerable. If something serious went down, the most he'd be able to do would be to push Veronica out of the way.

Carefully, Logan stepped out onto the shadowed side street. Veronica was close behind him, he realized with exasperation. She was all but stepping on his heels, her breath hot against his shoulder blades. Ignoring her closeness, Logan quickly took in their surroundings. The alleyway had dumpsters on either side of the doorway, both filled to capacity and with trash spilling over the sides. He crept passed them and looked each way. Seeing nothing, he stood up straighter and turned to look at Veronica.

He didn't even bother to whisper. "I think you're jumpy. And I still don't agree that we shouldn't have called the cops. Even if they are in on it, wouldn't it be better if they knew that we saw someone tampering with my car?"

Her cool blue gaze narrowed. "Jumpy, huh? Tell that to my father. " She then gestured at his injured shoulder. "And I suppose you think that your little memento here was due to someone's gun accidently going off while they cleaned it."

"Who knows?" Logan shrugged. "What's it to you, anyway?"

Something flickered across her face before it went blank. She broke their stare and nodded toward the back parking lot. "Humor me. At least walk me to my car. I can drop you off out front, like we planned."

***Break***

The back lot of Mars Investigations was a parking area for about six other businesses. It required a parking sticker but Veronica had yet to see a meter maid or security attendant verifying the cars. Today, there were only about ten or so cars in the space. She had parked near the middle of the lot, under a light pole; a habit she'd had since college. She was more than grateful that Logan had not argued with her request to accompany her there. She really was in no mood to beg him for anything.

They approached the car silently, side by side. Logan kept a fair distance between the two of them but Veronica could still smell a hint of his sandalwood aftershave. Determined at self-restraint, Veronica swept her eyes around the yard half expecting a masked man to jump out at them. She kept her arm against the lump under her jacket to confirm the gun's presence. Her arms were laden with bags, but that didn't mean she couldn't drop everything and grab the semi-auto in a pinch. It wouldn't be hard to choose the gun over paperwork.

"Do you think they tampered with your car, too?" Logan asked while Veronica unlocked the door.

"You left your car's top down. And you're being watched, not me. I think the Le Sabre is fine." She slid into the driver's seat and moved bags off the passenger seat. "Get in."

He moved around the front of the car and climbed in beside her.

***Break***

Veronica pulled around the corner of the building and parked behind Logan's convertible. As Logan opened the Le Sabre's passenger-side door to get out, Veronica leaned into the back seat to grab a camera. She then got out and followed him over to his car.

"Don't touch anything," Veronica warned as they neared, "See if you can tell if he took anything or what was tampered with."

He'd left his duffle in the back seat. Logan leaned over the car door to inspect it. "I don't see any difference." He reached down, nudging the bag lightly and froze. "Holy shit."

Veronica stepped up and peered around him. "What?"

"It's a timer."

Beside him, Veronica stiffened.

Below him, the timer ticked down from 00:02:00 to 00:01:59.

***Break***

Both of them bolted.

"Get in the car, get in the car!" Veronica screamed, slinging the camera strap high on her shoulder as she ran.

Less than a minute later, the Le Sabre barreled past Logan's blue BMW with Veronica behind the wheel. Veronica dimly registered how Logan was holding onto the dashboard with his good hand and was pressing his injured arm tightly against his chest as she put further distance between themselves and his car. She gave little thought to anything else around her.

A bomb was not something Veronica had any interest in fooling with. Not when it was ticking down quickly to zero and not when she had a strong suspicion of where it had come from. From the size of it, she didn't think it was large enough to hit or destroy any of the buildings nearby; it would only destroy the BMW and whoever happened to be in it. But she wouldn't stake her life on that supposition.

"What the hell did you see, Logan? Why are they so hell-bent on getting rid of you?" Veronica demanded, taking a corner at full speed.

From the force of the turn, Logan's body slid into the middle console. He righted himself but didn't say anything.

"I don't even know where to go!" She muttered under her breath in a panic. Her eyes darted from the road to the rearview mirror where she saw a white muscle car quickly gaining on them. Louder, she said, "Know anyone with a seventies-style Camaro?"

"Unfortunately Dick's tastes are a little richer than that." Logan looked behind them to see the car. His frown tightened to a straight line. "Turn left, up ahead. There's a tunnel not far away."

It was just as she'd maneuvered the car and gunned the throttle that they heard the blast. Their eyes connected for a shocked beat before Veronica focused on the road again. The tunnel was right ahead of them, just as Logan had promised.

"As soon as you come out of the tunnel, go left again and then take a hard right."

Veronica's mind barely processed his words but somehow obeyed his directions. The hard right was a very hard right and they skidded into an alleyway.

"Where the hell are we?"

"In the alley behind the 09er. Go slow. Cross the main section and head to the next alleyway, when you come through that alley, turn left and we can get to the freeway."

She slowed the car down to a crawl and approached the intersection warily. Seeing no traffic, Veronica gunned it across the road and into the next alleyway, relieved that no one was around.

They were through the alley all too quickly. "Now where?"

***Break***

The house wasn't overly grand, but it afforded privacy and anonymity when needed. Not for the first time, Logan was grateful for Carrie's forethought. The property she'd purchased in the near Big Bear was out of the way but close enough to L.A. for quick getaways and visits with her family. Right now, it offered everything that Logan and Veronica needed.

Veronica had become steadily quieter when he'd begun giving directions. Glad for the silence, Logan was able to concentrate and make sure he didn't get them lost. He'd only been to Carrie's vacation home a handful of times and he was slightly worried he might miss a turn somewhere. Logan had watched as Veronica drove with one eye on the rearview mirror. She hadn't let her guard down until he finally directed her to a gated road and given her the code to let them through. As they passed under the risen gate, she had glanced at him with a silent question in her eyes, but he'd kept his gaze straight ahead to the gravel road.

The road led them through thickening foliage to a clearing where the house was located. It was a large two-story Victorian-style house with blue siding and crisp-white shutters and edging. Logan remembered teasing Carrie when she'd bought it. He'd joked that her adoring fans would be appalled at her old-fashioned ways, but she'd merely shrugged and retorted, "Bonnie might not like it, but Carrie sure the hell does."

"Pull up to the back; there's a little garage that we can use." Logan told Veronica, brushing the memory of Carrie away. When she pulled in front of the garage door, Logan hopped out and strode to the door's keypad and punched in the code. Once the door was fully opened, Veronica pulled the car in and he lowered the garage door. As it closed, he let himself in through the man door and waited for her to get out of the car.

"Where are we?" Veronica asked as soon as she slammed the door shut. She gazed around the confines of the small garage.

"Carrie's country hideaway." Logan answered matter-of-factly, observing Veronica's expression closely. Her eyes connected with his briefly before she looked around at the pristinely kept garage.

"Well, we can't stay long; surely someone will come looking for us here." She strode over to look out of a tiny window above a gardening table. "It's only a matter of time."

"We have some time." Logan opened the man door again and waited for her to follow him. Starting across the driveway, he told her, "Carrie got tired of having all the paparazzi know where she was all the time. She hated that they harassed her family so much when they'd fly in to see her. They moved overseas a few years back and come to The States only to see her. She bought this place just over a year ago; it's pretty buried in paperwork. She wanted it as private as possible."

Logan stopped at the back door and opened the keypad and typed in a code. The door unlatched subtly and he smiled somberly at her. "Very few people know about this place."

"Gia and Luke?" Veronica asked, her voice low. "They can be bought, you know."

"Gia and Luke can go fuck themselves, they don't know shit." Logan said over his shoulder as he led her through a mudroom and into a cozy kitchen. "Carrie never had either of them come here; her parents couldn't stand Gia and therefore hated Luke by association."

Quizzically, Veronica queried faintly, "Oh?"

Logan gave her a small shrug. "I should have everyone vetted through the Bishops."

***Break***

Logan ignored her questioning look and flipped the lights on, illuminating the white cupboards and dark granite countertops. Veronica looked around at the immaculate kitchen as Logan moved away from her.

Various thoughts and emotions plagued Veronica throughout the drive. And it had been a long drive. The entire time, she'd been hyperaware of Logan sitting next to her in the passenger seat. They were literally running for their lives, and yet she kept finding herself glancing over at him as if to validate that he was really there. She'd made it seem like she was being cautious and watching out for someone following them, but it was really because her eyes kept gravitating toward him.

But even with all that covert glancing, Veronica was truly worried about her dad. A bomb going off at the steps of Mars Investigations and the subsequent car chase made her more aware of the danger that her father was actually in. The thought disturbed her. Keith was in a vulnerable position, lying prone in an induced coma at the hospital. Neptune was far away from Big Bear and far away from her.

She had to get back to him as soon as possible.

Thinking of Keith made her glad for the bag slung over her shoulder. It was filled with numerous technological devices. It was pure luck she'd had the forethought to pack up some of the items and bring them out to the car while she'd waited for Logan at MI. She wondered blindly if perhaps she'd had some sort of premonition. Years ago, she'd always had a sixth sense about these things; an intuition that told her to watch her back at all turns. Today, she'd been reminded of the validity of her old guardedness. Now, because of that, she had a bag full of burner phones. She set the bag on the island to unzip and pull out what she had packed.

Four cell phones, Keith's day planner and his laptop. She'd also thrown in a Galaxy tablet that she'd found buried in the bottom of one of the desk's drawers, underneath some random camera accessories. And there, at the very bottom of the bag, was a velvet bag that held a handful of bugs and the matching transmitter. She wasn't sure at the moment if she'd put those to any use, but everything else she'd packed had a purpose.

Keeping her hands busy was helping Veronica keep thoughts from veering to how weird it felt being in Carrie Bishop's country cottage. It obviously held memories for Logan, probably good ones at that. According to the tabloids, Logan and Carrie had been dating for close to two years. This place would have been a safe place for the two of them to spend private time together away from the limelight. Most likely they had spent many long weekends here.

Thinking of Logan with Carrie caused her to a shift in discomfort, and she clumsily dropped the velvet bag onto the tiled floor. Feeling foolish, Veronica bent to pick up the bag just as Logan lowered himself to grab it. He reached it first and Veronica's fingers, slow to react, curled over his instead of the bag.

She drew back as if burned, her feet grappling her backwards and she slammed into the kitchen counter behind her in her haste.

Obviously startled, Logan slowly stood up and set the small pouch onto the counter. She watched him swallow, his Adam's apple bobbing lightly, his brown eyes questioning as he met her gaze. He opened his mouth as if to say something but then he seemed to think better of it and clamped it shut. After a moment, he swallowed and finally said, "Should we try to call the hospital, you think?"

She wasn't expecting the question. Veronica let out a short laugh, glad for the distraction. "I think we should call Mac first."

"Well, then," he answered, motioning toward a hallway, "The office is this way; I'll leave you to it while I see what I can scrounge up for dinner. "

***Break***

Was I wrong to bring Veronica here?

That question kept churning around in Logan's head, turning and turning, thus making all the other events from the past few hours and days fade into the background as unimportant. There hadn't been much time to think, not after the explosion and the resulting chase. He'd just directed and they'd ended up here.

Alone. Where no one could find them.

She had not looked very convinced when he'd explained that Carrie only brought family here. The truth was just that: none of their inner circle ever had been here. The house was reserved for herself and her family and was rarely used other than for privacy when her family came from overseas. Outside of the Bishops, only Logan had been privy to the purchase of this place. He'd even come with Carrie and the real estate agent when she'd first looked at it.

The tapping of Veronica's fingers on the computer reassured him. Since they'd walked in the door, Veronica had been skittish and jumpy. She'd been acting like a startled deer; her eyes darted around as if waiting for a ghost to jump out at her. Logan had no doubt that, if given the chance, she'd bolt. And maybe she should bolt. There hadn't been a direct threat to her life, at least not when she wasn't around him.

Well, damn, Logan thought. Here I go, putting her into danger like old times. Why couldn't he seem to leave that habit of his in the past? But really, this didn't seem to be a battle that he had chosen to be a part of. He had been pulled in by circumstance and was one small part of it. The puzzle of it all was just that: fragments that had yet to be pieced together to form a clear picture. He felt like he was missing something big. But what?

Logan sighed as he pulled a can of chili from a cupboard and busied himself finding a can opener and pan. Good thing I'm not trying to impress her, he thought ruefully. There wasn't much hope for culinary creativity tonight.

He lit the burner and set the pan on top of it. An old-fashioned canister that held cooking utensils sat next to the stove, and Logan fished out a wooden spoon to stir the chili so that it heated up evenly. Satisfied that it wouldn't scorch, Logan lowered the temperature to the food simmer before stepping over to the fridge to see what it might hold.

It was surprisingly well stocked. There was a block of cheese, some locally bottled beer, an assortment of deli meat and a loaf of bread. Various bottles of condiments lined the inside of the door, and what looked to be some vegetables sat in the crisper along with some grapes in a plastic container.

For a moment, he worried about the possibly that someone had been squatting here without Carrie's knowledge, but he dismissed that theory almost immediately. Her parents had been in California for her funeral just last week and, surely, the grocery and cleaning services that Carrie had always paid for was still in full-effect. Carrie always had a thing about having food available here so that everything would be ready when she chose to come at the last minute. It meant that all the basic necessities were always taken care of so that she could drop everything and retreat to the country without the added stress of mundane chores like grocery shopping.

Logan kept on task, grabbing the grapes and vegetables out to wash and the block of cheese to slice. All the while, his thoughts drifted to the woman who was just down the hall from him.

There'd been an awkward moment between the two of them when she'd been unpacking, and Logan didn't know exactly what to think of it. It had been years since he'd spent any time with her, years since they'd touched even casually. This afternoon, confined to the car, even while worried about being followed, Logan couldn't deny the electrical charge that had been there. He'd felt it. But he'd told himself that it was a current of adrenaline created out of fear and chaos. Nothing else.

But just now, here, in the kitchen, when his hands had accidently skimmed hers, he'd felt it again, as potent as ever. And she'd reacted like she'd been struck by a bolt of lightning, skittering away from him as if she'd been burned. It had taken him by surprise. He was unused to seeing such raw emotion in her eyes, but what he'd see had been vulnerability. He told himself that she was feeling remorse at having left Neptune without her dad. Having been chased out of town was probably not enough of a reason for Veronica Mars to have left Keith Mars, yet she'd done it. She must feel terrible.

It was because of this that Logan had resolutely bypassed the awareness that sent blood flowing south. He'd disregarded the skip he'd felt in his heart when her eyes seemed to search his in that moment. He'd pretended that the jolt of awareness that shot up his legs hadn't left him breathless and aching to touch her in a way that left her no doubt of how she made him feel.

Irritated by the direction of his thoughts, Logan slammed cupboard doors open in search of bowls. Finding some, he pulled out two and ladled chili into each before setting a slice of cheese and some vegetables onto a plate for Veronica.

His arm was beginning to ache again. The gunshot wound felt tender to the touch and the muscles of his bicep felt every bit of the beating it had taken the night before. That and the constant ache where he'd smacked the back of his head were making him feel suddenly grouchy and short-tempered. He decided that it might be best to leave Veronica to her own devices for a bit longer while he went in search of ibuprofen and bandages; the exertion of the afternoon had caused the dressing to loosen. He shouldn't leave them that way for the night. The doctor had given him strict orders to inspect the wound every night to ensure there was no infection.

***break***

Veronica was reluctant to use her own phone and had made a point of turning it off along with Logan's as they drove out of the city. She was more than sure that whoever had blown Logan's car up would have the ability to track them quite easily through their cell phones. She didn't want to give anyone that chance.

Too many years had gone by since she'd worried about being tracked or followed. She'd felt rusty and sluggish, but dodging through alleyways and weaving in and out of traffic had quickly brought her back up to speed. She was grateful for the good friends who would help her and knew that she could count on them. It hadn't taken her long to get online and set up video chat with Mac. Mac, the ultimate guru of technology, had immediately answered Veronica's call and was now working to find Cliff McCormack. The plan was to get Keith's information sealed within the hospital and arrange for his transfer to a different hospital all together. If he could be moved, Veronica would feel more at ease and more comfortable about not being able to be there with him in Neptune. The unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach from not having even laid eyes on her father since he'd been attacked was quickly morphing into full-fledged panic. Some things were beyond her control but Veronica was reigning in what she could influence as quickly as she could.

At some point during the video chat, Logan had brought her food. He quickly disappeared before she could even thank him for it. Nibbling the now cold chili, Veronica jotted down everything that she could think of that might be relevant to the case. The case, she thought sourly. How could it be a case when lives were on the line?

Her dad's laptop sat open on the desk, the email she'd last accessed at the office still open. She read it over for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

Attached to the email was a second article about a drug dealer, Manny Rose, who had been caught, red-handed, selling drugs to an undercover police officer. When the article had been written, Manny had already made a plea of guilty, but had gotten a lighter sentence in exchange for ratting out two other dealers. Veronica had had to read both it and the article about the new buildings funded by Morrison more than once before she realized how they were connected.

It wasn't the words that held the clue, it was the pictures attached to each article. Amongst the faces in the crowd at the ground breaking was none other than Manny Rose. There were no names listed at the bottom of the picture or in the article itself, but Veronica recognized him.

Somehow Manny Rose was connected to the Sheriff's department. Was he working undercover? Could he be an informant? Or was it something much bigger?

She stared unblinking at the screen until she heard a clatter coming from somewhere within the house.

A/N Thanks again. If you have time, I'd love to read your thoughts in the form of a review. ;)I am going to change the rating to the whole story to M just to stay safe. I should have just put it as an M to begin with, so I apologize for not. Anyway, if you aren't following this story, and your filters aren't set for M you may need to look for it if you care to. Thanks.