And Then You Stand...

I'm still around!

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:06:25 GMT

Soooo I haven't fell off the face of the earth! I suppose that's good news right? lol... I am been so busy with life lately that I barely have time for anything, including SLEEP... It's been forever and a day since I posted anything on here so I thought it was way past time!!!

I have still been working on Almost Like A Country Song, although I'm not sure if anyone remembers it or even cares at this point lol... My fault I know..*sigh*.. I've also got a few shorts on my computer that I'm determined to get posted at some point! I've also had ideas of a Gossip Girl/VM crossover but who knows what might happen there! lol

So to review: I'm alive. I'm writing. And I'm verry sorry to anyone that might actually remember my fics!!! And some day soon you might actually see one of them posted here!! *Crossing fingers*

Fic: White Horse 2/2 Veronica Mars/Grey's crossover Alex/Veronica

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:28:54 GMT

Title: White Horse 2/2
Author: Brandee
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Veronica/Alex Grey's/VM Crossover
Word Count:3,389
Summary: He’s been the only thing keeping her sane since she showed up at Seattle Grace and that in itself is enough.
Spoilers: The whole series for VM and the end of S4 for Grey's.. Hopefully the timeline isn't too messed up..
Warnings: Where do I start? It's my first crossover. I've never wrote GA's before, so although I adore Alex, he's new to me.. Still, I had to write this, because in my head these two needed to be together.. So, yeah, be warned, I'm nervous about this one lol.
Disclaimer: Um, no, they don't belong to me.
A/N: Finally! It's finished! I suck, but here it is!! Still totally nervous about thisbut it was fun to write! Big, huge thanks to katjs11 for the great beta, and putting up with me as I wrote this!!!

Part One

“Wait, so you live in Neptune, drive a Saturn and your last name is Mars? Did you name your dog Jupiter too?”

They’re sitting on his bed, the TV blasting as background noise behind them, and Alex is a little surprised at how easy it is to talk to this girl. He had found her an hour before on his doorstep looking, sad and alone. He didn’t bother asking how she found him, he just invited her in and told her she could stay as long as she needed. A pint of ice cream later, she seemed to be doing somewhat better.

“My dog’s name is Backup,” she speaks with a tiny huff. “I was thinking of naming my first born Mercury though,” she adds deadpanned.

“You should go with that, I’m sure the kid would really love you for it.”

“Right, like I’m actually ever having kids.”

“Yeah?” He asks looking over at her. “You gonna tell me you don’t want the white picket fence and all that crap?”

“I’m not really a believer in that whole forever and always thing,” she speaks honestly. “In the fairytale I read, Cinderella found out Prince Charming with sleeping with the Fairy Godmother six months after the happy ever after.”

“You and Meredith could write the world’s most depressing book,” he snorts.

“I can handle that all on my own, thanks. So do you disagree with me on the whole relationship thing Karev? I didn’t really take you for a romantic.”

“Yeah, I’m all hearts and flowers,” he speaks with a laugh. “I’m just not sure it’s always so black and white.”

She laughs a little as she falls back on his bed and stares up at the ceiling. “Sure it is. People lie, they cheat, and they screw up. It’s all really simple actually.”

The sad thing is, he can’t really argue with her logic. He tries to, in his head, he tries to find an argument that actually works, but in all honesty, Veronica really does have a point. He relaxes on the bed beside her and looks over at her as she counts the ceiling tiles.

“You know, this whole PI business doesn’t really help your trust issues,” he tells her.

“No, but one day I’m going to make some therapist very wealthy,” she bites back.

The door suddenly opens and Veronica jumps slightly. “Hey Alex…..” His eyes move away from Veronica as he looks up and over at a stunned Izzie. She stares at Veronica and then looks back at Alex. “Uh, yeah, never mind,” she mutters as she quickly shuts the door behind her.

“Gosh, she really loves me doesn’t she?” Veronica quips.

“What gave it away?” Alex speaks as he rolls on his side to look at Veronica.

“I think it was the evil glare,” she smiles.

“She probably thinks you came over here tonight to seduce me,” he grins. “I mean you did find the place kind of easy…”

Her eyes widen at first and then they dance as she looks at him with a mischievous grin. “ Me seduce you?” She questions, “I don't know Karev, your kind of old…”

He looks down at her and smiles with a glint in his eyes. He stares at her for a moment before moving a strand of hair from her face. “Shut up Veronica,” he whispers as he leans over and kisses her. He feels her smile against him, but he’s not really surprised. Her arms slowly tangle around his neck and suddenly nothing really matters. He doesn’t know what this is, and he really doesn’t care. Veronica Mars is the most normal woman he’s been interested in, in a long time, and even if it’s a mistake, he knows it’s his to make.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Veronica is standing in her mother's room the next day, looking bright and almost perky. Her hair is down around her shoulders and her eyes have a slight sparkle in them. Alex swallows when he looks at her, because he knows all of that is about to change. He doesn't want to give her news that freaking sucks, but he knows he has no choice.

"My mom opened her eyes," she says brightly. "I know it isn't much, but it was new, and she was more responsive this morning. Maybe that means she's coming out of this or something, right?"

She has hope in her eyes, and Alex thinks it's the first time he's really seen her face so lit up. It sucks that it's all going to fade away soon, but that's life, and he knows Veronica Mars has had a crash course in bad news throughout the years.

"Yeah, looks like it could," he nods, but he knows he can't fight back the frown on his face.

"So are you usually this chipper when a patient shows improvement?" she questions.

"Veronica…." He tries as he sees her eyes change almost immediately.

"Alex? What's wrong?" she speaks, eyeing him.

"The kid that was driving the car your mom hit, he died."

He's always thought she had expressive eyes, even from the first moment he saw her charge into Seattle Grace. Now, however, it's like he's watching the spark leave them all at once. They dim right in front of him, and Alex can't help but feel that Veronica has just lost another part of herself.

"When?" she questions, stepping back.

"This morning," he answers, stepping up to her.

He watches her as she stares over at her mother and then back to the floor. "I guess that's that," she speaks quietly, looking up at him. "She really messed things up this time."

"You okay?" he asks carefully. She just looks at him with eyes that answer the question. She's not okay, nowhere near okay, he thinks as she shrugs her shoulders and stares back over at her mother.

"I knew it was a possibility, right? You warned me," she answers, looking away. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"You're a horrible liar, Veronica," he speaks, touching her shoulder with his hand. "It's okay to be upset. This whole thing really sucks."

"He wanted to be a history teacher," she speaks, looking up at him.

"Who?"

"The boy my mother…that died," she swallows. "He wanted to coach baseball and teach history."

Alex sees her fighting back tears, and he feels his stomach fall. It's like he's watching the last glimmer of hope she had for her mother fade away right in front of him. Alex knows the whole good guy thing is something he's not exactly great at, but this girl, she needs something, someone, right now. He pulls her to him gently and is almost surprised when she doesn't fight him. Instead, she folds into his arms and lets out a deep breath. "Let's get out of here for awhile," he whispers, causing her to nod against his chest. He really didn't intend for this girl to get under his skin, but as Alex kisses her forehead he 's pretty sure the damage has already been done.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There are three things that Veronica is certain of now. There are no happy endings, no fairytales, and no dreams of forever and always. As far as Veronica is concerned those things just don't exist. People are imperfect creatures, and apparently they can't stop themselves from constantly screwing up. Her mother caused the death of an innocent teenager, and no matter how hard she tries she still can find a way to justify it. Her mother isn't coming home with her when she's better. Instead, she's going to have to pay for what she's done. Veronica can't help but think that it sucks. That once again, she's going to have to pay right along with her.

"Did you clean the whole freaking house?" Alex's voice rings out as she tosses a dust cloth in the garbage. "I thought you wanted to come over here to relax today, not pull a Mr. Clean."

The thing is, Veronica can't allow herself to think right now. Thinking would mean dealing with her mother's issues, and she's not sure she's ready to go all into that right now. So yes, she did go slightly overboard when she started cleaning the kitchen. She was halfway done when Meredith had walked by and joked that the living room could use some work too. Obviously, Meredith didn't realize what she was saying, because cleaning means not thinking and it helps, somehow it always helps.

"Are you complaining? The place is lemony fresh. Who doesn't love a lemony fresh house?" Veronica smirks at Alex as he walks over and brushes her lips with his own.

There is a part of her that worries that whatever this is with Alex is starting to feel too normal. It shouldn't, because it's new, and not real. But somehow, sometimes, it just does. She tells herself that it is temporary, but there are times when they are battling each other with sarcasm and smirks when she almost wishes that she could take Alex home with her when she goes. She knows she can't, though, because he's Seattle, and she's Neptune, and those are two things that under normal circumstances would never work.

"I just didn't realize you were such a neurotic cleaner," he says with a shrug and a crooked smile.

"We all have our issues, Karev. Trust me, this doesn't even begin to cover mine."

"Yeah, I've noticed," he smirks. "So, is your dad coming back today?"

She lets out a sigh, "No, Wallace is coming instead. Dad has this huge case, big money, so I told him to stay and work on it. The only way he would agree to it is if he sent Wallace in his place," she smiles.

"Wallace is like your person, right?" Alex questions casually, staring down at her intently.

Veronica can't help but laugh at his comment. "My person? You've been hanging out with Cristina and Meredith too much! Wallace is my BFF!" She speaks with pep.

"How perky cheerleader of you," Alex snorts. "BFF, seriously?"

"Yes, BFF! We have charm bracelets and everything" she jokes. "My friendship with Wallace may actually be the most stable relationship I've ever had," she adds more seriously.

"Yeah? Does he know how you've been spending your time away from the hospital?" Alex questions, arching an eyebrow.

"You mean in my motel room eating ice cream and catching up on my reading? Absolutely!"

"So making out with doctors in supply closets hasn't been brought up yet? You two are going to have a lot to talk about."

"Doctors?" Veronica asks teasingly. "Wait, how'd you find out about me and Sloan? He said he'd keep his mouth shut," she smirks.

"That's not funny, Mars," Alex grumbles before pulling her to him for a kiss. She knows she's going to have to go back to the hospital soon, but for right now she's exactly where she wants to be.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"People are saying things about you, Karev," Meredith speaks as she catches him in the hallway a day later.

"Yeah? They lead boring lives then," he answers back with a shrug.

"Some people are starting to think you have a knight and shining armor complex," she continues. "Then there's a few that think you're just taking advantage of that poor kid from California," she adds, never looking at him.

"Knight and shining armor," he grumbles. "That's crap.”

"I don't know, they're talking about white horses and you saving the day. It's actually kind of amusing."

"Veronica doesn't need saving," he frowns. "It's not like that."

"You really like her, don't you?"

"She's not some naïve kid, you know," he speaks without answering the question. Instead, he stops in the middle of the hallway and waits for Meredith to answer.

"Obviously she's highly intelligent and very mature for her age."

"Yeah, she is."

"She's going to leave soon. Maybe you don't want to think about that, but she is. She has to eventually go back to California, back to school, and we both know you're not a long distance relationship type of guy," Meredith speaks, letting out a breath when she's finally finished.

"I'm glad we both know so much about me," he mutters. "And who said anything about a relationship?" Alex asks, narrowing his eyes.

"It's you, Karev. It's quite obvious that Veronica isn't some inappropriate person. You don't give inappropriate people the attention you're giving to her."

There is a part of Alex that hates the fact that Meredith Grey actually gets him on some level. There's another part of him, though, that is almost relieved to talk to someone who isn't rolling their eyes about the whole messed up situation.

"Dude, you need to spend less time with that therapist. You're starting to sound like her," Alex answers back, shaking his head in annoyance as he walks off and leaves Meredith standing in the hallway. He can handle whatever this is with Veronica. Yeah, he's almost sure he can handle it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So they’re saying things are looking up. She’s more responsive, coming out of this finally,” Veronica speaks to her best friend. She watches as Wallace listens to her carefully, and she has to admit she’s relieved he’s finally here. “It’s still a long road ahead, though,” she adds, tossing a glance at her mother before letting out a sigh.

“Yeah, but she’s getting better, V, and that’s what matters,” Wallace smiles.

“When she’s better, she has to face what she’s done.” Veronica tells him honestly. “A boy is dead. She has to pay for that.”

Wallace’s face falls and he frowns. “I should have been here sooner, Veronica. I’m the best friend. That’s what I’m supposed to do.”

“You’re here now,” Veronica smiles gently. “And you brought me more clothes!” she adds with a bit more enthusiasm. “The fact that you were able to get exactly what I asked, it totally earned you BFF points.”

“I’ve missed you, Veronica Mars,” Wallace says suddenly. “Not that I’d ever admit it to anyone else….”

“Well, I am kind of awesome,” she smiles self-deprecatingly. “And for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Yeah, so anyway,” Wallace sighs. “I was in the elevator today, and these two nurses were doing a little gossiping.”

Veronica fights back a frown. “Were they fighting over McDreamy and McSteamy? Tell me, who did they think is hotter?”

Wallace just shakes his head no at her, and she can’t help but let out a tiny sigh. “Rumors just seem to follow you around, girl. So, you and this Dr. Karev, what gives?”

He’s blunt and to the point, and Veronica knows from his tone he doesn’t approve. “It’s nothing,” she shrugs off. But this is Wallace, and when he glares at her she frowns. “Well, it’s more than nothing, but it’s not some grand romance or anything. It’s no big deal, really.”

“Are you dating this guy?” Wallace asks, crossing his arms against his chest.

She’s hesitant to answer at first, because honestly she really doesn’t know what they’re doing. “We’re hanging out, or something. It’s really not all that complicated.”

“V, when you have no idea what your status is with someone, then yeah, it’s complicated,” Wallace breathes. “This guy, he’s older. A player, the way those nurses talked….

“I can handle it,” Veronica shrugs with a smile. “Relax Wallace. I’ve got this under control.” Except in all honesty, she doesn’t, and that scares her more than it should.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“We are the talk of the hospital!” she tells Alex when he comes to her motel room the next night. “All it took was one elevator ride and Wallace had the whole story.”

“I’m pretty sure whatever he heard in one of our elevators was not the real story,” Alex grunts as he wraps his arms around Veronica’s waist. It’s familiar now, the way she feels in his arms. It fits somehow, and he knows deep down it shouldn’t.

“Well that is true,” Veronica grins. “He did hear something about me being pregnant with your child…”

Alex lets out a cough, but recovers when he feels Veronica laugh gently against him. “People in that hospital have no lives.”

“Obviously,” Veronica agrees.

“So tonight,” he speaks, moving a hand up to brush a strand of stray hair from her face. “I was thinking we’d go out. Do you like Italian? Because I do, and I’m buying.”

He sees her eyes widen and suddenly she takes a step back from him. “You’re taking me out in public?” she asks with a tiny smile. “Dr. Karev, are you asking me out on a date?” she questions.

“Dude, we’ve gone out to eat before. Remember, we did the whole pizza thing that one night.” It comes out harsher than he meant and he instantly regrets the tone in his voice.

“I paid for my half of the pizza that night,” she counters, and for a split second he thinks she almost looks disappointed at his attempt to brush it off as nothing.

“Yeah, well you’re not paying tonight,” he states, his voice softer than he means for it to be.

“I was only joking about it being a date,” she responds with a small nod.

He sees questions in her eyes when she looks over at him, and he knows that they’ve reached a point where something has to give. “Veronica, whatever this is, it’s something. We’re, something, just so you know.”

“And when I go back home, then what will we be?” she frowns. “Because, we can’t be this, not with me there, and you here….”

It almost amuses him at how much they both suck at this. She just keeps starting at him with those beautiful eyes of hers, and all he can do is step forward and pull her toward him. “Hey, you’re still here, and we’re still something, okay? Stop overanalyzing this, and let’s go get something to eat. You’re starting to sound like Meredith and Izzie, and that is not a good thing,” he jokes as he brushes a kiss against her lips.

Whatever this is with Veronica, this something that they have, he’s going to go for it. He knows it’s temporary, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t real. Veronica is still in Seattle, still in his arms, and as far as he’s concerned California doesn’t exist right now. He can deal with the fall out later. That’s the part he’s used to, anyway. Right now, he just wants to feel whatever it is that this girl makes him feel.

“So this whole thing that we are that really doesn’t have a name, does it mean we’re going to hold hands in the hallways at the hospital now or do you want to stick to calling each other cutesy nicknames just to nauseated people?” She teases him, and suddenly the room feels much lighter again.

She has a way about her that he just can’t resist. The way she mixes adorable with sexy makes her one of a kind, and he thinks that it’s amusing that she doesn’t even realize just how incredible she really is.

He looks at her as she tilts her head at him slightly and looks up at him with a half smile and mischievous eyes. “I was thinking we’d shoot for having lunch together tomorrow while everyone stares at us, if that works for you,” he speaks with a tiny grin.

“It’ll be the highlight of my otherwise sucky day,” she accepts. “I get to discuss physical therapy with doctors, and then meet with a lawyer I can’t afford,” she adds with a long sigh.

“Sounds fun.”

“Delightful.”

“Well, if you need someone to vent to, I’ll be around,” he tells her, touching her arm softly.

“You know I may take you up on that,” she nods. “Now, are we going to get something to eat or what? I’m a tiny girl. I need food to keep my strength up,” she smirks.

“Right, you could out eat a whole freaking football team, Veronica!” he snorts as he leads her out of the hotel room. He snakes his arm around her waist as they head down the hallway. She smiles up at him and Alex can’t help but think that this is good. Yeah, it’s really, really good.

Almost Like a Country Song 10/? Troy/Veronica, Wallace, Logan

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:02:49 GMT

Fic Title: Almost Like A Country Song 10/?
Author: Brandee
Pairings: Veronica/Troy eventually, Logan/Veronica, Logan/Parker, Wallace/OC
Word Count: 5,298
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: S3 up to Papa's Cabin, pretty much AU after that..
Summary: He played her once, will she give him a chance to play her again?
Disclaimer: Mine? Nope!!
Warnings: Eventually will be Troy/Veronica, with Logan tossed into the mix.. So yep, that's the warning.... Oh, and Piz and Veronica? Never, ever, happened. I mean never, nothing, nadda.
A/N:I suck, because let’s face it, it’s been forever and a day since I updated.. I am so totally sorry, that it’s took so long! Real life gets way to busy sometimes… Still, I am sorry!!! I must thank katjs11 for being such a great beta! She? Is totally made of awesome!!!!! This fic will be filled with Wallace and Veronica friendship goodness, because without Wallace, would Veronica had ever been a marshmallow?

Previous Chapters

“Okay, so this one is so you,” Veronica grinned as she held a shirt out for her best friend to see.

“Do I look like Barney to you? I’m not wearing purple!” Wallace grimaced.

“It’s not purple, it’s plum,” Veronica spoke. “Have I taught you nothing about fashion?”

“Veronica Mars, fashion expert. Yeah I’m not feelin’ it,” Wallace shrugged.

Veronica and Wallace had been hanging out in the mall for over an hour as part of their BFF day. Wallace had mentioned wanting a new shirt or two for his dates with Layla, and Veronica decided to go with him. She was really trying to be more social with her friends, and even though a day at the mall wasn’t her cup of tea, so far it hadn’t been too bad.

“You insult your very best friend? See if I bring you any bake goods for awhile,” Veronica spoke with a fake huff.

“Oh, so that’s how you’re gonna play it, huh?” Wallace smirked. “You’re gonna cut me off of the Snickerdoodle?”

“That and all other tasty sweets that I bake in my kitchen,” Veronica shrugged with a wicked grin.

“I’m still not wearing purple,” Wallace sighed.

“Plum,” Veronica corrected again.

“Yeah, it’s still not working for me,” Wallace spoke firmly. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you, have you talked to Logan in the past few days?”

Veronica rolled her eyes at her best friend. It had been a week since Logan had broken up with Parker. Veronica had received several calls from Logan, but so far she had dodged most of them. She had answered one phone call, just to make sure everything was okay, only to listen to Logan ramble about trying to figure out who he really was.

“He’s in the middle of some sort of self discovery,” Veronica spoke as she looked through the clothing rack.

“Well college is all about that kind of thing right?” Wallace asked. “What does all that mean for the two of you?”

“It means nothing,” Veronica spoke quickly. “I’ve talked to him once. You know just because Logan and I speak, or we’re single at the same time, doesn’t mean we’re getting back together.”

“Right, because the two of you don’t do that,” Wallace nodded with a smile. “What about Parker? Have you talked to her since the breakup? I know you said the other day she was ignoring you.”

“Well apparently I ruined Parker’s life because I dated Logan before she did. She has somehow decided that I’m the reason for their breakup and doesn’t want to talk to me,” Veronica spoke in an animated tone. “It’s all too All My Children for me, really,” she added with a sigh. “I’ll never understand why most women have to be so overdramatic and catty.”

“Right, because you have never been overdramatic or catty?” Wallace chuckled.

Veronica shot him a stern glare. “All I’m saying is that her anger is pointed in the wrong direction. I barely spoke to Logan while they were together.”

“So Logan didn’t break up with her because he still has feelings for you?” Wallace countered.

“Well he hasn’t professed his undying love to me in the last week, so I’m thinking, no,” Veronica spoke, crossing her arms. “I told you, he’s trying to figure out who he is or something. So, have you decided what you’re doing this summer?”

Wallace nodded his head. “Is that your not so subtle way of telling me we’re done talking about Logan?”

“You catch on fast. Seriously, the summer?” she asked again as they walked away from the rack of clothes.

“I’ll be hanging out with my girlfriend and best friend in Neptune?” Wallace spoke. “That is if they plan to stay in Neptune.”

“Girlfriend?” Veronica grinned. She looked over at Wallace with sparkling eyes. “I can’t believe it. My little Wallace has found a girl to call his own,” she joked.

“Okay, that’s just not cool, Mars,” Wallace frowned. “I’ve had girlfriends before you know,” he mumbled. “So are you going to be in town, or are you taking a vacation from this place?”

“Well, since the whole FBI internship didn’t pan out, this girl will probably be sticking around. I’m meeting with Leo today to talk about bringing him in at Mars Investigation.”

“So you’re really going to take over when your dad gets Sheriff?”

“Well someone has to bust all the cheaters in this town and I’m not going to leave it up to Vinnie VanLow. So yeah, I’m really going to take over.” Veronica shrugged. “My dad thinks with Leo working with me I should be able to handle things.”

“You just can’t have a normal job like most people our age, can you?” Wallace chuckled.

“Normal? Normal is highly overrated, my dear Wallace,” Veronica smirked.

“Right, because a normal girl wouldn’t work with one ex and hang out with the two other ex boyfriends that are still in town,” Wallace spoke, shaking his head.

“I don’t hang out with Troy or Logan,” Veronica grumbled. “I associate with them, big difference.”

“Girl, you’ve been hanging out with Troy since we ran into him at the movies. Like it or not, you more than associate with him. You’re in serious contact with both him and Logan, and let’s face it, if Duncan was still in town you’d probably be babysitting for him. If you weren’t dating him,” Wallace spoke confidently.

“I liked you better when we didn’t talk in depth about our personal lives,” Veronica muttered.

“Hey, you’re the one that wanted to improve your people skills,” Wallace laughed as they headed out of the store.

“Perhaps I should have thought this plan through more,” Veronica smiled.

“I don’t know, I kind of like this attempt at a new you,” Wallace shrugged. “You’re asking for far less favors, and seem almost interested in what’s going on in my life.”

“Wow, Wallace, that’s deep,” Veronica smirked.

“Yeah, which is why I’ll probably never do it again. Look at you, Mars, turning me all sensitive male.”

“Does that mean you’ll reconsider buying the plum shirt?” Veronica grinned, her eyes twinkling as she spoke.

“Not a chance,” Wallace laughed. “But seriously, nice try.”

~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Logan knocked on Veronica’s front door and sighed to himself as he waited to see if she would answer. In the past week he had done a lot of soul searching and surprisingly, most of it had been done while sober. He still had a lot of things to figure out about himself, but one thing he did know was that he needed to talk to Veronica.

Her front door swung open, startling him as his eyes went down to the tiny blonde staring up at him. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, and she was wearing a simple black t-shirt with her jeans. Gone was the carefree girl he met so many years ago, and in her place was a more complicated Veronica.

“So, if I said I was in the neighborhood….”

“I’d ask you if someone stole your Range Rover on the way over,” Veronica spoke bluntly, as she looked past him at the bright blue Xterra in her drive. “Your car in the shop?”

Logan smiled brightly. “I decided I’m not a Range Rover person,” he explained. “Apparently, I’m still an Xterra person.”

“But you’re the one that bought the Range Rover,” Veronica spoke, staring up at him confused.

“You liked it, and I was rather tired of all the yellow jokes associated with the Xterra. Today while I was car shopping I kept thinking about my old Xterra, though, and I don’t know. I saw that one and just had to have it,” Logan shrugged.

“And you brought it by to show it off?” Veronica questioned.

“No, I came by to talk to you.”

He watched as she took in a deep breath and lowered her eyes. When she looked up at him her eyes were searching his, and he knew she wanted to avoid talking about them.

“Logan…”

“Relax, Veronica. I don’t want to talk about your feelings and emotions.”

“Oh. Well in that case, come on in,” she spoke with a forced smile.

He walked into the apartment and watched as she shut the door behind her. “Actually, I came by to talk about my feelings and emotions,” he joked with a half grin.

“Well, I’m no therapist, but I do believe we decided long ago that your issues started early in life,” Veronica spoke with a tight smile.

“Right, I seem to remember that conversation,” Logan nodded. “Seriously though, Veronica, I’ve been thinking a lot about everything that happened with Parker.”

“You can spare me the details, Logan,” Veronica spoke quickly. “Your relationship with Parker had nothing to do with me.”

Logan shook his head and smiled. For a smart girl Veronica could be so naïve at times. “Actually, in a lot of ways you’re wrong. Look, you might want to sit down for this, but I just want you to know that I’m sorry.”

Her eyes widened and he could see her had caught her off guard. He watched as her mouth opened to speak and then she shut it again. Finally she let out a tiny sigh. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific.”

“My dating Parker, it was a mistake. She was one of your friends, and I shouldn’t have dated her so soon after our breakup. Wait, let me backup. I shouldn’t have dated her at all. It made things even more awkward for us, and for that I’m really sorry.”

“And you didn’t think about that before my friendship with her was potentially ruined?” Veronica spoke, glaring up at him.

“What?” Logan questioned. “Wait, what’s going on with you and Parker?”

“It’s nothing,” Veronica spoke. “She’s just hurt right now and apparently I’m an easy target.”

“She’s blaming you for the breakup?” Logan questioned. “How is that even possible?”

“Look, don’t worry about it. It will work itself out.”

“Yeah, well from now on, your friends are off limits,” Logan promised.

“Mac’s going to be heartbroken,” Veronica quipped. “But seriously, you didn’t think that dating one of my two female friends might just suck for me a little?”

“You told me it was okay…”

“You didn’t give me much choice,” Veronica admitted with a frown.

“No, I guess I didn’t,” Logan sighed. “Still, if you had just told me I honestly wouldn’t have dated her.”

“Right, because I’m all about sharing my feelings. Have you met me, Logan?”

Logan nodded his head. “Of course. What was I thinking,” he spoke dryly.

“When Duncan dated Meg, that was kind of weird. But this, it just felt….” Veronica’s voice trailed off as she looked away from Logan. “But hey, I dated both you and your best friend. So who am I to talk, right?”

“Yeah, you did do that,” Logan smirked. “Still, it was a long time ago and very different. This time, it was all on me,” he frowned.

“Look, for what it’s worth we’ve both made mistakes,” Veronica muttered, looking down at her feet.

Logan let out a tiny gasp. “I’m sorry, can you say that again? Veronica Mars, taking part of the blame? This could be too much to handle for one day,” he added with a smirk.

“I’m saying we are both responsible for everything that has happened,” she shrugged. Logan stared at her, his eyes wide, causing her to narrow her eyes and glance up at him with an annoyed glare. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m trying to grow as a person.”

“Well kudos to whoever brought about this change,” Logan spoke, clapping his hands together. “Does this mean we might start seeing a kinder, gentler Veronica Mars?”

Veronica chuckled. “I doubt it. I mean seriously, how boring would that be?”

“Does it mean we can at least go back to being friends?” Logan questioned hopefully.

“I thought we had already decided to be friends,” Veronica spoke.

“Yes, but now that I’m not dating your friend I was thinking we could be friends without the awkward silence. We could even hang out from time to time. You know, like normal friends do,” Logan suggested.

“I’m sorry, my BFF card is totally full right now. But if you want, I could put you on the waiting list,” Veronica grinned.

“The sarcasm hurts me deeply,” Logan replied dryly. “It does however feel like old times again. Remind me again, why did I miss this?”

“Because we have a warped sense of normal?” Veronica shrugged.

“That sounds right,” Logan nodded with a tiny smile.

As he looked at Veronica, he saw a familiar sparkle in her eyes. It seemed like they were finally okay, or at least as okay as they were going to be considering their history. They had been through so much and felt so many different feelings toward each other. It was going to be strange to try the friend thing again, he thought to himself. Still, it was what they needed right now, because Logan knew he didn’t want to be in a relationship with anyone for awhile. Not until he sorted a lot of things out.

“So, this new you that you’re trying to discover, what does he have planned for the summer?” Veronica asked, staring up at him as she crossed her arms against her chest.

“I’m not really sure right now. Dick and I have talked about a few surfing trips, but other than that who knows where I’ll end up.” Logan shrugged. “What about you? Have you heard anything about your internship?”

Veronica lowered her head. “I’m not exactly what they are looking for, apparently. It’s okay though, plans change. My summer will just be a bit more relaxing.”

“Yeah? Well it’s their loss,” Logan smiled sincerely. “You’re good at what you do, Veronica.”

Veronica looked up at him. “I’m not giving up on the FBI. I just didn’t get the internship,” she spoke with a determined tone.

“Well, I still think you should have gotten the internship,” Logan offered. “Anyway, I should go, but we really need to try that whole normal friends hanging out thing soon,” he smiled.

He watched as Veronica nodded her head with uncertainty. He knew it was hard for her, trusting him again in any capacity, but he thought that maybe, just maybe, she was trying this time.

“We’ll do lattes and a movie,” she joked as she walked over to the door with him. “It’ll be a blast,” she spoke just as her cell phone sang out in the background.

“You might want to take that,” Logan smiled. “I’m sure it’s some important client wanting to know who his wife has been with this week.”

“I so love my job,” Veronica spoke, clapping her hands with a fake giggle.

He let out a snicker, and shook his head. “I’ll talk to you later, Veronica,” he spoke, watching as she lifted her hand and gave him a tiny wave. It wasn’t much, but it was progress, he thought to himself as he walked to his Xterra. And when it came to Veronica, any progress at all was a good thing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“This shot? Pure perfection!” Veronica gleamed as she stared at the photos in front of her. Weevil stood behind her, looking over her shoulder wearing a tiny grin. Once again, he had gotten the right shots to prove that another man in Neptune was a cheating dog.

“It’s all about timing.” Weevil smirked. “These two, they were tricky,” he went on. “It took a little time but I got my shot.”

“And we will be getting a nice big bonus once I give the bitter wife the name of her husband’s mistress,” Veronica smiled.

“Don’t forget you own me dinner,” Weevil laughed. “I told you it was the wife’s yoga instructor, but you were sold on the best friend.”

Veronica smirked. “Weevil, if you want to have dinner with me, all you have to do is ask. I mean I know I’m hard to resist….”

“Yeah, you got me, V. My ever wakin’ thought is how I’m gonna make you love me,” Weevil chuckled. “For real though. Fou lost the bet, and you will pay up.”

“It was a total fluke,” Veronica groaned. “You worked the case more…”

“And you can’t even admit that I just got it right this time,” Weevil spoke, crossing his arms.

“Fine,” Veronica nodded. “You have good instincts, and this time, you figured things out before I did. It won’t happen often though, so don’t get smug.”

“Because smug only looks good on you?” Weevil asked with a grin.

“I’m not smug, I’m confident,” Veronica smiled. “Seriously though, total props on the shots.”

“Just doing what I was told,” Weevil nodded.

“So, when do you want that dinner?” Veronica asked. “I suppose I have to make good on the bet…”

“Well, tonight’s out. I've got a date with this girl I met at the college….” Weevil grinned.

“How rich is she?” Veronica smirked.

“Her mother is a nurse and her father owns a small deli,” Weevil spoke. “This one isn’t rich, V, so leave it alone.”

“Her dad owns a deli?” Veronica asked with a smile. “What’s her name?”

“Jessica. Jessica Mayes,” Weevil shrugged. “Why, you think you know her?”

“Yeah, I know who she is,” Veronica nodded. “Nice girl, and your right, her dad isn’t rich. Her step-father on the other hand, he’s loaded,” Veronica smirked.

“And you know this how?” Weevil challenged.

“Mayes Deli. Duncan used to get these amazing sandwiches there. He loved to go in and talk to Jessica’s father. He’s a really nice guy. Anyway, Jessica’s mom left him for some doctor, I think he’s a surgeon or something? I just know that he has money, lots of it,” Veronica spoke.

“That doesn’t mean I have a type…” Weevil grumbled.

“”Of course not, it just means you can refrain from making any more comments about me and my rich boyfriends,” Veronica smirked.

“That mean your back with one of those rich guys?” Weevil questioned. “Which one suckered you in this time, V?”

Veronica rolled her eyes at the comment. “No one has suckered me into anything,” she replied. “I’m doing the whole friend thing with my ex’s now. I’m totally maturing as a person,” she added with enthusiasm.

“Yeah? How long is that gonna last?” Weevil questioned. “C’mon, V, you know it won’t be long till you’re back datin’ one of them again.”

“Not true,” Veronica denied. “I’m not looking for a relationship right now.”

“It’s your life,” Weevil shrugged. “Anyway, I’ve gotta get out of here. You got any plans for tonight?”

“Yeah, a nice relaxing night at home with my cases,” Veronica smiled.

“In other words, you have no plans.”

“None at all,” Veronica admitted with a sigh.

Weevil was about to speak with the door to Mars Investigation flew open. Veronica looked up to see Troy’s friend Eric, standing in the doorway.

“You need something, kid?” Weevil questioned.

“Yeah, I need to talk to her,” he spoke, pointing over at Veronica.

“I got this,” Veronica said to Weevil. “You may go primp for your date now,” she added with a smile.

Weevil let out a grunt and shook his head. “I’ll see you tomorrow, V,” he spoke as he walked past Eric and out the door.

“I’ve been expecting you,” Veronica spoke, turning her attention back to Eric.

“You have?” the boy asked, walking over to Veronica’s desk.

“Yes I have,” Veronica nodded. “I’m working on your case, remember?”

Eric nodded his head. “Yeah, that’s why I’m here. I’ve been thinking about this whole sister thing,” he spoke with a sigh. “It’s weird, you know? Our dad apparently sucks, but she’s out there, right?”

“Yeah,” Veronica nodded. “She’s out there.”

“And, it’s like, what if she’s a loser like him? I mean, that would make this whole thing kinda feel pointless or whatever,” he rambled.

Veronica sat up in her chair. “Did you make a decision or not?” she asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Eric nodded. “I want to find my sister. I need to finish this, because she might not be bad news, and even if she is, I just need to know. So yeah, that’s why I’m here.”

“Are you sure you want to find her?” Veronica asked looking over at the boy. “I mean, really sure?”

“Yes, I’m totally sure.”

Veronica smiled slightly at the boy and pulled her computer to her. “You want to see her Myspace or her Facebook?” She asked with a tiny grin.

Eric’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’ve already found her? But you didn’t know that I wanted you to.”

“Sure I did,’ Veronica shrugged. “It was only a matter of time, so I did the work ahead of time,” she smiled. “Just so you know, she has a blog on her Myspace, that talks about the day she found out she has a little brother,” she explained. “She knew that you didn’t know about her. Apparently she has a grandmother who told her. She’s an only child, so it was big news for her. Anyway, she’s a student at UCLA. Looks like your luck is finally looking up.”

“Do you think she’ll want to meet me?” Eric asked as he walked over to look at the computer.

“That’s our next step,” Veronica spoke.

“Troy was right,” Eric smiled happily. “You seriously rock!”

“Yes,” Veronica smirked, “Yes, I do.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Layla stood in front of her mirror staring at herself intently. “I don’t know, what do you think? Too much cleavage?” she spoke, turning to look at her cousin.

Troy rolled his eyes. “It is so wrong that you’re asking me that question.”

“T! I’m having dinner with Wallace’s mom tonight! I need to look presentable,” Layla pouted.

“You always look presentable. In fact, you’re the most presentable person I know,” her cousin spoke with a tiny smile.

“Troy, I’m serious!”

“So am I. Besides, you’ve already met Wallace’s mom and she loved you!”

“Yeah, but this is different. This is a dinner at her house. Wallace is close to him mom, so I kinda want her to like me!”

“So this thing with the two of you, it’s kind of serious, huh?” Troy asked, watching as Layla walked back over to her closet.

“Well, yeah, I guess. I don’t know,” she laughed. “It’s all still new, but I really like him, you know? I mean, he’s just a really amazing guy,” she gushed.

“He’s also the first guy you’ve been serious about since….” Troy’s voice trailed off as Layla turned quickly and stared over at him, her mouth falling into a frown.

“You mean since Hunter died?” Layla spoke. “Okay T, what’s on your mind?”

Troy frowned. “I guess I’m just wondering if you’re ready for this,” he spoke honestly. “Look, we both know Hunter wasn’t just some random boyfriend. You loved him, and the two of you were serious. Getting into a relationship, it’s a big deal.”

Layla frowned as she walked over to her bed and sat down. “I did love Hunter, but I’ve had time. I’ve grieved, I’ve dealt with everything that happened, and I’m okay,” she spoke, looking up at her cousin. “It’s not like I haven’t dated other guys since Hunter’s death. I just never connected with them.”

“Well, I guess I should apologize for questioning your judgment. You obviously know what you’re doing,” Troy smiled.

“I’m dating a really good guy,” Layla nodded. “That’s all I’m doing T. I’m just taking my time and seeing where this goes.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Troy smiled. “It’s good to see you like this, with everything going right for once,” he added. “Happy looks good on you.”

“Hey, things are going to work out for you too, T,” Layla promised.

“Things are working out for me,” Troy spoke with a faint smile. “I haven’t screwed up in awhile. That in itself is progress.”

“Yeah, and people are starting to notice that,” Layla spoke. “Just hang in there okay? People are coming around.”

“People?” Troy questioned.

“Veronica,” Layla nodded. “Wallace sees you’ve changed, and I totally think Veronica is seeing it too.”

“Yeah? You’re more confident then I am,” Troy sighed crossing his arms. “You know it’s funny, last year when I saw her I didn’t really give it much thought. I mean yeah, she saved me big time, but I didn’t really think about ever wanting a shot with her again. This time though…”

“You want more than friendship,” Layla stated, staring up at him.

“In a perfect world, yeah, but this is Veronica Mars we’re talking about,” Troy laughed slightly. “I really messed up the first time around. I mean, the girl was so jaded back then, and she was just starting to try to trust people. She actually opened up to me, and I didn’t care. I just let her down like everyone else.”

“You were a stupid kid back then, T. Veronica’s going to see that,” Layla shrugged.

“Yeah? You don’t know her.”

“Not really no, but I know you.”

“Are you going to give me the ‘if anyone can change her mind you can’ speech?” Troy questioned. “Because again I say, you don’t know Veronica.”

“Just give it time, T. She’s already hanging out with you! Wallace says that’s huge progress for Veronica.”

“See, that’s what I love about you ,Layla. You always see the brighter side of things. Sadly, when it comes to Veronica rarely is there a brighter side. As much as I’d like to believe that we’ll be all sunshine and flowers soon, I know that really, the task could actually be impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible, T. Now go and let me get ready before I start sounding like some sort of life coach,” Layla smiled.

“Hey, I could totally use one of those,” Troy chuckled. “Good luck tonight, Layla, Wallace’s mother is going to love you!”

“Of course she will,” Layla laughed nervously. “I’m a Vandegraff.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Veronica walked into Java the Hut and looked around. She was tired, and ready to go home and curl up with Backup and just call it a night. First, however she was going to treat her sweet tooth to a slice of cake and a vanilla latte.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of a hand waving at her, and she frowned when she realized it was Troy Vandegraff. With a sigh she walked over to the corner booth he was sitting in and smiled gently.

“Hot date tonight, Troy?” She questioned.

“Yeah, and she just got here,” he grinned. “Have a seat, Veronica.”

“I’ll stand thanks,” Veronica spoke.

“Suit yourself, but I’ve got to tell you, these seats are pretty comfortable,” Troy smiled.

Veronica stared at Troy from a moment before deciding to slide in the seat in front of him. She knew it was a stupid decision, but Troy wasn’t nearly as annoying to her as he once was, so maybe she wouldn’t regret talking to him later. “I talked to your buddy Eric tonight,” she spoke, clasping her hands together on the table.

“Yeah, I know! He called me and filled me in. You are officially Eric’s hero,” he laughed.

“Well, we still have to wait and here back from the sister,” Veronica spoke cautiously.

“But you think she’s on the up and up?” Troy asked.

Veronica nodded her head. “Yeah. She just seems like a regular college student. You know, if the kid is going to meet this girl, maybe it’s time he told his parents.”

“Yeah, I mentioned that to him, but he says they’ll freak out,” Troy frowned.

“And when they find out what you’ve helped him to do, what do you think they’ll do to you?” Veronica asked. “For whatever insane reason, they trusted you to be some sort of good influence on the kid, and you’ve helped him go behind their backs.”

“They are going to kill me, like seriously dead,” Troy groaned. “I know this already, Veronica, and I’ve told it all to Eric. He’s just so close to finding his sister, he can’t walk away now.”

“Well, I should hear something back from the sister soon. I just hope you’re ready for the fall out when his parents find out,” Veronica sighed.

“You know, Veronica, for someone who couldn't care less about me, you sure seem worried about this whole thing,” Troy smiled. “Is it possible that you’re actually starting to see me as a friend?”

And crap, suddenly Troy was smiling at her with a smile that once made her feel down right giddy, she thought to herself as she looked away from him. She hated memories of before, because none of that had been real. This guy in front of her, he was supposedly new, the real Troy. Yet at the same time, he was still that guy, the one that had broken her trust and hurt her pride.

“Friends? Seriously, us?” Veronica laughed it off quietly. “I was merely pointing out the facts as I saw them.”

“You were concerned about my well being!” Troy argued with a laugh of his own. “You were, Veronica, you actually seemed like you cared,” he added, his tone softer. “It’s just cool, you know? That’s all I’m saying.”

“Yeah, well I need to go,” Veronica spoke as she stood. “I just came by to get a caffeine fix. I have things to do.”

“You’re going to work on a Friday night, aren’t you?” Troy asked with a knowing smile.

Veronica let out a huff. “I enjoy my work. Is that really such a bad thing?”

“Of course not,” Troy shrugged. “Sometimes, however, you need to take time to smell the flowers, breathe the fresh air, or you know, enjoy a good cup of java with a friend,” he said with a tiny smirk.

“I’ll have my java to go, thanks,” Veronica said quickly.

“It’s just an innocent cup of coffee with a friend, Veronica,” Troy tried again. “Look, you’re already here, what’s the harm in it? It’s better than being at home alone on a Friday night. C’mon, keep me company. I’ll be on my best behavior, I promise.”

It annoyed her how endearing Troy could be at times. There had been a time when she believed it was all part of his game, but lately she was really starting to wonder. Still, it didn’t mean she was ready to forget everything he had done.

“There you go again, tossing around that friend word. It’s like you’ve heard nothing I’ve said,” she spoke, adding a tiny smile at the end.

“I think you’re scared to hang out with me,” Troy said as he leaned in slightly. “I mean, if you spend too much time with me, you might actually realize that I’m an alright guy,” he continued. “Would it really be that horrible for you, Veronica? Having to admit, that maybe, just maybe, you were wrong about me?” Troy ended with a gentle smile.

His voice was almost teasing, but Veronica couldn’t hold back an eye roll. “Where exactly do you come up with this stuff? I mean seriously, do you even hear yourself?”

“Prove me wrong then,” Troy smiled looking up to wave a waitress over. “What’s your drink of choice?”

Veronica sat back in her seat and crossed her arms against her chest as the waitress looked down at her with a kind smile. “I’ll have an iced vanilla latte and a slice of chocolate cream cake,” she spoke, shooting a glare toward a smiling Troy. One meal with Troy Vandegraff wasn’t going to kill her, but maybe it would help her decide once and for all what his game really was.

Grey's!

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:44:28 GMT

Can we PLEASE get Alex out of this horrific storyline? I mean seriously! Yes, I want him on my screen, but this is an insult to his awesomeness! I hated the Ava thing, but I think this is worse! I want more of the Alex/Mer friendship, more of Alex's background, and more Alex with patients, anything but this Izzie storyline!! Please Shonda kill GhostDenny! Ugh!

Title: White Horse Veronica Mars/Alex Karev GA/VM Crossover 1/2

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:15:28 GMT

Title: White Horse 1/2
Author: Brandee
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Veronica/Alex Grey's/VM Crossover
Word Count: 4,203
Summary: He’s been the only thing keeping her sane since she showed up at Seattle Grace and that in itself is enough.
Spoilers: The whole series for VM and the end of S4 for Grey's.. Hopefully the timeline isn't too messed up..
Warnings: Where do I start? It's my first crossover. I've never wrote GA's before, so although I adore Alex, he's new to me.. Still, I had to write this, because in my head these two needed to be together.. So, yeah, be warned, I'm nervous about this one lol.
Disclaimer: Um, no, they don't belong to me.
A/N: I'm totally nervous about this one, but I'm posting on my LJ anyway... It was only suppose to be a one shot, but these two wouldn't shut up.. Hopefully it'll be worth the read! Thanks to the awesome and wonderful katjs11, for the beta and total support!

Veronica has been sitting at a hospital in Seattle for three days now, listening to doctors explain brain swelling, comas, internal bleeding, and other things that she just doesn’t know how to deal with. Her mother put three teenagers in the hospital during a drunken ride to the liquor store, and from what the doctors have explained, Lianne Mars is just lucky to be alive.

She thinks it’s sad that this is the first time she’s actually seen her mother in years. Her mother needs her now even though she doesn’t know it, and Veronica isn’t one to walk away from the people she loves. She gets that from her father, because she knows it didn’t come from the woman in the hospital bed.

“Dr. Stevens said you were mean to her again.”

She looks up from her bland cup of coffee to see Dr. Karev staring down at her with a smirk.

“She wanted to talk about my feelings,” Veronica replies with a shrug.

Veronica has already become acquainted with half the doctors as Seattle Grace. She’s learned a lot about these doctors over the last few days. Most of them are needy, and they’re all surprisingly more screwed up than she is. She’s heard them talking in the halls, and she’s quickly learning all of their stories. Each one of them has issues they need to address, but none of them seems interested in fixing their problems. Most of them look at her like she’s a child too young to understand. She thinks if they knew half of what she’d been through, they’d keep their annoying glares to themselves.

“Did you tell her to mind her own business?”

“Something like that,” Veronica smiles. “She’s a bit needy, isn’t she?”

“She’s just Izzie.”

Dr. Alex Karev is a man of few words, she’s learned. He’s also way to arrogant for his own good. Still, out of the doctors she’s met so far she seems to tolerate him the most, maybe because at times he reminds her of Logan. Other times, he just reminds her of herself. She knows he dated Dr. Stevens for a time, and she’s heard something about a fling with another doctor that used to work at Seattle Grace. There’s some huge secret about a patient he apparently dated for a time as well, but Veronica hasn’t had time to search out the mystery, not when her mother is hanging on by a thread.

“Your mom is stable now,” he speaks, staring down at her again. “That’s a good sign.”

“Coming out of her coma would be a better sign,” she answers back.

“Yeah, I guess it would.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Wallace, I’m good, really,” she speaks to her best friend at the end of day three. Her phone calls with Wallace are the bright spot of her days. Of course, truth be told, Wallace has been the bright spot of her days since she cut him down from the flagpole the first time they met.

“C’mon Mars, if you need me to come out there, I’ll be on a plane in the morning.”

She doesn’t want to tell Wallace that she actually does need him. The last thing she wants is for her best friend to drop everything to fly out to be with her. She knows he’d do it, but her mother is her responsibility and she doesn’t want Wallace to be burdened with her problems.

Things have changed for both her and Wallace lately. Her father and his mother got back together during the summer after her freshman year of college. They dated her whole sophomore year as they planned a very romantic summer wedding. She frowns as she stares at the doors of Seattle Grace. She doesn’t want to go back in, not when she feels close to home with Wallace on the other end of the phone.

She sighs into her phone. “I can handle things. Have you talked to your mom today? I’m so jealous that she and dad are honeymooning in Hawaii right now.”

“Veronica, you need to tell your dad,” Wallace speaks, his tone worried. “You can’t keep lying to him. The weekend is going to end and he’s going to expect you to be here.”

“He just married your mom. He doesn’t need this on him right now.”

“And you shouldn’t be handling it alone.”

“I’ve got it covered,” she frowns. “Listen I should go, I’ll check in tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah. Hey, have you heard from Logan?” Wallace speaks quickly and Veronica can’t stop the groan that escapes her mouth.

“He’s in Italy,” she answers back. “It doesn’t matter, we’re over.”

“Right, like that ever sticks,” Wallace laughs into the phone. “Call him, tell him what’s going on.”

“I know I said we’re doing that whole friends thing now, but I’m not telling him about this…”

“Because you know that like me, and Mac, and yes, even Piz, he’d drop everything to come be there with you.”

“As loved as that makes me feel, it’s not happening. I can handle this, really.”

“Girl, if you need me….” Wallace’s voice trails off.

“I’m okay Wallace, really.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yeah, hey I’ll call you tomorrow. I need to go talk to a doctor about something. See you later, bro!” She speaks with a forced laugh as she clicks off her phone and forces herself to face the hospital once more.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“She just seems so indifferent.”

“And mean, you forgot mean, Mer.”

“Didn’t her mom run out on her or something? I’m surprised she’s even here.”

Normally Alex wouldn’t care what the girls were talking about, but for some reason he can’t ignore Izzie, Meredith, and Cristina’s conversation today. He realizes that Veronica Mars is just the daughter of a patient, but still, the mere fact that she has Izzie terrified of her, and keeps Meredith on her toes, makes her somewhat interesting.

He knows she was involved in a big murder case in California a few years back, mostly because Izzie has watched all the Lifetime movies. From what he’s heard, Veronica Mars is some kind of miniature private eye who works with her father.

“She has a thing for rich guys,” Izzie blurts out. “I saw it on one of those movies. Except they used the name Victoria, but seriously, she’s all about the money.”

“You do realize you can’t believe those movies,” Cristina grumbles.

“I googled her name Cristina, she’s dated the sons of several millionaires back in California. She dated Aaron Echolls son, and that software guy, Jake Kane? She dated his son, too.”

“That doesn’t make her evil,” Cristina snorts.

“She’s just not nice. She’s always scowling, and she’s so sarcastic!” Izzie frowns.

“She’s not that bad,” Alex speaks, not bothering to look up from the paper he’s reading. “She’s a little brass, but once you get past that…”

“She’s twelve Karev,” Cristina warns looking over at him. “You seriously wouldn’t go there would you?”

“She’s not twelve,” he rebukes quickly. “I just said she’s not as scary as Izzie makes her out to be.”

“Oh, she’s scary,” Izzie speaks, nodding with force. “Trust me, the girl is scary.”

“You’re such a wimp, Stevens,” Alex scoffs.

“Shut up, Alex.”

“Whatever.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She’s sitting on a bench outside the hospital on day four when Alex walks out and stares at her again. He does this a lot she notes, stares before he speaks. She’s holding another cup of weak coffee and he’s just looking at her with an expression she finds hard to read.

She thinks the guy has been hurt somehow. There’s times when she walks by him, and he almost looks wounded. Still, he keeps up the front of a man that just doesn’t care. She’s knows the façade well, because the mask he wears often reminds her of her own. Now however, he’s blank, just staring at her with his arms crossed and she doesn’t know what she’s suppose to say.

“The coffee here sucks,” he speaks bluntly.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

“There’s a coffee shop around the corner, if you ever get tired of it.”

“And give up the taste of this fabulous brew?” She asks, sticking the coffee cup out in front of her.

“Just thought I’d let you know.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” she nods.

He doesn’t walk away, but he doesn’t speak again either. He just sort of looks at her, and she’s not really sure what to make of him.

“Those kids my mother hit, are they going to be okay?”

He looks at her with dark eyes and she knows she isn’t going to like his answer. “They’re watching the driver closely,” he speaks in a low gruff voice. “Maybe you should call some family, No need going at it alone.”

“She’s my responsibility,” she shrugs. “I can handle it.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.”

“I can.”

“It’s your call.”

“Yeah, it is.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alex finds her sitting alone in the coffee shop he suggested the next night. He’s really not sure why he’s even here, but for some reason he ended up here instead of the bar. He orders his coffee, black with a hint of sugar, and watches as she sips whatever it is she’s drinking at a booth towards the back.

She looks up and sees him, and he throws up a half wave. She just looks at him blankly and waves back, an almost non-wave really. Alex knows he should turn around and leave, because this girl, and she really is just a girl, can only mean trouble for him. After Ava he promised himself he’d stay away from anyone that walked through the hospital doors. Still, his feet overrule him and before he can stop himself he’s heading toward her booth.

“Dr. Karev, I thought you’d be heading to the bar with the rest of Seattle Grace’s finest,” she speaks, sipping what appears to be some sort of latte.

“I’m not one to follow the crowd,” he shrugs.

“Yeah, me neither.”

“Is that why you’re here alone?” he asks. “I’ve heard you on the phone with several people. Why are you doing this to yourself?”

“I’m sorry, when exactly did I give you permission to listen in on my phone calls,” she asks with narrow eyes.

“Forget it,” he frowns as he turns to go.

“She’s my mother, my responsibility,” she speaks up, stopping him in his tracks.

He nods his head and slides into the seat across from her. He understands her reasoning all too well. He’s been in her shoes before, the kid trying to take care of the parent. The kid with the father that loved his booze more than him. Most recently, he was the guy trying to take care of the woman he loved, even though her illness was too much for him to handle alone. Alex flinches at the though of Ava, and then stares back over at Veronica Mars. He knows this girl isn’t as tough as she wants people to think. He can see it in her eyes when she asks questions about her mother’s health. Deep down she’s just a little girl, trying to take care of a mother that left her long ago.

He’s going to regret this later. Somehow, he just knows that talking to this girl is going to be a mistake. He hasn’t asked how old she is yet, but he assumes she’s at least eighteen. Still, he shouldn’t be sitting in a coffee shop with her. He doesn’t do the whole get to know your patients thing often, so this, this can only turn out bad for him.

“You’ve got a dad, right? I’ve heard you on the phone with him.”

“He’s on his honeymoon. He married an amazing woman, and I’m not going to ruin this for him,” she speaks, taking another sip of her drink. “He doesn’t owe my mother anything,” she adds, and Alex can hear a tinge of anger in her voice.

“Because she left?” Alex asks, staring over at her. He knows it’s none of his business, but he really doesn’t care. He’s curious to find out the real story about this girl from California who seems determined to do everything on her own.

“Did I say she left?” Veronica bites out.

“No, but apparently it made the Lifetime movie,” he speaks as her eyes widen slightly. He fights back a smirk as realization hits her face and her eyes lock with his. There is a fire mixed with the sapphire staring back at him, and he knows this is a girl who doesn’t back down from a fight.

“Funny, I never took you for the Lifetime kind of guy,” she answers back, narrowing her eyes at him.

“People talk.”

“And you listen?” She asks. “I guess I overestimated you, Dr. Karev.”

“When’d she leave?” He asks, watching as she fidgets slightly in her seat.

“That’s none of your business. What else did these people who talk say?” She quizzes, narrowing her eyes at him.

“You’re a mini Nancy Drew that has a thing for rich guys,” he states bluntly.

“You must have caught the Celeste Kane version of my life,” she groans. “You really should check out that particular film. There’s actually a scene where I try on one of her dresses and dance around her bedroom in it.”

Alex bites back a smile because there is a part of him that believes what this girl says is true. She doesn’t strike him as the type of girl that seeks out the rich. He thinks her issues are much different from that. It’s obvious to him that something in her life hardened her, but he’s not sure if it’s one event or several.

“Just reporting what I heard,” Alex shrugs.

“Should I guess who you heard that from?” Veronica asks, staring down at her coffee. “I’m going with a blonde doctor. You know, the one that seems almost scared of me?”

“When’d she leave?”

“When I needed her the most,” she snaps bitterly. “Now is it time for me to question you on your personal life, or should we call it a night? Because I’d really love to know what you ever saw in Izzie Stevens, and why the younger Dr. Grey turns into a nervous mess around you,” she adds with a tiny smirk.

“How’d you….”

She just laughs before he can finish his question and shrugs her shoulders, “It’s what I do.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Her father shows up on day five, frustrated and hurt at the same time. He tells her that Wallace finally broke down and told him what happened. She watches him with her mother, just staring at the woman he loved for so many years.

”You should have called me Veronica,” he whispers, looking at Lianne. “I should have been here.”

“You were on your honeymoon, dad,” she speaks. “It took you and Alicia so long to get back together, and I just didn’t want to mess things up.”
“She’s your mother, she was my wife,” he answers back sternly, turning to her. “I needed to be here. You needed me here,” he frowns.

“When she comes out of the coma, when she’s better,” Veronica swallows, “she’s going to jail.”

“Veronica…”

“The driver isn’t improving. They keep watching and waiting, but he’s not getting better,” she adds. “If mom actually gets better….”

Her father doesn’t wait for her to finish, he just wraps his arms around her and holds her tight. For the first time since she heard the news, Veronica finally cries. She breaks down in her dad’s arms and she cries at the thought of losing her mother forever.

“We’ll get through this Veronica,” Keith promises as he holds her closely. For the first time in days she finally feels safe. She’s not alone anymore, she doesn’t have to be alone anymore, and just the realization of that makes her believe that somehow, things will be okay.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I don’t just date rich guys.”

She comes out of nowhere one day and speaks these words to Alex. He has his back turned to her but instantly turns around at the sound of her voice.

“Is that your way of asking me out?” He asks bluntly.

“You really do love yourself don’t you?” She speaks with a tiny huff. “I’m just saying, that’s not who I am.”

“But you are a mini Nancy Drew?” He smirks.

“Nancy Drew was weak compared to me,” she boasts with a half smile. “I mean really, she wasn’t really all that impressive.”

They’re standing in the middle of the hallway, and he can’t help but smirk a little as Cristina walks by and rolls her eyes at him. “Should I be impressed?”

Veronica shrugs her shoulders at him. “If you could get over your own ego, you would be,” she answers back with a tiny smile.

“Are you trying to insult me? Because that’s actually more of a compliment really,” he smirks.

“I have to go,” she speaks, shrugging her shoulders at him. “I’m craving decent food for a change.”

“What did you have in mind?” He asks, and he’s honestly not sure why. His brain keeps telling him to stay away from this girl. He’s suppose to see her as a kid, but he doesn’t. She’s far to mature to be just some average college student.

“Is that your way of asking me out?” She grins back at him.

“No, it was my way of saying maybe I could suggest a decent place,” he answers in response.

“Oh.”

Her face falls slightly and he has to bite back a laugh. For the first time in days, her youth shows as she lowers her head for a moment before looking back up at him with a forced smile.

“But since you’re so set on me eating with you, there’s this pizza place not far from here….”

“Doesn’t that go against some sort of patient-doctor thing?” She asks with curious eyes.

“You’re not a patient,” he speaks. “Look, I’m hungry, your hungry, and we’re both sick of this place,” he explains with a sigh. “I figured, we might as well eat together.”

“Well since you put it like that, how can I resist,” she speaks dryly.

As they walk out of the hospital, Cristina walks by them again. This time Alex smirks when she mouths the word ‘twelve’ to him. He’s going to be the talk of the hospital again soon, but really, when has he ever cared.
~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&
Alex hears Veronica and her father talking one night as he's opening the door to the room. It's not as if he means to listen at first, but Veronica's tone is different, and he really just can't help himself.

"It's weird, you know?" She speaks to her father as she walks over to the bed.

"What's that, sweetheart?"

"She ran out on us, but now that she needs help, we're here."

"That's not weird, Veronica. That's who we are."

"No. The weird part is, she's really not here this time, either," she whispers. "She's here, but she's not, you know?"

Alex has never heard her sound so helpless. He watches as her father wraps a comforting arm around her and kisses the top of her head. There is something about their relationship that he finds unique. Maybe it's because it seems so real, and most of the people he knows don't have that with their parents.

"It's going to be okay, Veronica. We'll get through this."

"Of course we will," she says weakly. "We always do."

"She can still come out of this. You've heard the doctors. Your mom can do this."

"Yeah. And when she does, she'll stop drinking and come home, braid my hair, check my homework and cook me breakfast before I go to school," she rattles off with a sad smile. "It's okay, dad. I gave up on having the picture perfect mother a long time ago."

Alex frowns as he leans against the doorway. He's never seen this side of Veronica Mars before, the real person behind the smiles and the sarcastic banter. She seems so bare with her father, and he realizes there is so much more going on inside of Veronica Mars.

"It's not fair to you, Veronica."

Alex watches in wonderment as Veronica stares up at her father with a smile. "I've got the best father in the world. What more could a girl ask for?" she asks. It's obvious from the sound of her voice that she means every word.

"Lianne is going to be okay. Veronica. She is."

Veronica drops her head and Alex sees her move her hand to wipe her eyes. "You can't make that promise," she whispers to her father. "What if she doesn't make it?"

"Then I'll be right here, sweetheart. We'll get through it together. That's a promise I can make."

Alex backs away from the door when he sees her father hug her. Somehow, it just seems too private to watch any longer. He walks away feeling strange, his mind almost heavy. Veronica Mars is a very complex girl, he thinks to himself. Yeah, very, very complex indeed.
`~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

“It’s a dangerous road you’re going down Karev. Veronica Mars is young. She’s very, very young.”

He knows the second he sits down with Yang, George and Meredith that it’s a mistake. Meredith starts her mini lecture before he gets his tray on the table and doesn’t stop even when he narrows his eyes at her.

“It’s none of your business, Grey.”

“So, you’ve really been hanging out with Coma Patient’s daughter?” George asks. “She looks kind of young.”

“She’s twelve.” Cristina grins.

“She’s not twelve,” Alex grunts, throwing a glare at Cristina.

“Is she even out of her teens?” George asks, causing Alex to once again narrow his eyes and Cristina to snicker. George drops his head and unlike Meredith, he knows when to shut up.

“Still, as someone who is an expert at making wrong decisions, I can tell you, this is a bad decision,” Meredith frowns.

“Then maybe I’m trying to be more like you,” he mutters.

“Wait, so something really is going on there?” George asks wide-eyed.

“No, and again, it’s none of your business.”

“Logically, it can only end badly,” Cristina speaks with a shrug.

“You know, you people are way more screwed up than me. So do me a favor and stay out of it.”

As he storms off he hears Yang ask, “What’s his problem?” Seriously, do these people even have to ask?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“The guy mom hit is taking a turn for the worse. You know what that means, right? Seriously, could my life be anymore awesome?”

“I’m coming out there, V,” Wallace states. “Mom’s back and I don’t have to watch my brother. Let me come out there.”

’Wallace, I’m okay. Dad’s here, don’t worry.”

“You’re the B to my FF, of course I’m worried,” his voice sings out. “Mom said Keith was coming in for the weekend to catch up on some work. I can be there before he leaves.”

“There’s nothing you can do here. Alex says she’s showing small improvements, but it’s all still up in the air.”

“Alex?”

She frowns at her slip of the tongue. “Dr. Karev. He’s one of the doctors here.”

“A doctor you refer to by his first name?”

She starts to speak just as Alex turns to corner. His eyes meet hers and he smirks slightly as he crosses his arms and leans against the wall.

“I’ll call you later tonight, Wallace,” she speaks in a hushed tone.

“Wait! What about this doctor?” Her best friend presses as she hangs up the phone with a groan.

“I need a drink. You want in?” He questions as she sticks her phone back in her pocket.

“I’m not much of a drinker,” she admits with a frown.

“Really? Because right now, you look like you could use a few.”

“You really know how to charm a girl, Karev.”

“You should be impressed with my honesty. So are you in or what?”

“I….” She stalls as she looks back at her mother’s room.

“Look, you can come watch me drink, make yourself feel designated or something,” he sighs, running his hand through his hair. “The thing is, if you stay here long enough, staring at the same walls, you’re going to go nuts. That won’t help anyone, so just take a break. I’ll spring for some fruity virgin something if you want,” he adds, as he stares down once more.

It’s a fine line they’ve been walking, she thinks, as she stands to her feet. She doesn’t know what she’s doing with Alex really, but at this point she doesn’t care. He’s been the only thing keeping her sane since she showed up at Seattle Grace and that in itself is enough.

“Thank you,” she forces out hoarsely.

“Don’t go all girl on me, Mars. I expect more from you.”

She gives him a knowing smile as they leave together. If this is the only thing in her life that currently makes sense, she knows her life is far more screwed up than she had realized before.

I'm so ugh..

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:36:57 GMT

Has anyone ever saw someone, that reminded them of someone else, someone they hadn't saw or thought about in awhile, and suddenly couldn't get that person off their mind? Just me? Okay...

THe other day this guy came in the store and I only saw him from the back and heard him speak, and I thought he was someone I used to know.. He just reallly reminded me of this person. Ever since then, I just haven't been able to get that person off my mind.. It just kinda took me back, and I'm still just feeling weird about it.. I mean he even had some of the same mannerism. He could totally pass as a younger brother.. I dunno, it just won't stop nagging at me, and it's annoying lol...

Whoa.

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:50:29 GMT

Oh wow.. I was just going through my LJ, and realized something. Has it REALLY been almost a year since I posted a chapter of Who Am I? wow, I totally suck! I've got like half a chapter done, but life has just been so crazy this year and I had massive writers block with it. But I didn't realize time had flew by that fast! Wow. I'm not even sure if anyone even remembers this fic or cares anymore! Which, btw? Totally my fault, because, again, I kinda suck!

Oh so very random....

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:07:25 GMT

I've decided that the one show that I really like this season is Privileged. I'm actually surprised by that, but it's a cute show. 90210 has pretty much became background sound for me now until it comes on. I actually find most of the character's charming or likable, which rarely happens for me. Of course it's on the CW and the ratings are low, so I'm sure, because I actually like it, it won't be around long.

Ugh, and can I just smack myself for letting Gossip Girl draw me in. A couple people know just how certian I was last season that I would never, ever watch the show, but Blair and Chuck pulled me in last season after seeing a couple of eppys. I resisted for awhile, but darn that Chuck, he was just to much for me.

On a sidenote: I'm still writing. Real life can be annoying and busy, but I'm trying, I promise I am!

Fic: Almost Like A Country Song 9/? Troy,Veronica, Logan, Wallace

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 03:18:46 GMT

Fic Title: Almost Like A Country Song 9/?
Author: Brandee
Pairings: Veronica/Troy eventually, Logan/Veronica, Logan/Parker, Wallace/OC
Word Count: 6,031
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: S3 up to Papa's Cabin, pretty much AU after that..
Summary: He played her once, will she give him a chance to play her again?
Disclaimer: Mine? Nope!!
Warnings: Eventually will be Troy/Veronica, with Logan tossed into the mix.. So yep, that's the warning.... Oh, and Piz and Veronica? Never, ever, happened. I mean never, nothing, nadda.
A/N: Did ya think I had given up on this fic? Or writing period? lol wellll I didn't! I just too wayyyy too long! So for that, I am very sorry! I must thank katjs11 for yet another awesome beta! She rules people, she rules! This fic will be filled with Wallace and Veronica friendship goodness, because without Wallace, would Veronica had ever been a marshmallow?

Previous Chapters

"Black and white streamers? Classic!" Mac said as she helped Veronica take decorations out of a bag.

Veronica had promised Wallace she would help set up Layla's surprise party, and even though she and tried to get out of it all week he wouldn't let her. Now she was standing in Troy and Layla's beach side house preparing for a party she really didn't want to be at.

"I've got to give the boys credit, they actually managed to buy nice decorations," Veronica nodded. "This is so much better than the My Little Pony party Wallace wanted to throw for me last year," she quipped.

"My Little Pony party?" Mac asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah, he bought the Little Pony piñata and everything!" Veronica spoke with fake glee.

Mac chuckled. "I'm sorry, I don't remember that party."

"That's because it never happened," Veronica smirked. "Wallace left my house in fear after that suggestion."

"So tiny, yet so very fierce," Mac smiled. "That brings me to a question I've been meaning to ask you, just how are things with you and the owner of this cozy little house?"

"Well, I don't know Troy's dad very well, but I think he's a stand up guy," Veronica grinned. "As far as his son goes…."

"She dislikes me a little less each day," Troy laughed as he walked into the room. "I believe she may even think I'm a decent person again."

Veronica whirled around to face Troy and stared at him with fake confusion. "I'm sorry, what did you say there?"

He was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, and she hated that there was a part of her that still found him attractive. He smiled at her with a cocky grin, and for a brief second she felt like she was in high school again, trying to figure out if he was a boy she could trust.

"Yes ma'am, as I recall there was a period in our lives when you thought very highly of me," he smirked. "In fact if I remember correctly, there was even one time in my parent's library that you called me a total stud," he grinned widely.

"Surely you jest," Veronica spoke, giving him a pointed look.

"Nope, I absolutely remember the words total stud being used."

Mac let out a tiny snicker and Veronica rolled her eyes. "I must have been out of my head then, or wait, I believe it was something I ate. Yes, it was fish, bad fish, I do believe."

"Say what you will Mars, but your opinion of me is changing. By the end of the night, you might even find me charming again."

"Yeah, I wouldn't set the bar so high if I were you," Veronica smiled smugly.

"I'm a confident man Veronica," Troy laughed.

"Confident, is that what you call it? See I would have gone with egotistical myself."

"But that just wouldn't be true," Troy shrugged.

"Were you two this entertaining when you were together?" Mac questioned as she opened a bag of white balloons.

"I wouldn't know, I somehow managed to erase that period of my life from my mind. Yep, totally gone," Veronica smiled with a nod.

"Hmm, so that must be the reason you bring it up to me every single time we talk," Troy sighed. "Unless of course you only erased the good times…"

"Yeah, that must be it," Veronica nodded as she grabbed a pack of black balloons. "Do you have a tank or something to blow these up with? Or are you going to do it with all that hot air of yours?"

"Are you saying I'm full of hot air? Really, Veronica I thought you were a little more creative than that."

"You know, you're really going all out for this party," Mac commented, trying to change the subject. "You'd think it was a sweet sixteen or something."

"Layla's mom always gave her these huge birthday parties," Troy explained. "She's just, well she's been a little homesick lately, missing her mom and all, so I thought I'd give her a little taste of home. I talked to her mom on the phone and she said last year she mentioned how cool it'd be to do a black and white theme, so I figured why not."

“ I thought her dad lived here now. Did he not think to do something for her on her birthday?" Veronica questioned.

"He's taking her to some restaurant that he loves, and giving her a shopping spree," Troy shrugged. "This party? It's nothing really."

"It's actually a pretty cool thing to do," Mac spoke, causing Veronica glare at her. "Well, it is," Mac added with a snort. "I need to call Bronson and see what time he's coming tonight," she added, grabbing her cell phone from her pocket. "I'll be right back."

Veronica rolled her eyes at her friend. Seriously, it wasn't possible for Troy to use his charm on Mac was it? It was bad enough that Wallace had been blinded by the guy, to have Mac fall for his slick ways would just be too much.

"So is Eric coming to the party tonight? I've got some info for him about his dad," Veronica asked as she turned to Troy. "I tried calling his cell, but kept getting voicemail."

"No, he's grounded this weekend. He did horrible on his History test," Troy shrugged. "What did you find out? Did you find his father?"

Veronica let out a sigh, "I did some digging, background checks on his mom and what not using those letters. There was a guy she dated in high school, a Jeremiah Jones, I'm guessing he's the father, unless she really has a thing for guys with the name J. Jones."

"Veronica, that's great!" Troy grinned. "So where is he, where's Eric's dad? Is he still here in California? Neptune?"

"He's in Ohio," Veronica spoke with a frown. "He's in prison in Ohio, Troy."

Veronica watched as Troy shut his eyes for a moment and let out a tense breath. He seemed visibly shaken by the news. He frowned as he ran a hand through his hair and shook his head before looking down at the floor. "Prison?" Troy spoke his voice grim. "He can't be in prison."

"Not what you were hoping for?" Veronica guessed. "Apparently it's drug related, and yeah, he's not getting out anytime soon…"

"This isn't good," Troy spoke with a sad sigh. "The kid really needs this. He really needed to find this man. I know it's crazy, but I was hoping that maybe he'd meet his real dad, and it'd help him, you know? He'd see where he came from and things would make sense for him or something."

"Well, he does have a father that apparently loves him," Veronica spoke with a sigh. "I mean the man took him and raised him as his, right?"

"Are you sure this Jones guy is his father? I mean, is this the right guy?" Troy asked hopefully.

"Like I said, she dated the guy in high school for a little while. I mean, unless there's another Jones out there…."

"Yeah," Troy nodded. "Man, this just totally sucks!"

"I warned you it might not be pretty," Veronica said. "Look, for what it's worth, I can still look for the sister."

Troy lowered his head. "I don't know. I guess Eric needs to decide that right? I mean we've got to tell him about his father first, and then, I guess whatever he wants you to do….." Troy spoke his voice trailing off.

"This isn't the fairytale ending you were hoping for, is it?" Veronica asked. "Look, just because his biological father isn't going to swoop in and be all father of the year doesn't mean than this is the end of the world."

"Maybe not, but finding out your biological dad is in prison on a drug conviction can't be fun to hear," Troy frowned. "Man, things like this, makes me so glad I turned things around, you know."

Veronica let out a sigh, "Yeah, I guess so."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Logan walked into Dick's bedroom and watched in amusement as his friend stared down at the book in his lap.

"Are you actually studying?" he questioned.

"Dude, this psychology stuff isn't easy," Dick groaned. "I have, like, this paper to write, and it's blowing my mind!"

"Imagine that," Logan chuckled. "You do realize it's the weekend?"

"Totally, and as soon as I figure what these notes I wrote mean, I'm out of here," Dick nodded.

"Yeah, so anyway," Logan laughed, "I was wondering, what does one wear to a rap concert?"

"Dude, you hate rap," Dick spoke, shutting his book.

"I do, but Parker is friends with the guy, so to make the lady happy, I agreed to go." Logan trailed off as he leaned against the wall.

"Yeah, gotta make the rebound happy," Dick laughed.

"Rebound? Parker is not a rebound," Logan spoke sharply.

"Right, and Mars didn't own you when you were with her," Dick laughed. "Parker is totally hot man, I don't blame you for wanting a little of that."

"That's not why I'm with Parker," Logan frowned. "You know what, forget it. I need to get ready before Parker gets here."

"What is it with you and these chicks, man? You were all documentaries and bad boys gone good with Ronnie, and now you're going to rap concerts and listening to Justin Timberlake?" Dick spoke.

"Parker loves Justin Timberlake, it's not my fault she plays his music all the freaking time," Logan grumbled.

"Dude, she plays it at your place," Dick laughed. "The Dickster will never be caught letting some chick crack the whip with him like that."

"That's why the Dickster is still single," Logan shrugged.

"Nah. See, I can get the women, I just don't want to keep them," Dick spoke with a laugh. "It's all about knowing who you are dude," he added, slapping Logan on the shoulder.

"I think I'm the only one in this room that has never been married," Logan cracked, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, and I totally didn't want to keep her once I got her," Dick spoke with a cringe. "That was like a total fluke, it doesn't count. Seriously though, really doesn't take a genius to see that you're not into being alone, Echolls."

"Okay, I think it's time you put the psych book away," Logan frowned. "I think you're starting to quote your professor."

"Hey I'm cool with that, my professor is pretty hot for her age," Dick shrugged. "Someday, when I'm like forty, I'll settle down with a hot little bikini model and we'll have a Dick Jr. Jr. Right now, though? I'm totally cool with livin' it up and having a good time."

"Even if you can't remember most of it the next day?" Logan questioned.

"Whatever man, unlike you I don't have to have a chick to be all validated."

"Did you just use the word validated in a sentence that actually made sense?" Logan asked with a gasp.

"Yeah, I caught this talk show the other day, and it was all about being yourself," Dick laughed. "The host was all, 'you have to know who you are and love that person before you can share yourself with someone else'," Dick spoke with a mock accent. "It was funny stuff."

Logan stared at Dick and let out a tiny sigh. "I know I'm going to regret asking you this, but is this gibberish you're spouting supposed to actually mean something?"

"It means, be who you are, Dude, not who the chicks want you to be," Dick spoke with a shrug as he walked out of the room.

"Yeah, so he's never watching talk shows again," Logan spoke as he leaned against the wall and let out a heavy sigh.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Okay, how cool was it running into your mom and little brother at the mall?" Layla smiled as she and Wallace walked into Java the Hut.

"Yeah, and when she offered to show you my kindergarten picture, that was just the coolest," Wallace groaned.

"I think it's cute that she still keeps all those pictures in her wallet," Layla laughed. "You were very adorable in kindergarten by the way. Of course I think my favorite was that third grade picture where you were actually mid-eye roll."

"The guy messed up my hair, girl. I was beyond annoyed," Wallace laughed as a waitress showed them to their table.

"Okay be honest, you've kept me out tonight because of my party right?" Layla asked with a grin.

"Party? Girl, I don't what you're talking about."

"Sure you do, the one Troy has been planning for weeks," she giggled.

"Do you really think Troy is going to take time out of his busy schedule to throw you a party?"

"My cousin loves me, and he knows I've been kind of homesick lately," Layla beamed. "Plus I over heard him on the phone with a party shop a few days ago," she shrugged. "So you can admit it, my party is tonight, right?"

"So a guy takes you mini golfing, to the mall, and to a fabulous coffee place, and you think it's just so your cousin can throw you a birthday bash? That hurts!" Wallace spoke with a pained expression.

"Hey, I've had a blast tonight, but I'm totally on to y'all about this party thing."

Wallace dropped his head and sighed. "Troy's going to expect you to look all shocked when you walk in tonight," he spoke, looking up at her with a defeated smile. "The guy has worked hard on this party. Even Veronica agreed to help out."

Layla looked up surprised. "Veronica helped?"

"Yeah, she's over there right now getting things ready," Wallace nodded.

"So that's why Troy was so excited before I left. I wondered why he was acting like a giddy five year old!" Layla laughed.

"Yeah well, Veronica is doing this for me." Wallace spoke honestly.

"So she still has issues with Troy?" Layla frowned.

"Veronica has issues with everyone," Wallace answered back. "I guess after Lilly died, she figured that was the only way to survive."

Layla dropped her head. "Sometimes losing someone you love can do that to you. It can change you in ways you never imagined," she said quietly.

Wallace stared over at Layla and frowned, watching as she tapped the table nervously with her finger. "We're not talking about Veronica anymore, are we?"

Layla looked up at him and frowned. "The guy I was dating in high school, he was killed in a car wreck my junior year. It's complicated, but I kind of get why Veronica changed so much."

"I'm so sorry," Wallace said with a concerned look.

"Yeah, it really shook me for awhile. I wanted to tell you the other night, but then Troy came in….."

"Yeah, I'm just glad you felt like telling me now," Wallace nodded as he reached across the table and took her hand.

Layla nodded, "I don't want to talk about that right now. We're supposed to be celebrating my birthday right?" She squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile.

Wallace forced a smile. "Yeah, we are."

"Good, so tell me. What time does my surprise party start, anyway?" Layla grinned.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Almost an hour into Layla's party, Veronica found herself standing in a corner, diet soda in hand and watching everyone else have fun. It wasn't that she was purposely trying to have a bad time, she just really wasn't in a partying mood.

"You know, the fun is over there," Troy's voice sounded as he made his way to where she was standing and pointed back towards the crowd.

"Really? Because I'm having a blast over here!" she spoke with a huge grin.

"Okay, here's what I don't get about this whole antisocial thing you've got going on. Wallace, Mac and Piz are all here, and from what I can see they're your friends. Yet here you are, alone, watching them have a good time," Troy spoke shaking his head in disbelief.

"Wallace is preoccupied with Layla, Mac is here with Bronson, and it looks like Piz might be close to getting a date with that girl he's been talking to over there," Veronica pointed out.

"Well, I'm not trying to hook up with anyone, so feel free to hang with me tonight," Troy smiled.

"So does that mean all the girls have turned you down? Guess you really have lost your charm," Veronica spoke with a smirk.

"If I wanted one of the girls here, I could get her," Troy spoke firmly. "My charm has only intensified as I've gotten older, let me assure you of that.

"Ooh, guess I'm immune then," Veronica spoke, shrugging her shoulders as she smiled smugly.

Troy leaned against the wall, closing the gap between him and Veronica. Veronica could smell his cologne as he stared down at her and instantly realized he was wearing the same cologne he had worn when they dated. She wasn't sure why she hadn't noticed before, but it didn't matter. Troy was too close for comfort right now. She had always loved the way he smelled, but right now she just wanted to get away from him. She swallowed hard as his eyes pierced through her and she instantly looked away.

"The whole protesting too much thing, it's actually kind of cute," he spoke in a low tone. "The thing is, I know that deep down you really don't dislike me anymore."

"And you know this how?" Veronica asked arching an eyebrow.

"You've lost the venom in your voice," he spoke knowingly. "It's okay, I won't tell a soul," he whispered with a tiny laugh.

Veronica rolled her eyes. Troy wasn't right, he couldn't be. The guy in front of her had lied and schemed when he was with her. He had put on a façade and she had fallen for it. She believed he had changed, but at the same time, he could easily go back to his old ways, and if she ever let her guard down with him, it would be a mistake. The problem was, he didn't annoy her anymore, not really. He was almost like a different person, but his name was still Troy Vandegraff, and as long as she remembered that she would never allow herself to trust him.

"You really need to get over yourself," she spoke, but her voice was much weaker than she had intended.

"You first," Troy spoke his eyes never wavering as he looked down at her. "We're a lot alike if you think about it, Veronica. We've both reinvented ourselves, and that is no easy task."

Veronica bit her lip and looked around hoping to find a legitimate excuse to get out of her conversation with Troy. She saw Wallace, Piz and Layla all laughing on the deck and she smiled. "I'm going to go wish your cousin a happy birthday. Later, Troy," she spoke as she quickly walked away, refusing to look back. She still disliked Troy, she did, no matter how good he smelled.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Okay, admit it Ty is an amazing rapper!" Parker laughed as she and Logan walked to his suite.

"Rap has never really been a favorite of mine," Logan spoke honestly.

"Your Myspace says you're a Jay-Z fan!" Parker argued.

"Veronica and Mac did my Myspace for me. I only did the about me section," Logan explained. "I just haven't taken the time to change anything on it really."

"I could change it for you," Parker offered. "I won't put anything on it you don't want," she smiled.

"Thanks okay, I'll take care of it. So you really like that guy's music? Some of it sounded kind of off to me," Logan said.

"Ty is totally talented! He writes all his stuff himself!" Parker continued as she slipped her hand into Logan's hand and looked up at him adoringly.

"I'm just glad you had a good time," Logan smiled.

For some reason, he still hadn't been able to get what Dick had said to him off his mind. One logical moment from Dick, and his mind had been flooded with questions. There was no way any of what Dick said was right, though, Logan thought to himself. He knew who he was, and the women he dated didn't define him. He was Logan Echolls, and he didn't need Dick of all people to tell him what to do.

"I had an awesome time. Seriously Logan, I always have a great time with you," she added with a soft smile. "I'm going to miss you so much when summer begins," she frowned.

Logan returned Parker's smile. He was with this girl because he liked her, not because he needed to be in a relationship. Seriously, why was he giving what Dick had said so much thought, he pondered as he wrapped his arm around his girlfriend. Things with Parker were going good, and in time he hoped he'd be able to open up to her.

"You know, instead of you going back home, we could take a little vacation together," Logan suggested before he could stop himself.

"Are you serious?" Parker asked as her eyes lit up. "Logan, that would be great!" She added as she threw her arms around his neck.

"Yeah, anywhere you want to go, we'll just get away," he spoke, taking a deep breath.

"I thought you were going to spend the summer surfing with Dick?" Parker asked, pulling away.

"I spend enough time with Dick as it is," Logan spoke with a sigh. "I think we could use the summer apart."

Logan watched Parker's smile spread as they walked in to his place. His stomach dropped as he listened to her talk about all the places she had wanted to visit. He could make things work with Parker, not because he needed a woman to validate him, but because he liked her. Spending the summer together would be fun, he thought watching as Parker beamed at the idea of going somewhere exotic.

"Logan, you're the best thing that has happened to me in a long time," she said with a look of trust and taking both of his hands into hers. "I am so lucky to have you in my life."

"Yeah? Well I am kind of amazing," he quipped jokingly.

"I'm serious," Parker said seriously. "I love being with you. I haven't felt this way in so long, maybe ever," she added.

Logan felt his stomach drop as he looked at Parker. He had loved Lilly, loved her in that high school boy kind of way. With Veronica, it had been different. He didn't just love her, he had been in love with her. With both girls, he had known in a matter of weeks that what he had with them was special. He had fell hard and fast, but with Parker he just didn't feel anything that strong. He liked her, really liked her, but there were no butterflies and thoughts of forever, and he wasn't sure there ever would be. As much as he hated to admit it, maybe, just maybe Dick of all people had been right. Maybe he was scared to be alone, or maybe Parker was a rebound. Either way, he couldn't hurt her. He hadn't realized just how much she cared about him, but he knew, he couldn't let her fall any harder.

"Logan?" Parker questioned. "Are you okay?

He lowered his head and frowned. "Parker, we need to talk….."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"It's okay to like him," Wallace said as he and Veronica huddled in Troy's kitchen away from the crowds. The party had been going full swing for awhile, but Wallace had urged Veronica to come into the kitchen with him so he could talk to her.

"Excuse me?" Veronica asked, grabbing a soda from the refrigerator.

"Troy. V, you can be friends with the guy, nothing wrong with it," Wallace shrugged.

"I'm not friends with Troy Vandegraff!" Veronica argued, wrinkling her nose as she popped open the soda and took a sip.

"Mac told me that you two were almost flirty today," Wallace laughed. "She thinks you're going soft."

"Mac is the one doodling 'I heart Bronson' on her hot pink notebook," Veronica spoke, shaking her head. "It's a day I never thought I'd see. My level-headed Mac, has gone girl on me!"

"Well, then I guess she was wrong then," Wallace spoke sarcastically.

"I can assure you I was not flirting with Troy," Veronica cringed.

"Did you forget who you were talking to? This is your bff, I know you," Wallace reasoned, crossing his arms. "I saw the two of you in the corner tonight. The fact that you didn't taser him, tells me all I need to know."

Veronica dropped her eyes and tapped her foot lightly on the floor. "My taser was in my bag," she said."I might have used it, had it been on me."

"Really? Because it looked like the two of you were getting your flirt on," Wallace smirked.

"Did you just say get my flirt on?" Veronica asked with a teasing voice.

"Yeah, yeah, don't hate a man for being honest, V," he answered back with a shrug.

Veronica stared at her best friend and fought the urge to roll her eyes. She hadn't been flirting with Troy, had she? Obviously, Wallace was seeing things that weren't there. There was just no way she had been doing anything close to flirting with Troy. Bickering, yes, but flirting just wasn't possible.

"Shouldn't you be hanging out with your girlfriend?" Veronica teased with a smile.

"The avoidance tactic, that's denial if I ever saw it," Wallace needled back. "Anyway, Layla was the reason I wanted to talk to you. She actually opened up to me tonight about the ex-boyfriend."

"Ohh?" Veronica asked with glee in her voice. "So what's the story?"

"He's dead," Wallace spoke bluntly. "He died a couple years ago in a car accident."

"That's bad," Veronica frowned. "Are you the first person she's dated since he died?"

"I'm not sure, I think so. I hope so, anyway," Wallace frowned. "I mean, it was her junior year, so it's not like I'm just some guy she's using to get back into dating."

"No, of course not," Veronica agreed with a nod. "It's tough to lose someone like that," she added, lowering her head.

Veronica couldn't help but feel sorry for Layla. Losing Lilly had been horrible for her, and knowing that Layla had felt something similar made her wonder if that was why Troy had been so good to his cousin.

"Yeah, well now that I know, maybe it will make things easier for us now," Wallace nodded. "I mean she opened up to me, and that's huge!"

"It is," Veronica smiled. "Look at you, my little Wallace is growing up," she cooed teasingly.

"Please, I'm all man, Mars. In fact Miss Vandegraff wants me to hang out here after the party. You know when everyone leaves," Wallace winked.

"Hey, Veronica?" Mac spoke up, poking her head in the room.

"You and Bronson seem to be having a good time," Veronica smiled.

"Yeah," Mac frowned. "I'm going to have to leave though, I got a call from Parker and she's really upset."

Veronica swallowed. "Is everything okay?"

Mac lowered her head. "I think Logan broke up with her, which makes this really awkward," she spoke with a sigh. "Do you think you can get another ride home?"

"Yeah of course," Veronica nodded as her mind whirled. Logan and Parker were over? She hadn't seen that coming and honestly wasn't sure how to feel about it. She and Logan were over, but at the same time, they had been trying to work toward some time of normalcy. If she was honest with herself, she was a bit relieved to know that she wouldn't have to see Parker and Logan together anymore. She wasn't sure if that made her a bad person, but it was what it was.

"So I'll talk to you later?" Mac asked, earning a quick nod from Veronica. "The party was great Wallace," she added as she walked away.

Wallace turned quickly and looked at his friend. "Logan and Parker broke up…."

"It doesn't affect me," Veronica spoke quickly.

"I didn't say it did," Wallace spoke.

"Think you can give me a ride home tonight?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah well there was that whole Layla wanting me to stay thing….." Wallace grinned.

"Say no more," Veronica spoke, putting her hand in the air to stop Wallace from speaking again. "Maybe Piz is still here…"

"Yeah, he left a while ago," Wallace frowned. "Hey, I can give you a lift, I can always come back after I drop you off," he spoke with a sigh.

"No, I'll find another way home," Veronica shrugged. "It's no big deal."

"You know, I bet Troy wouldn't mind giving you a ride," Wallace said with a sly grin.

"You're just trying to get him out of the house," Veronica spoke knowingly.

"Not going to deny that," Wallace smirked.

Veronica forced a smile. The thing that scared her most about Troy driving her home was that it didn't bother her nearly as much as it should.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Did you have a good time tonight?"

Veronica looked up at Troy as he walked her to her door. She had told him she didn't need him to walk with her, but he refused to listen after seeing one of her neighbors staring at them. True, Mr. Clayton was a bit creepy, but after an extensive background search her dad had determined that he was just an old guy with a staring problem.

"Tonight wasn't horrible," Veronica nodded as she unlocked the door to her apartment.

"Yeah? We should all get together and hang out sometime. Your friends seem really cool," he smiled.

"My friends?" Veronica asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you're not exactly an outsider anymore, Veronica," Troy smiled. "Wallace, Mac, Weevil, and that Piz guy? You have people now, Veronica."

"Oooh, I have people," Veronica spoke with a teasing laugh. "I'm not sure, what does one do once they acquire people?"

"All I know is, I'd love to have as many friends as you do right now," Troy shrugged. "I'm more of an outsider now than you are."

"You do realize a lot of people at Hearst hate me, right?" Veronica questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not exactly Miss Popularity at school."

"Yeah well, I still get these stares sometimes, and I hear whispers because I'm that guy that got accused of rape," Troy frowned.

"That case was solved!" Veronica huffed.

"But I was accused and some people just don't forget things like that. It's like they think that if the cops thought I did it, then I must be capable or something," he frowned. "I mean, sure I've done a lot of stupid things, but rape?"

"So why did you decide to go to Hearst? I mean, there had to be at least one other college in the country that would have taken you," Veronica spoke, crossing her arms.

"It was one of my top choices actually," Troy shrugged. "Not all of us grew up with dreams of Sanford. Hearst is a great school, and I wasn't going to let what happened stop me from coming here. It sucks that I decided to skip a whole semester before starting as it is."

No, Veronica thought to herself, what sucked, was that Troy actually had substance to him. He was intelligent and seemed really into his education. It just didn't make sense, that the guy in front of her was the same person she knew in high school. She knew people could change, but seriously, Troy couldn't have changed this much.

"Yeah well, as impressed as I am with the new and improved you, I should get inside and study." Veronica spoke as she opened the door to her apartment.

"I'll see you later, Veronica," Troy smiled as he backed up and gave Veronica a two finger wave.

Veronica shook her head as she headed into her home and shut the door behind her.

"My beautiful young daughter, why must you worry your father so?" Keith Mars sounded as Veronica looked up.

"I'm sorry? I'm here on time, and I answered your call at the party. From where does this worry come exactly?" She responded, dropping her bag on the floor.

"You, outside, with Troy Vandegraff," Keith sighed as he walked over to Veronica. "Did you forget the whole conversation we had about him being shady?"

"Tell me Father, have you ever liked a guy that I've brought home?" Veronica challenged.

"Yes, there was this one guy, very nice fellow, but you decided to make him your best friend instead of dating him," Keith frowned. "It's a shame really, Wallace would have made an excellent son-in-law," he added with a grin.

"Ah, and had you disliked him I might have dated him," Veronica teased. "As far as Troy goes, he brought me home because Mac had to leave early. You don't have to worry about me ever making the mistake of dating him again."

"See, you say the words, yet I just can't be sure I believe you." Keith spoke with a frown.

"Believe it. Troy is just an acquaintance. Nothing more."

"He's already moved up to an acquaintance?" Keith frowned as he shook his head. "Enough about that Vandegraff kid though, a letter came for you today. You might want to take a look at it," Keith smiled, pointing to the coffee table.

Veronica gave her father a questioning look as she picked up the letter and stared down at it. "It's about my internship," she spoke, looking up at her father as she bit her lip. Slowly she ripped open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

"So? What's the good news?" Keith asked hopeful.

Veronica read the letter to herself, her face falling as she saw the words in front of her. Letting out a sigh she looked up at her father. "I didn't get it," she spoke sadly. "I didn't get the internship."

"Oh honey, I'm sorry," Keith frowned in sympathy.

"Yeah well, it was a long shot anyway right?" Veronica spoke with a tiny shrug. "I'm okay, really."

"Are you sure? Veronica, you really wanted that internship." Keith frowned, touching her shoulder with his hand.

"It's the story of my life," Veronica spoke. "Hey, at least I still have the PI test to take. I think we both know I've got that one in the bag."

"That's because you're my daughter," Keith smirked.

"That's right," Veronica nodded. "I think I'm going to go to bed. See you in the morning, Pops."

Keith smiled as he hugged his daughter gently. "I'm really sorry about the internship."

"Yeah, me too," Veronica admitted as she turned and headed to her bedroom.

She wasn't sure what she was going to do with her summer now. She had spent so much time expecting to get the internship that suddenly everything had changed. She knew she shouldn't be surprised that she had been passed up. One look into her records and anyone could see she had a habit for breaking the rules. Still, the idea of spending the summer learning more about the FBI would have been amazing.

As she walked into her room, she flopped down on her bed. Looking down at the floor, she saw a stuffed bear and a stuffed pony staring up at her. She almost laughed at the irony of the two stuffed animals in the floor. Logan was suddenly single, and Troy was apparently a decent guy. Neither of those things mattered to her though. The internship had mattered. She frowned as her cell phone rang in her pocket. She automatically recognized Logan's ring tone as she pulled the phone from her pocket. Staring at it for a second, she frowned as she set the phone on her nightstand, and let it ring.

Dog!

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:01:18 GMT

Okay sooo.... The dog someone tossed off here... Well...

I kept him... Meet Ty-Ty!!!!! Ignore the redeye lol!!!

Reunion....

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:46:34 GMT

So my 10 year reunion is coming up.. TEN YEARS!! I got a message from a girl I went to h.s. with the other day asking for my address etc, because they are working on the reunion.. It felt... strange.. I really can't believe I've been out of school for ten years!!

I have no plans on going to the actual reunion.. It's not really my thing.. I was pretty much over the whole high school thing, when I graduated. No looking back really. I mean yeah, there were alot of great people in my class, but I pretty much know where they are now, ya know? (Small town life and all). So I just really don't care to go.. And they usually honor the Ten year class at the homecoming football game, but I'll be at my cousin's game instead. (He's a senior this year, and he's more important since he's like a brother to me). Still, just to think it's been ten years kinda made me feel weird lol.. In my mind when I graduated, I expected to at least be married and have one kid by this point.. Of course, I'm happy with my life, but yeah, it's strange...I def. haven't done everything I wanted in these years, but my life is really awesome..

I dunno, it's just ten years...wow!

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:20:11 GMT

So I went out to my drive way yesterday to see if there was a sign that said, "Dump your unwanted animals here", there wasn't.. Yet what was in my yard Wens. morning? A Puppy. One that can't be more that 2 months old.. He's cute, and he's sweet, and he looks to have Daschund in him, although he's mixed with something else.. I'm still trying to figure out what... A breed bigger than a Dachund I assume...

Seriously though? Why is it always my house? With the two cats in my house, I can't let another live in the house with me.. But I still kinda want him lol... He's adorable.. It just annoys me that people can carelessly toss the animals out like that, and just HOPE someone takes them in.. Sadly, they usually toss them on me....

K rant over... I'll post a pic of the little guy soon, so maybe someone out there can tell me what he's mixed with.. Because I'm really curious lol....

Sidenote: Almost Like a Country Song is THISCLOSE to being a done chapter!

A few days off!!

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:16:50 GMT

No work until Monday!!! And I spend today, doing nothing!!! I actually slept late, which NEVER happens!!! I've worked so much lately, that a few days off will do me a whole lotta good!! It's been so long since I just did nothing.. (Well I did write a bit)..

Oh, and if anyone had wondered, my fics are not dead, and I'm working on all of them. It's just that lately, by the time I get home from work, I usually eat, feed India and Zimbee, and pretty much go to bed after maybe a hour of TV... Things should get less hetic soon though!!

But yay for a few days off!!!!

Ficlet: Parking Lot Promises Logan/Veronica PG

Sun, 25 May 2008 17:34:56 GMT

Title: Parking Lot Promises
Pairings/Characters: Logan/Veronica
Author:Brandee
Word Count: 1,280
Disclaimer: Rob Thomas owns all that is Veronica Mars. I own nadda, zilch, nothing…
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Takes place the same night of the series finale.
Summary:Oneshot. Staring over at him with a confused look, she realizes that Neptune High has never looked more familiar to her.
A/N: In my head this the way it went down. As a L/V fan this would be the missing scene for the finale, possibly the final scene that I wanted to see. It's just one I couldn't shake or get out of my head. I needed some hope and this was it. And I have to thank the amazingly awesome Esra for the beta. All mistakes after are mine.

She sees him the moment her feet hit the empty parking lot. His vehicle is parked next to hers, and with an uncertain smile, he’s leaning against the front of her SUV, waiting for her to come closer. She’s not sure why he’s there, or how he even found her. No one knew she was sneaking into their old high school for a case, yet there he was, watching, waiting. Staring over at him with a confused look, she realizes that Neptune High has never looked more familiar to her, and she has to admit as she walks closer to Logan Echolls, seeing him smiling at her feels so normal it scares her.

“Never thought I’d see you at this place again,” he speaks as she finally makes her way to him.

“Working a case,” she shrugs lightly. “ Logan , what are you doing here? Did you miss being the most popular guy at Neptune High?”

“Let’s not kid ourselves Mars; I’ll always be the most popular guy at Neptune High.”

“The last name again, you’re really going to hurt my feelings if you keep that up,” she smirks nervously. Honestly, she’s not sure why she’s nervous standing in front of Logan . He’s Logan , and she knows him, but he’s still Logan , and something about that, about the place they are in right now makes her shiver slightly.

“Forgive me Ve-ron-ica,” he speaks shaking his head in amusement.

“See much better,” she says forcing a gentle smile.

He laughs at he words and for a second she thinks she sees his eyes sparkle, even through the bruises on his face. “To answer your question though, I was driving around, and saw what appeared to be your car. I got curious so I thought I’d check it out. So, interesting case?”

“09er freshman needed some help,” she answers back. “The money was good, and I have to admit, I was a bit curious to see if they had changed the locks since my departure.”

“And?”

She grins but there is uneasiness in the air that is hard to ignore, “I got in didn’t I?”

“Breaking and entering, not a bad way to spend the night,” he chuckles.

“I get extra points for breaking into a school,” she quips with a tiny smile.

She takes a place beside him against the hood of her Saturn and he looks down at her and sighs, “I regret a lot of things that happened in that place,” he speaks nodding his head toward the school.

“Yeah?”

“Not everything though,” he speaks ducking his head slightly.

“Me either,” she admits as she kicks the hard cement with her right foot.

“Anything change in there?”

“My old locker is now decorated in pink hearts and pictures of Justin Timberlake and Zac Efron,” she speaks scrunching her face at the thought.

He laughs at the comment and sighs, “I wonder what mine looks like.”

“Miley Cyrus and Peyton Manning,” she answers back with a smirk.

“That is a really scary combination.”

“Yeah, I thought so too.”

There is silence between them for a moment and she’s really not sure what’s left to say. Their whole relationship has been a uphill battle full of words and emotions, and now as she stands with him in the parking lot where so many of those words and emotions took place, she feels speechless.

“How’s Piz?”

It takes her a second to realize what he’s just said, but when she finally grasps it, she looks up at him and sees him staring down at her patiently. His words weren’t filled with the bite she had expected, and the look on is face isn’t one of annoyance as he awaits her answer.

“We broke up,” she speaks before she can stop herself.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It was mutual,” she shrugs. “Life goes on right?”

“Yeah,” Logan agrees with a nod. “Life always goes on.”

“I voted for my dad today,” she speaks out of nowhere, “and then I watched Vinnie Vanlow become sheriff. Tomorrow though…”

“Life goes on,” Logan answers for her.

“You know, you’re really going to have to watch your back now. After what you did, Logan that guy has serious connections…”

“Your concern for my well being is touching,” Logan smiles down at her.

“I’m serious Logan .”

“So am I. I’m truly touched.”

And he is. Veronica can see it in his eyes as she looks up at him. He’s staring down at her full of sincerity. There’s a tiny part of her that knows she’ll never get this guy out of her system. He’s there, holding a special place that no one will ever be able to replace.

“Yeah, so this is awkward right?” Logan suddenly laughs and when she looks up at him his eyes beam down at her and she can’t help but laugh a bit herself.

“You noticed that too?”

“I’m very perceptive,” he nods. “I heard you got your internship. Veronica Mars, FBI agent, has a nice ring to it.”

“I might not take it,” she frowns.

“Why wouldn’t you take it?”

“Things are….complicated right now,” she speaks after a pause.

“The thing with your dad? I saw it in the paper,” he frowns. “Veronica, there is no way Keith is going to let you turn down a chance of a life time.”

“Who says I’m going to give him a choice?”

And he just looks down at her knowingly, because he’s Logan, and she’s Veronica, and they don’t really need words to say what they are thinking. It’s a messed up relationship they have, a tired song and dance, but it’s theirs, and even though it annoys her sometimes, Logan does know her, he knows her well.

“Well if you stay in town, we should get coffee sometime. If you promise to be nice I might even chip in for lunch,” he speaks in a careful tone.

“ Logan….”

“Two friends can get coffee Veronica, and yes, sometimes when they’re hungry, they can even get lunch,” he smirks.

“And if I don’t stay in town?”

“You should call me sometime, only if you want to, because I’ll be here Veronica, I’ll always be here,” he speaks softly.

“You’re such a girl,” she jokes as her eyes fall to the ground.

“I’m a sensitive male, not afraid to share his feelings and emotions,” Logan smirks, “I am not and will never be a girl.”

She stares up at him with a smile she can’t hide and shakes her head in amusement. “I should go.”

“I’ve overstayed my welcome?” He questions with a frown.

“No, it’s just that, I’ve got to feed Backup,” she speaks quickly. “Besides, being back here, it just feels strange,” she speaks as she points up at their old high school.

He nods his head and steps away from her car. “Have a good summer Veronica,” he smiles with a tiny smile. “The offer about lunch is still good.”

“The phone call too?” She questions.

“Well I might answer,” he jokes with a laugh.

She smiles before she can stop herself, because deep down she knows that things between her and Logan are going to be okay. They won’t be fixed in a day, but if she allows herself, they can get their friendship back on track. It’s a start to the healing she desperately needs, to the changes she kind of thinks she wants, and that in itself makes her feel better about the summer ahead.

“Have a good summer Logan,” she echoes his sentiment just as he starts to walk away.

“Yeah I think I will,” he speaks softly. “I think we both will.”

Ugh!

Sat, 24 May 2008 16:12:19 GMT

I've lost my voice! Ugh. I've got this annoying sinus infection, (what else is new) and for the past two days I've had no sense of smell.. This morning I wake up, and I can breathe again, but when I went to speak to Zimbee (Who was sitting on my chest DEMANDING food) my voice came out a bare whisper.. I knew yesterday it was starting to go, but I was reallllly hoping I was wrong.

Sadly the people in my family find it amusing, because well, I talk alot and now I can't... I'll be so glad when this is all cleared up!

In other news Justin Chambers totally made the season finale of Grey's for me Thursday night!! Dreamy, Steamy? Meh! Give me Alex anyday! I'm also very happy David Cook won American Idol. Sidenote: Jason Castro is the prettiest boy ever!!

Ficlet: Between Holding On and Letting Go Casey/Veronica

Tue, 13 May 2008 21:36:44 GMT

Title: Between Holding On and Letting Go
Pairings/ Characters: Casey/Veronica
Author: Brandee
Word Count: 1,129
Disclaimer: Rob Thomas owns all that is Veronica Mars. I own nadda, zilch, nothing…
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Futurefic
Summary: He's still smiling at her, so sure of his feelings and she can't help but wonder how people can just feel without question. Casey/Veronica Fic
A/N: So sometimes these little ficlets hit me, and I have to run with them. This one came out of nowhere, and I had to go with it. Oh, and just so everyone knows.. Katie? She still totally rocks!!

"What are you doing?"

"Falling in love with you."

He says these words to her five months after their first date. Five and a half months after she saw him at Java the Hut and he asked her out. She had said no, but with a grin he promised her that eventually she'd give in. She had laughed at first, because after her last breakup with Logan she had sworn off men forever. Two dozen roses and a huge box of chocolates later, however, Wallace had talked her into giving this guy a shot, and up until now she had felt as if this was her most normal relationship ever.

Now though, they are standing just outside the apartment she shares with Wallace, and he's looking down at her with a smile that is full of confidence. Casey Gant is falling in love with her, and she honestly has no idea what to say to that.

"Veronica?"

"You really don't want to do that," she speaks, her voice hesitant.

"Yeah, I kind of do."

Her first reaction to his words is to run, because seriously this just isn't a good idea right now. She's terrible at relationships and if she lets herself fall too hard for him she knows, she just knows, it'll end badly. He's still smiling at her, so sure of his feelings and she can't help but wonder how people can just feel without question.

"Casey…"

"Hey, I'm not looking for a declaration of love from you or anything," he smiles softly. "I just thought I'd throw it out there, because it's true. I'm falling in love with you, Veronica Mars, and you know what, it feels pretty good," he laughs.

She smiles up at him before she can stop herself. She's twenty-four years old, and she's already sure that she'll spend her life alone. She knows how pathetic that makes her, but she just can't shake that feeling.

"I just… I don't want to ruin this."

"You're not," Casey assures her. "I know it's hard for you to trust and let yourself fall. You're life hasn't been easy, and I totally get that. See, I'm an understanding guy. I'm okay with doing this your way," he adds. "I think that kind of makes me amazing, but I don't know, I'll let you be the judge," he smirks.

He puts his hand on her upper arm and rubs it in a light, calming motion. It makes her feel safe, but for Veronica, safe scares her more than it should. Still, she reasons with herself, even after her wide-eyed glare and negative reaction he's still smiling at her. Casey is playing for keeps, and if she would just allow herself, she's almost positive making things work with him would be worth it.

"How can I resist a guy that not only knows how great he is, but has no problem saying it?" She teases as his arms glide around her waist.

"You can't, I'm irresistible! Four out of five women agree," he jokes with a smile.

"And that fifth woman, where can I find her? I'd like to find out what you did to cause her to resist you."

"Oh her? Yeah, I bought her off," he speaks with a shrug. "I can't have her exposing my one tiny flaw."

This is what she loves about them, about the way they work. The laughter, and the teasing, the way he makes her feel so carefree. He kisses the top of her head and she sighs as she looks up at him. He makes her want to believe that they stand a chance, and that in itself scares her.

"Are you eating with us tonight? Wallace is making homemade pizza," she speaks.

"I'd love to, but I'm supposed to meet with some of the suits on the hospital board to talk about the new children's wing. All they really care about is getting my money, but I do want to make sure it's spent right, you know?"

"Selfless and caring. Seriously, that fifth girl really didn't exist, did she? You just made her up because you didn't want to admit to actually being perfect," she speaks teasingly.

He blushes slightly at her words and rolls his eyes. "According to my parents I'm just throwing my money away."

"I still can't believe your parent's are upset with you for wanting to help sick children," she groans.

"You're surprised that the rich in Neptune are greedy and selfish?"

She laughs. "I'm just glad that you're not greedy and selfish."

"I'm glad you gave me a chance, considering I was greedy and selfish in high school," Casey smirks.

"That was you?" She teases as he kisses her once more. "See, I remember this other guy. He sat with me at a campfire one night. He was actually pretty cute."

"Good, because that's the guy that's crazy about you."

She blushes and lowers her head. She feels his hand brush against her cheek and she looks up to see his dark eyes staring down at her. If her life were a movie, this would be where she would kiss the amazing guy looking at her. This moment, it would be the one that they would talk about for years to come, but Veronica knows her life isn't a movie. Instead, her eyes waiver away from his before she can stop herself.

"You know, Veronica, I'm going to take this as slow as you want," he speaks softly. "I'm also going to make sure you understand, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here. If you want me, I'm here."

"You know I'm a mess, right? Ask anyone, this relationship thing, it's not something I'm good at," she admits with a frown. "I just... apparently I have issues. That's what I hear anyway, issues…."

He stops her rambling with a kiss, a hot, sultry kiss, as he pulls her to him and she's surprised to find herself completely lost in him. When he pulls away she's out of breath and he's smiling, and all she can do is smile back.

"I'm up for the challenge," he answers with a tiny smirk. "I guess the question is, are you?"

She takes a deep breath and lets it out because she knows this moment, it's the one that will matter. She can either screw this up, or she can go all in and make it work. The problem, she thinks to herself, is she's never really gone all in before. She's tried before, with Duncan and Logan, desperately with Logan, but fear and doubt always overtook her. This isn't Duncan or Logan however, and she's not the same girl she was, when she was with them.

She wraps her arms around his neck and smiles up at him. "This girl? She is all yours, Gant."

"See, that's what I want to hear. Baby, you just stick with me and you'll be alright," he teases as he places a tiny kiss on her nose.

"That's the plan," she speaks honestly. "That is most definitely the plan."

Fic: Almost Like A Country Song Troy/Veronica PG-13

Tue, 13 May 2008 03:38:39 GMT

Fic Title: Almost Like A Country Song 8/?
Author: Brandee
Pairings: Veronica/Troy eventually, Logan/Veronica, Logan/Parker, Wallace/OCC
Word Count: 6,123
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: S3 up to Papa's Cabin, pretty much AU after that..
Summary: He played her once, will she give him a chance to play her again?
Disclaimer: Mine? Nope!!
Warnings: Eventually will be Troy/Veronica, with Logan tossed into the mix.. So yep, that's the warning.... Oh, and Piz and Veronica? Never, ever, happened. I mean never, nothing, nadda.
A/N: I have to say that katjs11 is awesome..SHe has been so totally busy yet she still made time for my lil ole' fic! She's kinda amazing! This fic will be filled with Wallace and Veronica friendship goodness, because without Wallace, would Veronica had ever been a marshmallow?

Troy smiled to himself as Veronica walked over and plopped down on the bench next to him. He was waiting for his next class, hoping to squeak by on the test he had studied all night for. He looked over at her, and couldn’t help but smirk. She was wearing her bangs down again, her eye makeup slightly heavier than usual, and honestly, he couldn’t deny how hot she really was.

“You mean you’re actually crossing enemy lines and sitting next to me today, Veronica?” Troy questioned. “I’m not only honored, I’m touched,” he spoke, touching his heart with his right hand.

“As you should be,” Veronica spoke with a tiny smirk as she crossed her arms against her chest. Glancing over at his open book, she stared at him for a moment. “Big test today?”

“Yeah, huge, and I know I’m going to blank out when I get to class.”

“A couple girls came into the library last night studying for the same test. They looked completely petrified,” she chuckled.

“I know the feeling,” Troy groaned. “I keep telling myself I can’t fail this test, and I think that’s just making things worse.” Watching as Veronica stared down at her own books, he forced a tiny smile. “So was there a specific reason why you decided to come over here? I mean other than the fact that I look devilishly handsome today.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “I need more info before I can go further with Eric’s case. I went over the file last night, and I have nothing to go on really.”

“The letters didn’t help?” Troy asked with a frown.

“I have a letter that says his biological father’s name is J. Jones. I need a first name, something more.”

Troy knew that the two letters didn’t really clarify anything. There was one letter Eric’s mom had written and never sent that just called his father JJ. All the envelope had on it was the name J. Jones, no address, nothing. The second letter had been from Eric’s father, it had talked about the fact that he was married, and had to stand by that family, even though he loved Eric’s mother. Still, Troy had thought maybe the letters would give Veronica something to work with.

“It’s going to be hard. Eric doesn’t want his parents to know what he’s doing,” Troy frowned.

“Has he ever thought that if he asked his mother, she might just tell him the truth?” Veronica asked.

“Never going to happen,” Troy shrugged. “His mother has built her whole life around her husband. He’s the one that raised Eric, she isn’t going to tell him anything about the man that walked off and left her.”

“Well I need more then,” Veronica spoke bluntly. “A first name, an old address, anything.”

“Eric said he found those letters in the attic, so maybe there is more there?” Troy questioned. “I’ll give him a call later and see what he can find.”

“Maybe you should also prepare him for the fact that he might not get a happily ever after,” Veronica added with a frown.

“Personally, I like to believe that happily ever after does exist,” Troy shrugged. “I mean it’s just me, and I may be totally wrong on all this, but I like to think that every now and then, peace, happiness and love really do happen,” he spoke in a wistful tone.

“As moved as I am by that beautiful and poignant speech,” Veronica smirked, “I am a realist and I can assure you that happy ever after is a myth someone came up with to sell greeting cards and romantic movies.”

“This has nothing to do with romantic movies. This is about a kid trying to find out where he came from, and you know what, yeah, I think that there’s a chance Eric could find his real dad and it not be some tragic ending.”

“The guy had an affair and refused to own up to his responsibilities!” Veronica spoke with wide eyes. “You really think he’s going to be happy to meet Eric?”

“That was years ago,” Troy spoke. “Anything is possible, Veronica.”

“And this has been Troy Vandegraff with today’s feel good message of the day,” Veronica smirked, clapping her hands together twice.

“You really are adorable when you do that whole sarcastic girl against the world thing,” Troy laughed. He wasn’t sure if complimenting Veronica was a good idea, but he couldn’t help himself. The truth was Veronica wasn’t adorable, she was sexy, Troy just didn’t think telling her that would help him.

“Maybe I should just call Eric myself. I’m pretty sure I can handle this without your help,” Veronica pointed out.

“I’ll talk to him, he’s still kind of confused on the whole teenage PI thing you’ve got going on,” Troy sighed.

“And I’m still confused with the whole ‘you as a mentor’ thing, but I’ve accepted it and moved on. Look, if this kid isn’t interested in me helping him, I need to know now. I have other jobs, and those people, they’re not questioning my ability,” Veronica huffed.

“He wants you to help him. He just has a lot going on right now. I mean, he was up in his attic cleaning, and bam, he finds out his dad isn’t his dad. On top of that the kid is working really hard to get his act together, you know? It just sucks for him.”

“Life in general sucks, your buddy Eric just learned that the hard way,” Veronica frowned as she stood to her feet. “More info,” she added looking down at Troy. “I’ll look at his file again tonight, but seriously, anything else he can give me would be a big help.”

“I’ll tell him,” Troy nodded. “Veronica thanks again for doing this. I know you could have turned Eric down, so really it means a lot that you agreed to help.”

“It’s a job, Troy,” Veronica shrugged. “It looked like an interesting case, that’s all.”

“Interesting case, yeah,” Troy smiled. “I still appreciate your help, though.”

“Yeah well, I have to meet up with someone before class,” Veronica spoke, looking around with a sigh. “Good luck on that test.”

“Thanks,” Troy smiled as Veronica nodded her head and turned and walked away. Watching as she disappeared into the crowd of students Troy laughed quietly. “I think she was just nice to me,” he spoke to himself as he grabbed his book to study one last time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan let out a sigh as he watched Veronica talk to Troy Vandegraff. He saw her smile at Troy as she stood up and he couldn’t help but wonder why she was suddenly so friendly with that particular ex. He knew he was the last person to throw stones, but still Troy Vandegraff wasn’t exactly a person who should be trusted.

Taking a step, Logan watched as Veronica neared him, “Mars, wait up!”

He watched as Veronica stopped and turned to look at him, “Echolls, why are we still doing the last name thing?”

“Sorry, it just kind of slipped out,” Logan spoke. “Hey, Vandegraff hasn’t been bothering you, has he? I saw you talking to him and if he is….”

“I started the conversation,” Veronica shrugged. “I’m working a case for a friend of his.”

“You know all work and no play can get tiresome, Mars,” Logan smirked, “I mean Veronica.”

“Play gets one in trouble, while work puts food on the table.”

“Yeah so, I just wanted to let you know that a certain burgundy pull over of yours has been recovered from the mouth of my terrifying closet.”

Veronica’s eyes lit up slightly. “I thought it has been tossed! How did you find it?”

Logan dropped his head and let out a nervous laugh, “Parker actually found it while she was looking around in my closet.”

“Oh awkward,” Veronica grimaced.

“Yeah, explaining things was a real hoot,” Logan spoke with a tight grin.

“What’s to explain? We were together for a long time, Parker knows that,” Veronica spoke, crossing her arms against her chest.

“Yeah, I guess it was just weird for her.”

Logan watched as Veronica started to speak but then stopped. She bit down on her lip and let out a sigh. “I’m assuming the shirt is still at your place?”

“Yeah, I knew you always liked it for some reason, so I just thought I’d let you know. I’m sure you have more stuff there, you know that we missed after the….”

“Right yeah, so I’ll just come by and pick it up when I get a chance.” Veronica nodded quickly.

Logan agreed with a nod. Things had never been this strained between him and Veronica. During their other breakups, they had at least been sarcastic or pleasant. This time however, carrying on a conversation was hard to do. Veronica just seemed so distant, as if she’d rather be anywhere but near him.

“Maybe we can talk, then? Veronica, I don’t want things to be like this between us.”

“Communication has never been one of our high points, Logan,” Veronica spoke with a stiff smile.

“Because we never worked at it,” Logan sighed with regret. “I was just hoping we could get past the weirdness.”

“Is there some sort of ex’s counseling you’d like us to take?” Veronica asked with a frown. “We’re us Logan, this is what we do.”

“No, we used to snark back and forth, now when we speak to each other it feels so….”

“I know,” Veronica spoke, “I get it. We’re in a weird place, maybe that’s because this time things are really final,” she added through a deep breath.

“Final,” Logan drawled staring at her blankly. “Do you really think it’s just that simple?”

Logan knew that they were over, and he knew he was with Parker now, but for Veronica to say it was final, to suggest that they would ever be final, was crazy to him. After all they had been through, he couldn’t imagine he and Veronica as just two people who simply dated for a time.

“Yeah,” Veronica breathed, “I think it kinda has to be.”

“But we’re not simple Veronica, never have been,” Logan frowned.

“Are you saying I’m a complicated person?” Veronica spoke with a tiny grin. “Why Logan Echolls, I’m as simple as they come.”

Logan chuckled, “Yeah, nothing complicated about you at all…”

“I really need to go. Wallace had something he needed to talk to me about before my class. I’ll call before I come to get the shirt.”

“Veronica…”

"We’re good Logan, really,” she spoke with an insistent tone.

“Glad to hear it,” he replied, doubt seeping in through his words.

He watched as Veronica forced a tiny smile as she brushed passed him and quickly headed away. Yeah, he thought to himself, they were doing great, simply fantastic.

~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wallace watched as his best friend fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. She had been sitting in his room for five minutes and he could tell something was bothering her. Not that anything actually bothered Veronica Mars.

“So who did you talk to before coming to see me? Logan? Troy? Parker?” Wallace questioned with a knowing smile.

Veronica looked up at him in surprise. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, whatever girl. Those are the only three people I can think of that would get you in this quiet mood of yours.”

“I came to see you because you called and said you had a problem,” Veronica sighed. “Let’s talk about your problem now, shall we?”

“I’m good with that, but we’re gettin’ back to why you’re all jittery before you leave,” Wallace spoke as he fell onto his bed with a thud. Veronica relaxed on Piz’s bed and smiled over at him, obviously trying to ignore her own problems.

“So this problem you’re having, does it involve a girl?” Veronica grinned.

“Layla got all weird on me the other night. Somehow her ex got mentioned and she just kinda shut down. You know what this is, don’t you? The girl is still in love with him,” Wallace groaned. “I should have known something would mess this up. I mean, I’ve found this awesome girl, and just the mention of her ex and it’s like her heart’s all broke again.”

“Okay, before you totally freak out and blow this whole thing,” Veronica spoke with an animated hand gesture, “I’d like to hear what was actually said during this conversation.”

“She just mentioned that she only had one serious boyfriend in high school, and of course I was all, ‘yeah and I bet you broke the poor guy’s heart’, and she just froze up and said he broke her heart,” Wallace frowned. “She was about to tell me something else, but Troy came bounding in looking for you…”

“K, so first of all, where did you get that it was a good idea to talk about past relationships this soon?” Veronica asked. “Second, before you decide Layla is going to dump you to run home to this ex, maybe you should find out what else she wants to tell you.”

“Wow, coming from someone who claims to have given up on love, that’s actually good advice,” Wallace grinned.

“Hey, I’m not saying you shouldn’t expect the worse, just that maybe we should dig more before calling this one dead on arrival,” Veronica shrugged.

“You’re not doing any digging Veronica,” Wallace spoke quickly, sitting up. “I’ll just talk to Layla, give her a chance to explain.”

“How optimistic of you,” Veronica smirked.

“Hey, didn’t you just tell me to find out what’s going on before I dismiss this relationship?” Wallace asked. “You really are all over the map today, Mars!”

“I could find out for you, and then you wouldn’t have to wonder if what Layla says is truth or fiction. I mean it shouldn’t be too hard to find some of her old classmates or something…”

“I’ll talk to Layla,” Wallace spoke bluntly. “Now let’s talk about what’s got you all out of shape.”

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you,” Veronica smiled.

“You haven’t been perfectly fine ever, Mars,” Wallace sighed. “So who was it? Troy? Parker? Wait, it was Logan, wasn’t it?”

“While it’s true that I spoke to both Logan and Troy today, it’s really no big deal.” Veronica shrugged. “I was actually very pleasant to Troy, you would have been proud of me, I even wished him luck on his exam.”

“That must have hurt you,” Wallace joked.

“Well, I’m going to be working a case for a friend of his, so I’ve got to at least attempt to look at him without rolling my eyes.”

“Or maybe he’s starting to get to you again,” Wallace smirked.

“You’ve always had a soft spot for that guy, haven’t you?” Veronica spoke with an eye roll.

“Hey now,” Wallace defended, “I hated what he pulled on you, but the guy was always nice to me. Unlike all your other ex’s he never treated me like the token best friend of the girl he was dating.”

“Logan and Duncan were nice to you,” Veronica sighed.

“Yeah, but it was always more of a conditional thing,” Wallace shrugged. “Speaking of Logan, you said you talked to him today?”

“Yeah,” Veronica frowned, “I guess he found a shirt of mine,” she shrugged. “It was nothing really, we talked, he said things are still weird, I told him things are final, and we left it at that.”

“Whoa, hold up,” Wallace spoke shaking his head. “You told Logan Echolls things are final? Are you really sure about that? I mean do you need to be throwing around words like that, unless you know it’s over for real this time?”

“I know it’s over this time,” Veronica shrugged. “I don’t get the big deal, he’s with Parker now, we’re over, over means final.”

“No, final means final, over for you two just means not together now,” Wallace explained with wide eyes.

“Why do all the men in my life make things so over dramatic?” Veronica asked falling back on the bed. “Logan and I are still friends…. Or something,” she added after a pause.

“It’s the or something that always gets you in trouble with him,” Wallace pointed out.

“So wait a second,” Veronica asked turning over to look at her best friend. “Do you think I’m falling for Troy again, or still hung up on Logan? Not that either one of those theories is right,” she added quickly. “And you say I’m all over the map today!”

Wallace stared at her intently, “I don’t know Mars, maybe you’re doing both.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours after her talk with Wallace Veronica found herself standing in front of Logan’s door. She had called before and he had assured her it would be fine for her to come by. She wasn’t sure if Parker was with Logan, but for her own sanity she was kind of hoping against it. She liked Parker, she did, and she was doing better with the idea of them as a couple, but it had been a long day, and she just really wanted to get her shirt and go.

She knocked three times, the first time a soft uncertain knock, and then twice more, harder but still without confidence. She stepped back slightly and for a moment she thought about leaving. Logan was going to want to talk, talk about them, talk about their issues, and she just didn’t want to do that.

The door swung open and when she looked up Dick was staring down at her smirking. “Is Logan here, Dick?”

“You come to beg him back, Ronnie?” Dick asked with a grin.

“No,” Veronica spoke with a bright smile. “I came to profess my undying love to you. I tried so hard to stay away, but I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

Dick smirked again, “Dude, I’ve been totally expecting to hear this from you for awhile. I mean really how you could resist all of this,” he spoke, gesturing with his hands up and down his body.

“Shut up Dick,” Logan’s voice bounded as he came into view. “You also need to make yourself disappear,” he added, staring at his friend. “Like now.”

“Dude, I’m totally out the door,” Dick spoke with a grin. “I met this hot chick last night and I’m pretty sure the Dickster is going to get lucky tonight,” he boasted as he headed out the door.

“Gosh, I missed him,” Veronica chimed in with a smile.

“I can tell,” Logan laughed gently. “You know I was kind of surprised you decided to come by today.”

“I wanted to pick up the shirt,” she shrugged.

“You must really like that shirt,” Logan noted.

Veronica let out a deep breath. “I bought it with Meg, the last time we went shopping,” she offered staring down at her feet. “She got one just like it in pink, and teased that we should wear them the next day.”

“Oh Veronica, I didn’t realize…” Logan began.

“No, it’s not big deal,” she spoke quickly. “It’s just that’s why I want to hang onto it.”

He looked at her with his sad eyes, and Veronica felt the need to run. She hated that look, the one that said he felt bad for her, that he knew how she felt and wished he could change things. She didn’t like getting that look from anyone, because it made her feel weak, and she didn’t have time to feel weak.

“You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said,” he frowned. “The whole us being final thing?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t buy it,” Logan shrugged honestly. “This is us Veronica, and after everything we’ve been through, we’ll never be final,” he sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I mean I know we’re not together anymore, and I’m with Parker now, but final is a word that I just don’t think we can ever use.”

Veronica looked up at him and saw his darks eyes watching her carefully. She knew if she came to his place, he’d want to talk. She had expected this very conversation from the moment she walked in the door. Apparently she couldn’t avoid it, because she knew Logan, and he wasn’t going to let her.

“It’s not like I was saying we’re out of each other’s lives, or that we can’t still talk. I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean that us as a couple, that we’re over.”

“Then say that Veronica, because the way you made it sound, you wanted me out of your life,” Logan frowned.

“I just don’t know how to do this,” she admitted honestly.

“And you think I do?” Logan questioned. “I just want us to feel normal around each other again. I don’t get why it doesn’t this time.”

Veronica wasn’t sure how to answer Logan. Their breakup this time hadn’t been a shouting match really. Logan had slept with Madison, but they hadn’t been together at the time. Veronica’s own issues forced her to walk away and she knew that. She couldn’t blame him for something he had done when they were apart, but she still couldn’t deal with the mental images in her head.

“Do you really expect things to ever be easy for us?” Veronica questioned. “I mean this is who we are, right?”

“No, this isn’t who we are, Veronica,” Logan frowned. “I get that I screwed up. I slept with Madison, and even though we weren’t together at the time, I get that you couldn’t deal with it. I just want us to stay friends. I can handle your sarcasm, but your lack of sarcasm? That’s what really freaks me out.”

“Look Logan…” Veronica began just as her cell phone started to ring. Pulling it from her bag she frowned, “I need to take this.”

“Yeah of course,” Logan nodded in response.

Veronica sighed as she answered the phone, “Veronica Mars here.”

“Troy Vandegraff here,” a voice laughed into the phone.

“I hope you’re calling because you’ve got something I can work with?” Veronica spoke, looking over at Logan as he moved slightly away to give her space.

“Well, I was going to start off by saying I’m pretty sure I passed by exam, but since you’re not in the mood for small talk…” Troy spoke as his voice trailed off.

“I’m sorry do you have me confused with someone else? Veronica Mars, she doesn’t do the small talk. So information? You do have some, am I right?”

“I do indeed,” Troy spoke. “Eric found a box of letters his mom has been writing for years now. They’re all to his biological father, no address or anything. Maybe one of them will help you?”

“Letters? So what, she wrote them but never sent them?” Veronica asked.

“Looks that way.”

“Can you bring them by the office tonight? I’ll call Weevil and see if he can help me go through them.” Veronica suggested, looking over to see Logan looking at her at the sound of Weevil’s name.

“You know, if you asked nicely I might be willing to help,” Troy spoke with a hopeful tone.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Veronica smiled into the phone. “I’ll call you back later and let you know when to meet me at the office, okay?”

“Thanks again for doing this, Veronica,” Troy spoke. “Eric really needs this.”

“I haven’t found his father yet,” Veronica warned. “I’ll call you later, Troy,” she added as she hung up her phone.

“She’s always a workin’,” Logan smiled over at her.

“A girl has to have a hobby,” Veronica spoke, returning the smile.

“And what a hobby to have,” Logan sighed. “You know it’s really big of you to help Troy Vandegraff after what he did.”

“Yeah well, you know me, heart of gold and all,” Veronica laughed tensely.

“Yeah, I do know you,” Logan nodded.

Veronica swallowed hard at the intense look on his face. “I guess I should get my shirt and go. It looks like I have another busy night ahead of me.”

“It’s in my bedroom, I’ll go get it for you.” Logan nodded as he slowly headed toward his bedroom.

Veronica crossed her arms and sighed as she waited for him to return. It was strange for her, being at Logan’s, yet not being with Logan. Every phase in their relationship had been complex and complicated. They had been friends, enemies, lovers, and now, now, she wasn’t really sure what they were. It didn’t feel like a friendship, but he was no longer her enemy, it was a new phase, one that confused her.

“Here’s the shirt,” Logan spoke, causing Veronica to snap out of her thoughts. She watched as he walked toward her and with a tiny smile, she met him half way.

“Thanks so much for this,” she spoke sincerely. “I really need to get going though. I’ve got work to do.”

“About what we talked about…” Logan began.

“Yeah,” Veronica nodded. “I promise next time I pass you in a hallway I’ll do my best to out snark you,” she smiled. “I just have this case tonight…”

“Right, the case you’re doing for Troy,” Logan nodded with a tight smile.

“Technically it’s for his friend Eric. The kid just needs some answers, and he’s paying a decent amount of cash to get them.”

Logan smirked. “I knew you wouldn’t take a case involving Troy for free.”

“When do I take a case for anyone for free?” Veronica questioned with a laugh.

“Good point,” Logan nodded. “I’m really glad we had a chance to talk,” he added.

Veronica stared at him for a moment and then forced a smile. “Yeah, me too.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“You better be paying double for tonight, V. I had other plans until you called.” Weevil grumbled as Veronica unlocked the door to Mars Investigations and let him in.

“Watching reruns of Family Guy does not count as other plans,” Veronica spoke with a tiny laugh.

“Hey how’d you….”

Veronica smirked and Weevil shook his head and let out a tiny groan.

“You think you own people with that sugary sweet voice of yours don’t you, Mars?” Weevil asked as he flipped on the lights.

“Sugary sweet voice? I thought it was the head tilt,” Veronica practically chirped.

“I’ve got to be up at 3 a.m. you know,” Weevil frowned. “You really need to read all those letters tonight?”

“It’s my job, and if you want to get paid for it, it’s your job too,” Veronica spoke, taking a seat at her desk. “Now if Troy would just get here…”

“See this is what I’m talkin’ about with you, V,” Weevil spoke plopping down in a chair. “You can’t get those rich boys out of your blood. You know what’s even more twisted? You keep recycling the same ones!”

“First I rotate, now I recycle? Really Weevs, tell me how you really feel,” Veronica spoke with a tight smile.

“Like it really matters, you’re going to do whatever you want, V. I’m just warnin’ ya, those rich boys, they’re poison for you.”

“Thank you, for that insightful advice on my non-existent love life. However, let me warn you that the next time I see you flirting with a hot rich girl, I’m going to remind you of this conversation.”

Weevil smirked and was about to speak when the door flung open and Troy rushed in holding two pizzas.

“I’m sorry I’m late!” He spoke with a frown.

“Um, is this movie night and I didn’t get the memo?” Veronica questioned, staring at the pizzas in his hands. “What are you doing?”

“The box of letters is in the car. I just figured we’d all be hungry so, I brought food.”

“I’m sorry, we’d be hungry?” Veronica frowned. “I told you, Weevil is going to help me.”

“It’s a lot of letters,” Troy spoke setting the pizza down on the desk. “Look, I can help, Veronica. Please stop being so stubborn and just let me help,” Troy sighed.

“How many letters are we talking?” Veronica asked, crossing her arms.

“A lot, apparently Eric’s mom kind of wrote letters to his biological dad up until his first brother was born. So yeah, the woman wrote a lot of letters, she just never mailed them. Eric wants them back in place as soon as possible too. He’s so freaked she’s going to figure all this out.”

“V, if you want the guy to leave…” Weevil piped up.

Veronica let out a sigh. “I suppose three sets of eyes would be better,” she spoke, staring up at Troy. “This is the only time you’re helping though,” she warned. “I can handle it from here.”

“So does that mean we can eat the pizza?” Weevil smirked.

“Dig in,” Troy offered with a smile. “I got extra cheese on both of them because I know Veronica likes it.”

“I’m not really big on pizza,” Veronica spoke with a frown.

“Sure you are, I even ordered your favorite,” Troy smiled sheepishly. “Remember that night you, me and Wallace went to that pizza place just outside of town? The two of you fought for like twenty minutes about toppings.”

Veronica lowered eyes and caught Weevil smirking as he grabbed a piece of pizza. It was going to a long night, she decided. A long freaking night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Okay so I’ve got nothin’,” Weevil frowned as he tossed a letter down on the floor.

“Yeah,” Troy frowned, “Veronica, I don’t think we’re getting anywhere.”

Two hours after the first letter was read the three were still sitting at Mars Investigations scanning letters that Eric’s mother had written to J Jones. There had been a few letters that had mentioned the fact that J Jones had a daughter a few years older than Eric, but so far there hadn’t been any names to go on. There had been mentions of favorite hangouts, but most of the letters generally just told of something wonderful Eric had done that day.

“There has to be something,” Veronica sighed. “Look, we know Eric has a sister right? We also know a few of the places they used to go. It might not seem like much to you two, but to the trained eye, it’s something.”

“You’re reaching, Mars,” Weevil spoke, standing up. “I got to be up at 3 a.m., so I’m out of here,” he added. “My real job may suck but it keeps me out of jail,” he shrugged.

“I’ve got a late class in the morning,” Troy spoke up. “I can hang around awhile longer and help you finish up these letters,” Troy offered, looking over at Veronica.

Weevil shook his head in amusement, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, V. You two have fun,” he added as he walked over to the door.

“Wait, you’re really leaving?” Veronica practically shrieked as she stood up and swiftly made her way to the door. “I can pay you double if it’ll help,” she offered in a whisper as she leaned close to Weevil.

“I think I’ll leave you and rich boy over there alone,” Weevil chuckled. “He did bring you your favorite pizza after all.”

His voice was teasing and Veronica couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Glancing back at Troy, he tossed a half wave her way as he grabbed another letter. He had been nice to her all night, and not just Troy nice. Really really nice, and honestly it freaked her out a little. He had even been friendly with Weevil, so friendly that Weevil had stopped insulting him under his breath after the first hour.

“What about that speech about rich boys being toxic?” Veronica asked, frowning.

“What about it, V? Won’t stop you from fallin’ for em’,” Weevil shrugged. “Besides, you want Vandegraff to leave, tell him. I’ve got to get going though. We’ll get together tomorrow and talk about those other cases you’ve got me helpin’ you with.”

“Yeah, I really need to get back to that bar again. Shouldn’t be too hard to prove the owner is a sleaze, right?”

“We’ll get him,” Weevil nodded as he headed out the door into the night.

Veronica sighed as she turned and stared blankly at Troy. “We can call it a night if you want. I’m sure you have something more important to do.”

Troy looked up at her and shrugged. “Nope, I’m where I want to be,” he answered. “Unless you were about to leave yourself?”

Veronica shrugged her shoulders, “I was thinking I could get copies of all of these, so we can get them back to Eric soon. If he doesn’t want his mom to know, then they need to get back to where he found them.”

“See, that’s why you’re the PI,” Troy smiled. “You really are good at this kind of thing.”

“Some girls enjoy shopping at the mall and hanging out by the pool. I get my kicks taking down the bad guys.”

“I’m not much for the pool myself, but the beach? I love living there. I realize it’s not as adventurous as crime solving, but I’m okay with that,” Troy smiled.

“Ah yes, the perks of being rich. I wonder if my daddy would be willing to buy me beach front property?” Veronica spoke with a smirk.

“Actually my place is pretty simple,” Troy shrugged. “Despite what you think of me, I didn’t ask my father to spend millions on a place for me to live.”

“So are you saying you’re not a spoiled rich kid anymore?” Veronica asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Oh I’m still rich,” Troy smiled. “I’m just not out to take what I don’t deserve anymore. My dad and I, we’ve come a long way, and I really don’t want to screw that up.”

Veronica stared blankly at Troy for a moment. Was it actually possible that the guy was growing as a person? “So you and your dad, you two are okay now?”

“We’re getting there,” Troy nodded. “The whole tough love thing he did on me, it was only because I was out of control. I mean yeah, he was tougher than he should have been, but I was all about rebelling, you know? We both did things wrong and now…” Troy spoke looking up. “You don’t want to hear about all this,” he laughed gently.

“It’s cool that the two of you have worked things out,” Veronica spoke honestly.

“Yeah well, we’ll never been like you and your dad. You two are just so tight, it’s pretty awesome.”

“Right, so do you want copies of these letters, too?” Veronica asked, fidgeting with one of them. There was no way she was going have a sharing moment with Troy Vandegraff. Her whole day had been too intense, and she was ready to put it behind her.

“Sure, if you don’t mind. Oh I meant to ask before, you’re still coming over to help with Layla’s party right?” Troy questioned.

“I promised Wallace,” she nodded. “Mac is coming with me. That girl, she just loves her some birthday cheer,” she added with a perky tone.

“So is being around me really that bad?” Troy asked with a sigh. “How much did you have to pay Mac to drag her along so you wouldn’t have to be alone with me?”

“I offered up a kidney if she ever needs one,” Veronica spoke with a grin.

“You know I’m actually a harmless guy. I love kittens, babies and watching the sunset on the beach. Seriously, what could be more harmless then that?” Troy joked.

“You’re a saint, Troy,” Veronica spoke dryly. “Seriously, I have a lot of work to do. I really wanted to get home at a decent hour tonight and watch a little TV. According to my father, that’s what normal girls do.”

“I’ll let you get to your work then,” Troy spoke. “Oh and Veronica, for the record, you’ll never be normal,” he added with a tiny smile.

“You can leave now, Troy,” Veronica spoke, looking over at the door.

“Right, over stayed my welcome,” he nodded quickly. “I’ll see you later Veronica,” he added as he walked over to the door.

“I’ll get those letters to you or Eric tomorrow. If the kid’s father is out there, I’ll find him.”

“Never doubted that for a second,” Troy nodded as he opened the door. “I’ll see you later Veronica,” he added as he walked out, shutting the door behind him.

“I’m not falling for it,” Veronica muttered to herself. “Nope, not falling for it Troy, not ever again…”

Hmm..

Sun, 04 May 2008 20:05:02 GMT

It looks like the voting has started at dotmoon.net for best fanfics... There are alot of great VM fanfics nominated there! Almost Like A Country Song is nominated in the Works in Progress category (It's separate from the VM categoryy).. I believe the top ten there will get a honorable mention which is totally cool... I'm so touched that Almost Like A Country song got nominated. I really the love writing the fic, so I'm thrilled that someone other than me likes it too ha! Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, I'm working on Who AM I today, so yeah, I totally haven't forgotten the fic!!! I promise, I am working on both my WIP fics, as well as a few little one shots!!

http://www.dotmoon.net/awards/awards_vote.php

Yay! A day off!

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:26:35 GMT

I'm alive!! And not working on a weekend! Amazzzzing.. I am SO glad to finally have a weekend without work yay me! On another note: I have sent the Awesome Katie, Almost Like A Country Song to be beta'ed! Annnnddd I'm working on Who Am I! So I haven't totally fell off the face of the earth, I've just kinda been working nonstop lately..

Plus my Zimbee cat has been a little under the weather! He's feeling better now.. I know this, because he woke me up at 6am by jumping on the bed and sticking his face in mine demanding food! Good to have the real ZimZim back lol!

Now? I think I'll get off here and do some shopping!!

Award

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:46:18 GMT

This is pretty cool.. Almost Like A Country Song was nominated and seconded for a UFO Award.. I'm not sure who nominated the fic but if you read my blog thank you so much!! I've never been nominated for anything fanfic wise so this is so awesome!! The fic can't actually win an award because its in the on going fic catogery but, the top then in that field will get a honor mention!!

Fic: Five I Love You's Veronica Actually Said

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:13:47 GMT

Title: Five I Love You's Veronica Actually Said
Pairings/ Characters: Logan/Veronica, Wallace, Weevil, Lilly
Author: Brandee
Disclaimer: I own nothing Rob Thomas owns em' all....
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Takes place not long after the finale. Future Fic..
A/N: This is total fluff... I mean it's fluff piled onto more fluff... As usual a huge thanks goes out to the two awesome girls that keep me afloat in the world for Fanfic... Esra and Katie? You both totally rule!!

5 ‘I Love You’s’ Veronica Actually Said

“Veronica Mars, you’re quite the little trouble maker these days.”

Veronica’s eyes flew open as she sat up in her bed. Looking to her right she blinked twice when she realized Lilly was sitting on the bed wearing her trademark smirk. The disturbing bloody wound on her head was now gone, and for a moment Veronica wanted to believe her best friend was alive.

“Lilly?”

“No, it’s Lindsay Lohan,” Lilly huffed. “Seriously, why couldn’t you have been this cool when I was alive!”

Veronica sat up further in the bed and frowned. “I didn’t want to steal your spotlight,” she joked.

“Like that would have ever happened!” Lilly laughed. “Honestly Veronica, if you had come out of your shell when I was around, we could have totally run Neptune!”

“Lilly…. You did run Neptune, your whole family did,” Veronica frowned. “I miss you, you know,” she added with a whisper.

“Of course you do, I’m amazing,” Lilly nodded with a smile. “I can’t believe how furious my dad is at you! I am in total awe right now, Veronica. I mean really, you're almost and fabulous as I am.”

“My dad lost the election because of me, Lilly, and I just heard back from the FBI internship. Suddenly they realized the spot they had for me was already filled.” Veronica frowned.

“Must you be so depressing? Seriously, a girl comes back from the dead to visit her BFF and you decided to be a total downer?”

“Did I mention Piz and I broke up, and Logan risked his life to defend my honor? He could really be in trouble now, Lil.”

“Okay, Piz? That guy was so not on your level. I mean really, other than a dorky smile and decent hair, what did he have to offer? And as far as Logan goes, why you’re not with him right now thanking him properly is beyond me! You should be glad he has that whole knight in shining armor thing going. The boy would do anything for you, Mars. Really you need to catch a clue.”

“It’s complicated, Lilly!” Veronica frowned. “You don’t know what happened.”

“You mean with Madison? Really Mars, are you going to let Madison Sinclair keep you from a guy that is pretty much over the moon for you? Want to hear a little secret,” Lilly snickered. “One of the perks of being dead is that I pretty much hear all and see all.”

“Lilly….”

“Go find Logan and kiss and make up,” Lilly spoke, pointing toward the bedroom door. “You’re still alive, Veronica Mars, the least you could do is act like it.”

Veronica watched as Lilly stood slowly. “Lilly, I love you. You know that, right?”

“Never doubted it for a second,” Lilly smiled brightly as she disappeared from the room. Veronica let out a deep sigh as her phone suddenly rang. Grabbing it she looked down and saw Logan’s number. “Logan? I was just getting ready to call you…..”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Six months and not a single fight. I think we should celebrate,” Logan smiled as he plopped down next to Veronica on his sofa.

“What about last week when we argued over what movie to see?” Veronica questioned with a smirk.

“That was not a fight. That was a simple disagreement.”

“Okay, what about a few weeks ago when you got mad at me because I didn’t want to go to that concert? You sulked for two days over that,” Veronica pointed out.

“But we didn’t fight!” Logan spoke, clapping his hands together. “We’ve been back together six months, and all we’ve had is a few petty disagreements. That’s a record for us, Mars!”

“You promised you’d never call me by my last name again, Echolls.”

He smirked as he wrapped his arms around her. “I want to celebrate. I want to celebrate us, us finally doing this right. We’ve hit a milestone, and I think it warrants a night neither of us will ever forget.”

“Is there going to be violin music? You said after your last grand gesture you’d never do the whole orchestra thing again.”

“Most girls would find it romantic that their boyfriend went to the trouble of getting a world class orchestra to play just for her! Seriously, most girls would have loved that!” Logan grumbled. “But not my girlfriend!”

“You’re the romantic in this relationship, sweetheart,” Veronica smiled as she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

“Would you be opposed to dinner on the beach? Just you and me and a secluded area?” Logan suggested.

“That actually sounds nice,” Veronica nodded.

“Then tomorrow night we celebrate!” Logan grinned, his eyes twinkling as he talked.

“Sounds like a plan,” Veronica laughed, looking up at him.

“I’m really glad you agreed to give this another try, baby,” Logan spoke, touching Veronica’s hair with his hand. “I love you. I’ll always love you.”

“Yeah?” Veronica smiled brightly. “I love you too, Echolls.”

“Forever and always?” Logan teased lightly as he kissed her lips.

“Something like that,” Veronica agreed with a sigh.

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Veronica slowly entered Weevil’s hospital room and frowned as she stared at him resting in his bed. Biting her lip, she walked over to his bedside.

“You owe me dinner after last night, blondie,” Weevil spoke as he turned his head slightly to look at her. “A guy takes a bullet for you, the least you can do is buy him food.”

Veronica forced a smiled. “I brought a balloon,” she spoke quietly, looking up at the large blue and red get-well balloon in her hand.

“You’re too kind.”

“So about this whole saving my life thing…”

“I was in the right place at the right time,” Weevil answered. “You’ve really got to be more careful about the cases you work though. That guy didn’t seem too happy about the pictures you took of him.”

“He was sleeping with his teenage step-daughter. He deserved to be caught,” Veronica frowned.

Veronica watched as Weevil nodded his head stiffly. The truth was Weevil had saved her life. If he hadn’t have been with her at the parking garage at school, she knew things could have gone a lot differently. When he saw the man come out of the shadows pointing a gun he immediately jumped in front of her as the gun went off.

“So you okay with everything? The nurse said you weren’t hurt, but you never can trust the people in these places,” he spoke gruffly.

“A few bruises, but thanks to you I’ll live,” Veronica smiled. “Really Weevil, what you did, it was just….” Veronica sighed trying to find the right words. “I’m not even sure thank you is enough.”

“Yeah well, it’s what we do right? Take care of each other from time to time?” Weevil spoke, wincing slightly.

“How’s your shoulder? The doctors wouldn’t tell me much,” Veronica frowned.

“I was lucky, at least that’s why the doc says. Looks like the bullet missed all the important places, you know?”

“I’m glad,” Veronica smiled. “For what it’s worth, Logan said to tell you he owes you one now.”

“Yeah? Tell Echolls there’s this bike I’ve had my eye on for awhile….” Weevil grinned.

“I’ll make a note to tell him that,” Veronica laughed.

“Speaking of Echolls, how’s the guy’s hero complex doing with all this?” Weevil asked with a smirk. “I don’t believe he has ever taken an actual bullet for you.”

“I think he’ll survive,” Veronica smiled. “You actually went up a few notches with him, I think. He said last night that he doesn’t detest you now.”

“I’m touched.” Weevil snorted.

Veronica smiled. “I hate to cut this short, but I’ve got a class in like an hour. If you need anything though, you’ll call me?”

“Well I could use some decent food,” Weevil spoke. “You know if you’re in the neighborhood again soon….”

“Cheeseburger and fries?” Veronica smiled. “I can bring them over after class.”

“Works for me.”

Veronica walked over to the door and looked back at Weevil. “Hey Navarro, you get lonely in here, just remember, V love you long time,” she spoke with a tiny grin.

“Don’t get soft on me now Mars,” Weevil laughed gently as Veronica smiled and quietly left the room, closing the door behind her.

`````````````````````````````````````````

“You like her don’t you? I mean you're not still hung up on that whole ‘she’s too nice to be trusted’ thing are you?”

Veronica smirked as she adjusted her best friend’s tie. “I think Ashley is a great girl, and I totally take back the whole too nice to be trusted thing. I’m just kind of sad that she’s marrying my best friend today. We were suppose to grow old together, lonely and pathetic, but together.”

“C’mon girl, Logan’s going to pop the question any day now. He probably would have already if it wasn’t for your fear of commitment.”

Veronica smiled. “I don’t have a fear of commitment. I’m committed to Logan. I’m just not sure I believe marriage is the best option for everyone.”

“Yeah well, Echolls knows he wants to marry you.” Wallace laughed. “He’s practically dreaming of white picket fences and mini vans.”

“Okay first of all, Logan would never drive a mini van. Second, how do you know what he’s dreaming of?”

“We talk,” Wallace shrugged as he walked over to the mirror and looked at himself. “Do I look amazing or what?” he added

“You, look like a superstar, my friend,” Veronica grinned.

“Girl, I am a superstar,” Wallace laughed.

Veronica frowned. “I hope you don’t plan on leaving your best friend out of your life once you become a married man. I need your brutal honesty to keep me in line,” she added with a sigh.

“Yeah liked I’d ever walk away from you, Mars. I haven’t told you this yet because I wanted to make sure it was a go, but Ashley is in love with that little two story house down the street from Logan’s. We’re pretty sure buying it is a go at this point.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, so see, if you play your cards right and marry Echolls we would practically be neighbors.”

“Well, it’s not the same as sharing bunk beds, but I suppose it’ll do,” Veronica laughed.

“So you ready to do this thing? Be my best woman and watch me tie the knot?” Wallace asked as he walked over a wrapped his arm around Veronica.

“It’d be my pleasure!” Veronica grinned, hugging Wallace back.

“Girl, you know I love you right?” Wallace questioned, looking down at her seriously.

“You know what, Fennel? As far as best friends go, I kind of love you, too.” Veronica spoke with a tiny smile. “But if you ever repeat that…”

“It’s our little secret,” Wallace spoke, cutting his best friend off with a smile.

“Then I guess we better get you married,” Veronica spoke as she followed her best friend out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Mommy, I don’t want to go to kindergarten!”

“Brayden, you don’t have a choice,” Veronica sighed as she chased her son around his bedroom.

“I want to stay with daddy!” The little boy yelped as he jumped up on his bed and crossed his arms.

“Daddy has to work today,” Veronica breathed as she attempted to grab her son just as he jumped of the bed again. “Kindergarten will be fun Bray, you’ve just got to give it a chance!”

“I want to go back to Aunt Ashley’s class,” the little boy huffed as he sat down in the floor and stared up at his mother.

“Baby, Aunt Ashley teaches preschool, and you’re too big for her class now,” Veronica spoke as she sat down in the floor with her son. He stared up at her with matching blue eyes and pouted.

“You told me not to talk to strangers, and kindergarten has lots of strangers mommy!”

Veronica bit back a tiny smile and wrapped her arms around her son. “Brayden, I would never send you anywhere that I thought was bad. Your new teacher is awesome, and you know what? You’ll get to meet a lot of new friends, too.”

“I got bunches of friends now,” Brayden pouted. “I don’t need no more friends.”

“Anymore,” Veronica corrected as she ruffled her son’s sandy blonde hair. “You’ve got to give kindergarten a try. That’s what big boys do, they try new things.”

Veronica heard footsteps and smiled when she looked up and saw her husband peeking in the door. “Littleman, you’re not giving mommy a hard time are you?”

“He doesn’t want to go to kindergarten,” Veronica spoke with a sigh.

“It’s got lots of strangers,” Brayden added.

“Tell you what Bray, you go to school this morning like a big boy and when you get home we’ll go over to Uncle Wallace’s and Aunt Ashley’s and throw the baseball with Hunter and Kyle.”

“Logan,” Veronica hissed, “Don’t bribe him.”

“I’m sorry, was your way working, because if it was I can come back later…” Logan smirked.

“No, it’s fine, I’ll call Wallace and tell him,” Veronica spoke quickly. “What do you say littleman, want to go hang out with Hunter and Kyle today?”

“Hunter and Kyle are so cool,” Brayden boasted of Wallace’s twin boys. “Okay daddy, I’ll try to like kindergarten.”

“See, now that wasn’t too hard was it?” Logan spoke, laughing at his wife.

“Mommy, kindergarten will be fun right?” Brayden asked, staring at his mother with wide eyes.

“It will be lots of fun,” she nodded with a bright smile.

“Now give mommy a hug and lets go downstairs and eat breakfast,” Logan spoke.

Brayden wrapped his small arms around his mother and hugged her tightly. “I love you mommy! Bunches and muches!”

“I love you bunches and muches too,” Veronica replied, looking up at her husband with a smile.

Just a note....

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 03:32:07 GMT

to say I'm alive and still writing.. Just ask my beta's. They'll confirm it.. The proof is in their inboxes...

So random...

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:31:14 GMT

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth lol.. Just a quick note to say I am alive.. And writing.. Just so busy that my head is spinning...

Oh, and some *very* nice person has dropped a VERY pregnant cat off at my house... That makes THREE cats in the last four months that has showed up at my house..(I live on the side of a mountain in the sticks basically). There's also a pregnant black Persian cat as well.. They are both total sweethearts.. Some people just suck.. *Sigh*

Ooh and new pic of Zimbee under the cut.. I just found it too adorable for words.. My cat standing in his sweater..(I can't believe I put my cat in a sweater)

So annoying..

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:30:27 GMT

Ick. Make it go away. I can't get the idea of a Veronica Mars/Grey's Anatomy crossover out of my head. I keep trying to write Who Am I, but instead thoughts of Veronica/Alex keep popping in my head. I do think Veronica and Alex would be interesting and alot of snarky fun, but I'd rather be working on Who Am I or ALACS instead. *smacks head in attempts to make the fic thought go away* nope.. Still there!

Ouch!

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:04:54 GMT

So I woke up this morning and rolled over in my bed.. Well.. I tried to roll over, sadly there was a stabbing pain and soreness in my back that caused me to insead wince in pain.. I quickly realized I had *somehow* pulled a muscle in my back! Yay me!

Between getting ready for work and feeding Zimbee and India it suddenly hit me, that I had a football related injury! That's right folks, I was injured last night during the Super Bowl.. Sadly it wasn't because I caught the game winning pass, or because I tackled Tom Brady... It was because I leaped so high off the ground when I realized the Giants had won, that I acutally HURT my back! (I was sitting in the floor watching the game.. It's my thing..I'm weird I know..)

My return to the NFL is questionable, but I plan to give it my all and be back for next season! Heh...

I'm such a dork seriously! If I was *that* happy over the Giants winning, I can only imagine what I'd do if the Dolphins made playoffs...