A/N – I felt the urge to write something Christmas themed for LoVe and since my other stories aren't anywhere near Christmas, decided to do a little one shot (which ended up not so little). I hope you all enjoy it! I also wanted to thank everyone who has read my stories throughout the year and wish you all a wonderful holiday season! I am working on the next chapter of Wildest Dreams so hopefully it won't be too much longer until that one is finished.

My fabulous beta, Bondopoulos, mentioned that this story might fit for the VM Fic Requests Picture Prompt Submission – Cofeee and Snow, so I'll be sending in the link for it there too.

Disclaimer: All original VM characters belong to Rob Thomas.

Veronica quickly closed the door to the coffee shop behind her as she hurried inside to get out of the rain. There was something about being at Java the Hut that brought back a wave of nostalgia every time she walked through the front door. A part of her felt a certain bond with the baristas and waitresses who currently worked there, even though none of them had any idea who she was. Staff member turnover was so high that even a new woman had recently replaced the manager that had been there when Veronica worked at the Hut.

Veronica felt a sharp pang of regret as she walked toward the counter to place her order. Guess you never know where true love's gonna find you… If it comes looking for me, I'll be over by the espresso machine. She shook her head slightly, pushing those memories out of her head. You know better than to dwell on the past, Veronica. She quickly gave her order to the barista and then looked around the restaurant to see if Mac had beaten her there. Not spotting her friend, she took her drink and éclair and headed to one of the booths that was open near the far corner of the shop.

With college being out for the winter break, she was surprised by how busy the café was. She realized, of course, that winter break not only meant out-of-town students would be leaving Neptune for the holiday, but those Neptune students who had been lucky enough to go out of state for school would also be returning home as well. She took her laptop out of her messenger bag to start researching the case she'd just agreed to take. She'd just pulled up her email to check if any of her leads had panned out when she heard the unmistakable sound of Mac's laughter a few feet from her.

She turned to see what or whom Mac was laughing at, and her heart skipped a beat when her eyes unexpectedly locked with a pair of brown ones staring right back at her. Logan gave her a hesitant smile and a slight head nod, to which she at least gave him a polite enough smile in return.

"Hey, Veronica!" Mac's jovial greeting provided her with a legitimate reason to break eye contact with Logan at least. She could tell that he was still watching her though out of the corner of her eye.

"Hi," Veronica replied, trying her best to sound as happy and carefree as Mac, even if she wasn't really feeling it at the moment. Things had been… civil? Was that the best way to describe it? …between her and Logan since they started sophomore year. They had only run into each other on a few occasions so far, and both seemed to go out of their way to be as polite as possible, but it always seemed to come out strained and unnatural.

"I should get going…" Logan said as he gave them both a courteous smile that seemed glaringly forced. And we're back to the strained and unnatural politeness again.

Veronica saw Mac squish up her brows in that way that she did when she wasn't terribly happy about something. She shot Veronica a pointed look, which of course Veronica could easily interpret. Veronica was well aware that Mac and Logan had gotten to be fairly good friends when he had dated Parker. They'd also continued to run the website they'd set up as one of his class assignments together, and would occasionally meet to discuss that. Mac had casually asked Veronica at one point a few weeks after the term had started if she was still angry with Logan. Veronica thought she'd had enough time to put their most recent turmoil behind her and had said that she wasn't, but there was still so much distance between the two of them.

"You're welcome to join us," Veronica choked out, earning a small approving smile from Mac. "Unless you have someplace else you need to be." Even though she hadn't meant to, she still couldn't help the slightest bit of animosity from coming through in the second part. The crease that was in Mac's forehead suddenly returned and Veronica knew she'd caught it too.

"Um…" Logan mumbled and looked from Veronica back at Mac, who gave him an encouraging smile and nodded. "Yeah… no… I mean I don't have anyplace else to be… but only if you're sure it's okay."

"Of course it's okay," Mac said with a friendly smile as she pulled slightly on Logan's arm to lead him closer to the table.

Logan quickly took the seat farthest from Veronica, leaving the one closer to her for Mac to take.

"Any leads on your new case?" Mac asked as she took a sip of her green tea latte.

"Maybe…" Veronica said as she turned back to her screen and started looking again. "I think I might have actually found a rental agency transaction for a place in… Blue Jay?" Veronica asked with a puzzled look on her face. She thought it sounded vaguely familiar, but she wasn't sure why.

"It's up by Lake Arrowhead," Logan offered a bit hesitantly. "The southern end of Lake Arrowhead is called Blue Jay Bay." Both women turned their attention to him, which seemed to make him even more uncomfortable than he had already been. "It's a bit west of Big Bear," he continued almost nervously. "It's actually considered the entertainment district of the Lake Arrowhead community." Veronica wondered if he felt like babbling was safer than just stopping or if he just couldn't help himself.

"Oh right," Mac commented, as she nodded in agreement. "We went camping up there on one of our family road trips."

"How long do you think it would take to drive up there?" Veronica asked Mac, who gave her a shrug in reply. Veronica let out a small sigh and turned to look at Logan with an expectant expression.

"Well, with all the rain we've been having, I'm sure there's a fair amount of snow up in the mountain range there, so… I don't know three to four hours, maybe?" he offered warily.

"So if I left early tomorrow morning, I'd still be home before my dad gets back from Tucson," Veronica commented as she went back to looking at her laptop screen again.

"Tomorrow's Christmas Eve!" Mac protested. "And I'm absolutely positive that your dad would freak out if he found out that you'd driven up to the mountains by yourself… in the snow!" Mac paused for just a moment before she continued her tirade. "And it's not like you have any experience actually driving in the snow either."

"I've been in a car that's driven in the snow," Veronica replied as she shot an annoyed glance at Mac, who only rolled her eyes in response.

"I could drive you up there," Logan offered, catching Veronica by surprise. She turned to Mac and saw that her friend looked just as stunned as she was.

"Oh," Veronica replied, shifting her gaze back to Logan, not quite sure what to say.

"I'm sure his Range Rover would probably do better in the snow, and he does have experience driving in snow… right?" Mac asked shooting a questioning look at Logan.

Logan nodded before he answered. "Yeah, I've driven in the snow quite a few times and the Range Rover probably would be better."

"But it's still Christmas Eve. Can't it wait until after Christmas?" Mac asked as she turned her attention back to Veronica.

"I'm worried the guy might just be up there for the holiday and could be gone after Christmas. Plus the client offered a bonus if I can get him served before Christmas, and I could really use that extra money," Veronica explained as she glanced between Mac and then Logan.

Veronica wasn't sure, given their recent awkwardness, that being trapped in a car with Logan for up to eight hours was a very good idea, but maybe it couldn't hurt either. She really could use the extra bonus money… and Logan clearly seemed to know a lot about that area. If Logan driving could help her find the guy she'd been hired to serve with legal papers more easily, then who was she to protest?

Logan quirked his brows up in a questioning look, apparently waiting for her answer. She couldn't tell if he was hoping she'd say yes, or if he'd started to regret his offer to drive her already. For some reason, the emotional distance between them was also making it really hard for her to read him now.

"If you're sure it won't be too much trouble?" Veronica asked, trying to give him the option to back out gracefully.

"Nope, no trouble at all," he replied with a more confident smile than she'd seen on his face since he'd taken a seat at the table. She thought she could still sense a slight bit of hesitation, but decided that turning down the offer would be foolish at that point. She had to agree with Mac that going up there on her own was not a wise decision at all and she could certainly survive eight or so hours in a car with him, even if it did end up being mostly awkward silence.

"Okay… pick me up at eight?" she suggested, trying her best not to let a worried sigh escape as she said it.

Veronica sat at the breakfast bar in her apartment finishing off a bowl of cereal while she stared at an overflowing duffle bag by the door. Mac had insisted that Veronica borrow some of her snow gear since Veronica didn't actually own any and Mac did. Veronica had tried to argue that they were just going to be driving up to a rental cabin and then walking up to the door, so she really didn't think she needed to borrow anything. It wasn't like she was going cross country skiing or something, but she finally decided it was easier to just give in than to keep arguing with Mac about it. Mac assured her that she'd thank her when she was wearing proper snow boots and not sliding around in her normal shoes on a slippery walkway or having wet feet from trudging through several inches of snow. For now, the 'proper snow boots' were jutting from the top of the bag rather than actually being on her feet.

Veronica glanced at the clock on the wall. It was ten until eight and she wondered if Logan would be late or if he'd even change his mind and call at the last minute to cancel on her. Shortly after Veronica had agreed to let Logan drive her up to the mountains, he'd decided he should get going and had left the café. Veronica wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not because if he didn't want to stick around in a public place with her, how would eight hours trapped in a car with him go. She tried not to fixate on that, but given her over-analytical nature, it was really difficult to just let it go.

She had just put her rinsed cereal bowl into the dishwasher when there was a knock at the door. She chuckled to herself thinking how the pattern of knocks sounded almost like Taps, and couldn't help but wonder if he subconsciously or purposely did it that way. She took a deep steadying breath and slowly walked over to the door.

She'd had a hard time falling asleep the night before and ended up just lying in bed trying to figure out why things were so uncomfortable between them now. They'd done the friends, then lovers, then exes several times before, but they'd never seemed to end up like they were now. She still wasn't sure if it was something she was doing that was making him react the way he was, or if it was just that so many times of going through it was finally taking it's toll on whatever sort of relationship that remained now. They had so often gone from one extreme to another, that this odd indifference felt so painful to her. Because, if she were being honest, even though she'd said she was indifferent to him in the past, she never was. And she's always thought he felt the same way too. At this point, however, she wasn't so sure that he didn't feel that way about her now. She still wasn't sure that this little road trip was a good idea, but she wasn't going to be the one to back out of it.

It had at least temporarily stopped raining, but it was still unusually cold for Neptune, and she shivered as soon as the outside air blew in at her. "You do know it's going to be colder in the mountains, right?" Logan asked as he gave her a curious look, obviously noticing the affect the slight gust of cold air had on her.

Veronica gestured with her head to the bag by the door. "Mac sent provisions," she said as she quickly gave him a once over. From what she could tell, he was wearing a dark blue Henley with a heavier plaid button down shirt over the top of it. He also had a fairly heavy coat on top of that, although it was currently open and not zipped closed. She was so busy checking out his attire that she didn't notice he was holding a tall cup of coffee out toward her.

"Mocha with a dash of cinnamon," he commented as he lifted the cup a bit higher into her field of vision. He gave her a slightly mischievous smile, one that she actually hadn't seen in months, and it suddenly made her feel much better. "I debated whether it would be wise to have you caffeinated for the trip, but decided I'd risk it." She rolled her eyes slightly as she reached out to take the drink. "Please don't make me regret it," he added with a little wink. As she took a quick sip of the deliciousness he'd brought for her, he gestured with is head toward the bag. "May I?" he asked extending his arm in that direction.

"You may," she replied with faux pretentiousness causing the corners of his lips to quirk up a bit more. She much preferred courteous and playful Logan to the hesitant and nervous Logan that had been the default since she'd returned from Virginia. Maybe today will turn out okay after all.

"No Backup?" he asked as he looked around the apartment after he'd lifted up the duffle bag. She felt a bit sentimental thinking about how the two of them used to act around each other. Back when they were dating, Backup was always so excited when Logan would come over and Logan seemed to genuinely love Backup almost as much as she did.

"No, Mac offered to baby-sit him so he wouldn't be cooped up all day while I'm gone. Her brother has been pestering her parents for a dog, so she thought it would be a good trial run to see how that might go," Veronica explained.

"Oh… I thought maybe you'd bring him along. Figured he'd enjoy a little romp in the snow too," he said with a tinge of disappointment in his tone.

Veronica hadn't even considered it and was touched that he'd actually given it some thought, but this also wasn't a trip for a fun day in the snow. It was a case and she still wasn't sure how things would end up going between the two of them. All of a sudden she felt the need to clarify their objective again. Even if a small part of her was hoping this trip might help repair some of their damaged relationship, the more rational part wasn't sure that was possible. She didn't want Logan to get the wrong impression. "We're not going for a play day in the snow, remember. It's just a quick trip to deliver some papers and then drive right back. I want to make it home before my dad gets back from Arizona tonight."

"Right," Logan answered a bit tersely, making her instantly feel bad.

"I do appreciate you offering to drive me up there," she countered back, hoping that might soften her previous comment.

"Sure, no problem," Logan replied as he picked up the bag and turned back toward the door. "We'd better get going so you make it back in time."

Veronica internally chastised herself as she followed him out of the apartment and considered the full impact of what she'd just said. Way to kill the mood, Veronica. Why are you so afraid of letting him get close to you again?

Logan headed to the back of the Range Rover with her bag and she stopped as he opened the rear door to put it in. She noticed he had a large duffle bag in the back too and wondered if it was just surf stuff, or actually snow stuff. It was zipped closed, and from the outside she couldn't really tell. He gave her a tight smile before turning and heading toward the driver's side door. She couldn't help but wonder if she hadn't made the comment inside if he would have kept up the courteous act and opened her door for her as well. She definitely noticed a slight deflation in his mood from when he'd offered to carry her bag to now.

"Thanks again for the coffee," she said as she climbed in and closed her own door. "I really do appreciate it." She shot him a grateful smile, hoping it might help him relax again.

"Yeah… well I was picking one up for myself, so…" he picked up his own from the center console and tipped in a faux toast toward her before taking a quick drink of it. He glanced forward for a moment and it seemed to be as if he was trying to regain some sort of resolve or something. "I also picked up some snacks for the drive…" he said after a moment's pause as he gestured with his head toward the backseat. "I thought we might get hungry and I wasn't sure how many places would be open on Christmas Eve once we got out of the more populated areas," he explained as he finally turned back toward her. She thought he seemed a bit unsure of himself, as if he doubted that it had actually been a good idea now.

She turned around and looked in the backseat at a couple of large bags of food and a small cooler too. "I thought you said it was just a four hour drive up there?" she asked mischievously as she turned back toward him. She could easily see chips and cookies, but those were just at the tops of the bags and she wasn't sure what else might be below those, let alone in the cooler.

Logan laughed as he shook his head and shot a momentary glance her direction. She realized it was the first time she'd actually heard him laugh like that in a really long time. "You're appetite is legendary, Mars. I feared for my safety being locked in a car with you if there wasn't a sufficient amount of food readily available."

"Wise man," she replied as a pleased grin spread across her face.

After she gave him the address for the rental cabin they were headed to, they started on their way. She started trying to think of a safe topic to discuss that wouldn't ruin the mood again, but before she could come up with something, Logan finally broke the silence.

"We haven't talked much since the term started, so I haven't really had a chance to tell you this… I um… I was sorry to hear that Piz didn't come back to Hearst. I hope it didn't have anything to do with… well, with me beating him up. I did try to apologize for that." He kept his eyes firmly set on the road in front of them as he spoke, so it made it hard for her to gauge his sincerity, but from his tone, she felt like he actually did mean it. At least it seemed a bit more sincere than the actual apology he'd given Piz that day in the cafeteria. She was certain that the adrenaline coursing through him right after beating up Gory would have made it hard to sound terribly compassionate, so she hadn't been terribly surprised at how it had come across at the time.

"Yeah… thanks… I guess…" she mumbled in reply, causing him to momentarily glance at her before he turned his attention back to the road. "He um… he decided to stay in New York when he finished his summer internship there. He said he felt more comfortable in New York than he did in Neptune and that it would be a better fit for his career goals." Basically there wasn't really anything worth coming back to Neptune for. She couldn't really blame Piz because she certainly hadn't tried to talk him out of it. Things were already strained between them before they'd each left for their own internship, and the physical distance really hadn't helped at all given what had happened shortly before the end of the term between all of them. Piz had been the one to suggest seeing other people though a few weeks after their separation had stared, which she interpreted to mean he'd met someone there that he was interested in. Most likely someone innocent and normal.

"Well I'm sorry if I'm one of the reasons he didn't feel comfortable in Neptune," he added, still staring at the road and not looking in her direction at all. She studied his profile for a moment, trying to figure out how he really felt about it. There did seem to be a tinge of regret in his voice. Logan certainly wasn't the only reason that her relationship with Piz hadn't worked out, but he was clearly one of many. She had to admit that she kept unfairly comparing Piz to Logan in her mind and Piz's reaction to the entire sex tape and Gory incident had been the tipping point for her. She had to question at that point if there really would ever be anything in Piz's life he'd feel passionate enough about to fight for. Hell, she wasn't even sure that the word passion was really in his vocabulary. While Piz may have had strong feelings about music and radio, that same passion never seemed to surface in their relationship with each other.

"Don't worry about it," she finally replied after a few moments of silently studying him. Was that why he's been avoiding me most of the term? Guilt over me and Piz breaking up?

She couldn't help but wonder if Logan was currently seeing someone, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. She'd never asked Mac about it either, because she didn't want to seem like the prying ex-girlfriend. Asking him directly would definitely come across like that. She'd actually seen him at the library several times during the term and had noticed that it was frequently with the same brunette co-ed, but they would always join a larger group of students who were either all there studying or working on some group project together. Logan would typically give Veronica a quick head nod or what appeared to be a pained smile, but he would never stop by the information desk to talk at all. She thought she'd noticed the girl giving her a curious look a few times as well, and couldn't help but wonder if the girl knew something about her history with Logan. Veronica had tried to convince herself that there probably wasn't anything going on between the two of them because she never saw Logan being physically affectionate with the brunette. Although Veronica had observed them laughing and talking together a little more than just casually, which created just enough doubt in her mind to bother her. She tried to make herself feel better by remembering that Logan had always been a very openly affectionate guy and she couldn't imagine him not having an arm draped around someone he was dating, or at a minimum, at least holding hands.

She suddenly realized she'd been lost in thought for a while and that they'd fallen into an uncomfortable silence again. Since school was obviously on her mind she, perhaps unwisely, went with that. "So how did your classes go this term?" she asked, glancing between him and the highway in front of them.

She thought she heard a soft huff from Logan before he turned slightly so he could see her out of the corner of his eye for a moment. "Not too bad. Mostly B's, but one C and one A."

"That's pretty good," Veronica replied, realizing that probably wasn't a topic he was eager to discuss with her given how tough she'd been on him when they were dating about making it to his classes. "I noticed you were in the library a fair amount this term," she added, thinking maybe that would put a more positive spin on things.

"Yeah… I had a sociology class with a big group project, so we'd meet there to work on it," he explained as he continued to focus on the road in front of him.

"You're always welcome to stop and say hi, you know," Veronica commented, trying to be friendly, but then worrying that may not have come out quite the way she'd intended it to. The discomfort brought her mind back to the brunette coed again. "Unless of course… your girl… um lady friend, would get upset about that." She turned toward the passenger window and cringed for a second as soon as she said. She really hoped he couldn't see her reaction.

"Oh… what?" he asked causing her to turn back toward him. He had a puzzled look on his face and then he must have realized what she was talking about and shot her a quick glance for a second. "Oh… Kyra? She's not…" Please don't say she's more of a playmate. "We had the same class right before the group meeting and we'd walk over to the library together." She thought she could sense a bit of satisfaction in his tone, but since he was looking forward she couldn't really read it on his face.

"So how about you?" he asked as he shot her a quick guileful grin. There's that look. If Veronica had to guess, he'd clearly loved the fact that she had possibly been jealous about the other girl. "Any fun study-buddies in your classes?" The way he said it made it easy to interpret exactly what he was implying, leaving no doubt about what he thought about her comment regarding Kyra.

"Nope," she answered with a slight pop to the P. "Just solo work for me this term."

"Mm…" he replied as he nodded slightly. She thought she saw his lip quirk up slightly, and she figured that he must have been struggling not to say something inappropriate about that. She really had set him up with an easy target. After a few seconds of silence though, he must have decided it was safer to change topics. "So how'd you like your FBI internship?"

She hadn't specifically told him about getting accepted for the internship since they weren't really talking much when she'd found out, but she wasn't surprised that Mac may have mentioned it at some point. She knew that Mac and Logan had spent a fair amount of time together over the summer since all of their other friends had been gone. Veronica spent the next thirty minutes or so telling him all about being in Virginia and shared what she could about some of the things she got to do while she was there. It was actually nice to feel like they were finally starting to get back to a more comfortable place again as he laughed at some of the more humorous things that had happened to her over the summer.

"Music?" she asked as they started getting closer to the mountains. She'd already dug into the snack bags a couple of times by then and pulled a few sodas out of the cooler as well. He'd of course been sure to bring along her favorite soda, even though Veronica knew he didn't actually like it.

"Be my guest," Logan said as he waved his hand toward the stereo system. She was actually surprised he hadn't already had it on when they first got in, but appreciated that they'd had some time to just talk.

She couldn't help but laugh loudly when she turned it on and Christmas music started playing through the sound system. "Really?" she asked incredulously, and loved watching a slight blush cross over his cheeks.

"Well it is Christmas, Veronica," he replied, still sounding a bit embarrassed about it though. "It's not like I'm Scrooge or something."

"Hmm… I always pictured you more as the Grinch," she said playfully, earning a quirk of his lips in response.

"Sure thing, Cindy Lou Who," he countered back jovially.

Veronica couldn't help but laugh in reply. She'd totally set herself up for that one. During their first year of middle school together, their class ended up doing a play of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' and, of course, she just had to be chosen to play Cindy Lou Who. Duncan and Logan were relentless about calling her Cindy Lou for several weeks after that.

"Please tell me you still have the nightgown and antennae?" Logan asked as he continued to chuckle at her. He let out a loud umph as Veronica playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"I have grown since seventh grade, Logan," she protested, although it didn't come out with much conviction.

Logan actually quirked his eyebrow at her for a moment, in a way she hadn't seen in longer than she could remember. "That's what makes it even hotter," he said with an overly exaggerated salacious wink.

"Perv," she replied playfully as she punched his shoulder again, but she also couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"You'd be surprised how many guys actually have Cindy Lou Who fantasies," Logan continued on causing her to giggle a bit more.

Veronica shook her head, assuming he was just messing with her now. "Well you must not have had one. You never asked me to dig out the nightgown and antennae when we were dating," she replied deviously.

Logan laughed in response. "Yeah, but I can't claim I never pictured you in the costume though," he said lecherously. "Especially every time you'd wear that pink tank and short set to sleep in."

She laughed a little harder. "You did seem to have a particular fondness for that set didn't you!"

Logan bit his lip for a moment, before he nodded. He was looking at the road, but she could see the way his mouth started to turn up into a lascivious grin. And, as if on cue, the next Christmas song that started to play through the radio was the Grinch theme song. They both started laughing even harder before she turned up the volume and started to loudly sing along with it.

"Oh come on," Veronica teased when he didn't join in. "I'm sure you know the words to it too." She reached over and playfully shoved his shoulder again, causing him to cast a quick glance in her direction. He definitely looked as if he knew he was busted anyway, so he joined her in singing the rest of the song.

"You can change it to a different station," Logan let her know when the song was over and they'd both stopped chuckling enough.

"No, you're right," she replied with a soft smile on her face. "It is Christmas." She paused for a moment causing him to shoot her a quick glance. "And when was the last time the two of us sang Christmas songs together." She of course assumed that they both knew exactly when that would have been. The Christmas before Lilly was murdered. He gave her a tender look and she was sure that he must have been thinking the exact same thing as she was. She had never really given much thought before about the fact that they'd never been on particularly good terms at Christmas after that, even once they had become friends again. Maybe this year will finally change that.

Veronica had thought that actually reaching the snow would make her feel even more in the Christmas spirit, and maybe at first it did, but then the farther they drove, the more that changed. They'd eventually stopped singing Christmas songs and she had turned the radio down to a lower volume shortly before they reached the elevation that the snow had started appearing alongside the road. They had driven through some rain on the way there at the lower elevations, so it was only logical that the higher they went on the mountain that the precipitation would change to snow.

At first she'd thought about a time her parents had taken her and Lilly up to play in the snow before Logan had even moved to Neptune. They'd taken a couple of old sleds that her dad had found at a garage sale and had a great time playing in the snow that day. Lianne still seemed to be more in control of everything at that point and she had packed them a lunch as well as several thermoses of hot chocolate to enjoy. Veronica couldn't help but wonder now if the second thermos that only Lianne had used had something more than just hot chocolate in it though.

Gradually though, the farther they drove and the heavier the snowfall became, Veronica started to think about another association she had with snow. And this one wasn't sentimentally happy. This one was about how her heart had been crushed into a million pieces. She knew it wasn't fair to hold the Madison snow dream against Logan – it had, after all, been just that – a dream. But the dream had been symbolic, a manifestation of her brain running on overdrive as she imagined all of the possible scenarios and specific details of the night Logan had spent in Aspen with Madison Sinclair. She tried to hold back her emotions, but they came flooding back in a deluge as she though about what Logan had been doing exactly one year earlier… maybe even to the day. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly, trying to conjure up any image rather than the one from her dream: snow falling while Madison writhed on top of Logan.

"You okay?" Logan asked, apparently noticing her sudden change in behavior.

"Yep… just a little…" she trailed off, not sure exactly what to say and not trusting her voice to not give her devastation away.

"Car sick?" Logan asked softly when she didn't finish. "It is quite a bit windier up here than roads you're probably used to riding on."

She kept her eyes shut as she clenched her jaw and nodded.

"We could stop for a little bit if you want to walk around and get some fresh air. I may have some Dramamine in my duffle bag in the back too if you want me to check. Dick sometimes gets car sick too, so I usually throw some in my winter bag when we drive up to ski."

Veronica took a sharp breath. "Nope… I just want to get to the place, drop off the papers and get back to Neptune," she replied tersely.

"Okay…" Logan said sounding a bit thrown off by her current behavior, but left it at that.

Veronica quickly realized that keeping her eyes closed, didn't really help either because then the scene of Madison writhing on top of Logan started to replay in her mind again. She decided she needed to find something else to divert her attention that didn't involve Logan or snow. She pulled her laptop out of her bag by her feet and started going through some of the email messages that she'd been behind in reading.

"Reading can make it worse," Logan commented. While rationally she knew he was just trying to be helpful, she really wasn't in the state of mind to deal with him.

"I'm fine," she found herself snapping back before she'd given it a second thought.

"Okay," he replied again, sounding more frustrated now than before.

She tried to glance at his GPS, but it was turned more toward him. "How much longer until we're there?" she asked impatiently, the frustration clearly evident in her tone.

Logan let out a soft sigh before he answered. "About 45 more minutes, I'd say."

It was closer to an hour from when she'd asked him before they were finally pulling up to the cabin she'd given him the address for. The snow had started falling even heavier in the mean time, which didn't help her mood at all. At least Logan didn't seem to have any trouble driving in it, which was the only positive thing she could think of. Well that and the fact that they were finally at the cabin, which meant very soon they could turn around and drive off that terrible mountain.

"Do you want me to grab the snow boots that Mac sent along?" Logan asked hesitantly when he parked the Range Rover in the driveway behind another SUV that was so covered in snow that Veronica couldn't even make out what type it was.

Veronica didn't really want to take the time to change. She just wanted to bolt up to the door, serve the papers and then go. "I'm sure I'll be fine," she answered and started to reach for the door handle.

"Veronica, your ankle boots are going to just sink right into the snow, and you're going to have freezing wet feet in a matter of seconds. Just let me grab the boots and a heavier coat for you."

"Fine," she said a bit defiantly in reply. He let out a loud sigh, and then climbed out and went to the back of the SUV. She heard the back door open and then close a moment later, and a minute after that he was standing outside of her door with the boots and the coat. She'd already kicked off her short boots and quickly slid her feet into the taller pair that he was holding out for her. "Thanks," she mumbled as she jumped down from the SUV and slipped into the coat as well. She felt a shiver spread through her realizing how cold it really was there.

Veronica started to walk toward the house and realized Logan was following right behind her. "What are you doing?" she asked as she turned toward him with a disapproving scowl on her face.

"I'm coming with you," he replied as he looked back as defiantly as she'd been acting a moment before.

"It's not necessary, Logan. Just wait in the car."

"Hell no," he replied as he shook his head adamantly. "I still have fucking nightmares, Veronica, about you disappearing with that Boyd asshole. You're not walking up to that door alone."

Veronica let out a frustrated sigh. "This isn't the same thing, Logan."

Logan let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. "No, Veronica. You're right. It's not the same thing. I'm not waiting in the car this time."

"Whatever," she spat back before she turned and headed toward the door again. Serve the damn papers so you can go, Veronica. Get out of this goddamn snow and try to forget everything you've been imagining in your mind for the last hour.

Veronica knocked on the door a bit harder than probably necessary, but she needed to take her anger out on something. It took a couple of minutes before a guy around their age opened the door. She'd been doing research on the man she was supposed to be serving and instantly recognized the young man who opened the door as his twenty-two year old son. "Hi is Grant Foster here?" she asked with the most welcoming smile she could muster given her current mood.

The younger Foster looked a bit puzzled as he shook his head. "No, he went to New Mexico to visit his sister for the holiday," he let out an angry chuckle before he continued. "I guess he felt guilty that he wouldn't be spending the holiday with me, so he rented the cabin up here for me and my girlfriend to enjoy a white Christmas."

And throw anyone looking for him off his trail, damn it. "Sorry to interrupt you," Veronica said as politely as she could, even though she was seething inside. "Have a happy holiday." The guy nodded and she spun around, barely avoiding crashing right into Logan who she'd forgotten was standing right behind her.

She shot him an annoyed glare and marched back to the Range Rover. She knew this wasn't Logan's fault, but she couldn't seem to get a hold of her emotions at all. First the memory of him having sex with Madison in Aspen and now the guy she drove all that way to serve with papers wasn't even in that cabin, let alone the state. She opened her door and climbed in, slamming it a bit harder than necessary behind her.

Logan's door opened a minute later and he climbed in as well. "Do you think he's lying?" he asked as he closed his own door, much gentler than she had.

"What?" she asked as she shot a cold stare at him.

"The guy at the door," Logan asked as he gestured toward the cabin with his hand. "Do you think he's lying about the guy you're looking for not being here?"

"You would be an expert at lying, wouldn't you?" Veronica found herself blurting out before she could stop herself.

Logan's eyes shot open in shock and she saw a hurt expression immediately flash across his face, but it was quickly replaced by an angry look instead. "What the hell is wrong with you, Veronica?" Logan asked furiously in reply. "I'm sorry that the guy you were looking for isn't here, but why the hell are you so mad at me? Could you please tell me what I did in the last hour that pissed you off, because right now I have no fucking clue what it was."

Veronica didn't mean to pick a fight with him but she was just so angry, and she knew it wasn't going to get better until she was away from the snow. "It's just… I hate the snow, okay… can we just go?" she angrily pleaded with him.

He gave her a completely perplexed look before he nodded and started the car without saying another word. She closed her eyes and once again tried not to imagine the heart-wrenching version of Madison and Logan in Aspen with snow falling outside the window of their room that she'd dreamt about so many months before.

While the rental agency for the cabin was in Blue Jay, the actual cabin was a bit farther than that, which made the drive even longer than Logan had initially estimated at the Hut. Veronica was trying to keep her composure as they made their way back down the winding mountain road and thought she was doing better until she spotted police lights ahead of them in the middle of the road. As they got closer she could see a sheriff deputy was working on putting up a road-closed barricade. She felt her nails dig into her palms as she squeezed her hands into tight fists. She heard Logan let out a frustrated sigh as well, likely anxious to get this trip over as soon as possible now after her freak out at the cabin.

Logan stopped when he reached the sheriff's car causing the deputy to stop working on the sign so he could walk over to talk to them. Logan rolled down his window and gave the deputy a friendly greeting. The officer let Logan and Veronica know that the heavy snowfall had caused several large trees to come down and the highway was going to be closed until they were able to get a road crew out to take care of it. Logan asked if there was another route they could take but unfortunately there wasn't another open option from their current location. The deputy said they hoped to get it cleared in the morning, but, with it being Christmas and the amount of snow that had been coming down, he wasn't able to guarantee that. He told them if they needed a place to stay, he knew the owners of the Pine Rose Cabins in nearby Twin Peaks and thought they may have something available. He told them how to find the resort and that he'd call ahead and let them know to expect the two of them to be arriving shortly.

Veronica remained completely silent as they drove but was fuming inside. What else could go wrong today? Logan didn't seem any more excited about this than she was based on his demeanor after they'd spoken with the deputy. When she finally did glance at him after they'd driven a couple of miles, she could easily tell just from his profile that he was upset based on his clenched jaw and furrowed brow.

The older couple that ran the resort were at least very gracious and sympathized with them being stranded. Although, even their kindness and the festive way the small lodge was decorated couldn't quell the anger that had only continued to grow in Veronica ever since they first arrived in this winter-nightmare-land. There was a small gift shop area by the front desk and Veronica wandered away from Logan while he was giving them his credit card information to pay for the cabin. They'd already argued in the car when they parked in front of the lodge about who was going to pay. Logan had insisted and she had protested, which didn't help either of their moods. Logan finally relented though and agreed that she could reimburse him once she was paid for the case. She could hear Logan talking with the lady at the desk, but was far enough away that she really wasn't able to make out much of what they were saying.

"We're in Wild Bill's," Logan told her in a defeated tone as they walked back to the car. "It was the only cabin they had left that was available." He paused and let out a bitter scoff. "Apparently lots of people actually enjoy coming to the mountains for the holiday," he added in an overly dramatic, sarcastic way as they reached the car.

She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of arguing with him, so ignored the comment as she climbed into the SUV. She could see him let out a deep sigh, which was very visible thanks to the freezing air, and shake his head slightly before he opened his own door and climbed in. She was impatiently waiting for him to start the car and when he didn't after a few seconds she turned and gave him an irritated look.

"The lady at the desk said there's a small general store up the road that should still be open, although they'll probably be closing soon for the holiday," Logan told her as he turned away from her glare and stared out the front window again. "Do you want to go there first and get some sort of groceries to get us through the night?"

Veronica let out a frustrated sigh. Doritos and Ding-Dongs probably weren't really going to be the best things to get them through to the next morning. While they wouldn't starve just surviving off of the rest of the snacks Logan had brought along, most of what he'd brought was just unhealthy junk food, and that would probably just make her mood even worse. Maybe they could grab some alcohol as well, because at this point, she could certainly use some. She knew her dad would be furious if he found out she'd used a fake ID up here, but at least she'd be snowbound and not out driving.

"Yes," she replied tersely as she buckled her seat belt again. She could see him nod out of the corner of her eye before he started the Range Rover again.

"Welcome to the wild west," Logan grumbled as he parked the Range Rover in front of the cabin they'd be staying in. Even with the snow that had accumulated around the cabin, she could still make out a bench next to the front steps that was formed with wagon wheel sides and a few other wagon wheels that were decorated with Christmas lights. There was also a Christmas wreath hanging from the door and lights that went up around the front of the cabin as well.

"Wow," Logan blurted out loudly as they walked into the main room. There they found more wagon wheel furniture as well as other western decorations, such as a water pump lamp on an end-table next to the couch.

Veronica glanced around the room and noticed there was only one bedroom off the main room. Even with the lights out in that room, she could still make out the shape of a large bed. "Only one bed?" she asked in a less than pleased tone.

"You're more than welcome to use it," Logan quickly replied in a tone that pretty much mimicked her own. "I'm happy to sleep on the couch." He placed the grocery bags that he'd carried in from the store on the small kitchenette counter. He turned away from her and she watched him take his coat off and then toss it on a chair. "I'm going to start a fire since it's pretty cold in here," he grumbled as he headed toward the fireplace.

Veronica had carried in the duffle bag with the stuff Mac had loaned her, thinking there may be some other clothes in it that she could use since she hadn't brought anything along besides what she was wearing. She dropped it and her messenger bag on the floor by the kitchen table and walked over to grab one of the beers that they'd bought at the store. Since the fireplace was already set up and just needed the kindling to be lit, it didn't take Logan long to get the fire started. I wonder if he built a romantic fire for Madison in Aspen too. "God this is the worst fucking Christmas ever," Veronica blurted out before she could stop herself.

"You know, you're not the only one whose plans were fucked up, Veronica," Logan snapped back angrily, apparently finally past the point of trying to just ignore the way she'd been attacking him.

His tone certainly didn't help and with all the anger that had been bubbling up inside of her for the last couple of hours, Veronica found herself immediately snapping back without even considering the consequences of what she was saying or the vicious tone she took. "Oh I'm sorry… am I keeping you from frolicking with snow-bunny bimbos in Aspen again?"

She saw a quick flash of pain momentarily before he covered that with a mask of indignation. He angrily grabbed his coat as he spun to face her. "I guess, as usual, you were right that night. That is something you are never getting past." And with that he stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him.

Veronica let out a defeated sigh and sunk down on the floor in front of the fireplace. What is wrong with me? Why can't I just let that go? Her anger was slowly shifting to sadness and regret. What did I expect? That he'd just stand there and not react to me being a total bitch to him? She rested her head on her knees and watched the flames. I really thought I'd gotten past all of that, but then the fucking snow just had to bring all those memories back. She wasn't really sure what she expected to happen next, but assumed he'd come back. She couldn't change the way she felt and she really wasn't sure if she could apologize for how she was acting either. Well at least what I was actually mad about ever since we got up here isn't really a secret now. Maybe acknowledging that will make things bearable enough to get us through the rest of the day and the drive back tomorrow morning.

After sitting on the floor for about ten minutes with no sign of Logan, Veronica panicked as she started to wonder if he would have actually just left her there. They'd seen other hotels closer to Blue Jay, so he could have just driven back that direction and found someplace else to stay for the night. She stood up and glanced out the window and was relieved to see the Range Rover was still parked in its spot. She glanced around outside and didn't see Logan anywhere though. When she turned back toward the main room, she remembered there were things they bought at the little market that needed to be refrigerated, so she busied herself putting those things away.

Veronica was a little surprised that there still wasn't any sign of Logan when she was finished with the groceries. She walked over to where she'd dropped both her messenger bag and Mac's duffle bag and pulled out her cell phone. She stared at the screen for a few minutes before sending Logan a text.

Veronica: 'Where are you?'

She sat on the couch staring at the phone for a few minutes, hoping he'd reply, but nothing came back. After waiting a while longer, she decided to call to see if he even had his phone on. She was hoping that maybe he would at least answer the call since he hadn't responded to her text. The phone rang twice before it went to voice mail, so she was sure it was on and he had ignored the call on purpose. She let out a frustrated sigh as she heard his voicemail message begin, but then her heart ached when she picked up on his tone.

You've reached Logan and here's today's inspirational message: There is no repentance for devastating actions regardless of the circumstances... They will inevitably haunt you for the rest of your life.

"Well that's not very inspirational, Logan," she found herself saying out loud to the empty cabin as she disconnected the call without leaving a message. He'd clearly recorded it after he left the cabin based on the message and the desolate pained inflection in his voice. She got up and started to pace around the cabin. She glanced out the windows again and still didn't see him coming back. She noticed it was starting to quickly get darker outside which likely meant it would be getting even colder than it already had been out there. Not only was it winter and the sun was setting very early, but with the snow clouds and the trees blocking out what little light they should be getting, it just seemed dreary and grey outside. Nothing at all like a winter wonderland.

She was debating about whether to call or text again as she continued to look out the window. Certainly if I keep bugging him he'll eventually answer, won't he? She was also starting to consider whether to apologize or to at least promise to stop acting the way she had been, but she wasn't really sure if she could keep that promise. Part of her wanted to, but the other part, the part that was still deeply hurt about what had happened in Aspen, kept her from going that far. She knew she was probably being unreasonable, but unfortunately that was too much of her nature. She finally decided to send off another text as she stared out at the SUV.

Veronica: 'When are you planning to come back?'

A second after she sent it, she saw a soft glow from the back of the Range Rover and realized he must have retreated there instead of walking around outside in the snow. She also deduced that he must have been reading the messages and not just ignoring them by how long the glow stayed on. She wondered if he was working on a reply so she just stood and stared out the window while she waited. However, after a few minutes with no reply once the glow faded, she decided to send off another message.

Veronica: 'I'm sure it's cold out there. Don't be stubborn and just come back in.'

She watched the glow from the back of the SUV again, which seemed to stay on longer this time. Since she was so focused on wondering what he was doing, she was a little surprised when her phone beeped with a reply this time.

Logan: 'Trust me Pot, it's warmer out here than in there with you.'

She shook her head after reading it. Well at least he's not just ignoring me now. Even though she should probably be furious at his response, she was relieved that he was actually starting to reply and not just completely blowing her off.

Veronica: 'Kettle could simmer in rage just as well in here than in the back of the car.'

She watched the glow stay on a bit longer again before her phone beeped a second time.

Logan: 'Kettle isn't the angry one.'

Veronica: 'Kettle seemed a bit angry when it stormed out of the cabin and slammed the door.'

Logan: 'Even kettles reach a boiling point, especially when the pot is excessively fueling the fire.'

She let out a small sigh as she read his reply. She knew his reaction had been completely justified. Logan was the one, who unfairly or not, was taking the brunt of all her anger that afternoon. Hasn't he paid enough for that indiscretion, Veronica?

Veronica: 'I know.'

Veronica walked back over to take a seat near the fire again, choosing to be closer by sitting on the floor and leaning against the front of a large armchair. For whatever stupid reason though, she still couldn't bring herself to apologize. Obviously she hadn't gotten over what had happened at all, even a year later. She'd done a good job of burying it for a while or at least covering it by being mad about other things, like Logan dating Parker or Logan beating up Piz, but deep down that hurt from him having sex with Madison was still there. Even if she couldn't completely let go of the anguish she felt about it, it wasn't really fair of her to make him feel like he should stay out in the car all night.

Veronica: 'Please come back in.'

She was staring down at her phone waiting for another reply when she heard the door open and close. She stared at the fire instead of looking at him, not really trusting how she was going to react next. After a minute or two, she heard him walk over and sit down on the couch at the end that was closest to the fire. It was just a little bit away from where she was already sitting on the floor. She could see his silhouette in her peripheral vision, but still didn't turn to completely look at him.

"I know I've said this before, but I am so sorry that happened. I know I can't change it but I really never wanted to hurt you, Veronica," he said sounding as devastated as he had all those months ago when she first confronted him at the Grand.

Veronica took a deep breath and shook her head, still looking only at the fire and not him. She knew he'd said that the night they'd fought, but she still didn't believe it and it infuriated her all over again. "I don't understand how you could have ever thought that you being with Madison wouldn't have hurt me. That at the point that it was happening that you wouldn't have had that flash through your mind," she said feeling the weight of the heartache from his betrayal bearing down on her all over again.

"I didn't think that because I thought it was you," he said in a completely broken voice.

She finally turned and gave him a confused look. "How could you have thought that?" she asked incredulously.

He buried his face into his hands and let out a shaky breath. "I was so wasted, Veronica… there was this huge party… a bunch of 09ers and guys from Dick's frat too… I'd been drinking so much that day and then… someone had some drugs, I don't even know what they were, but I was so high… I stumbled into some bedroom to get away from the noise and all the people. I didn't even realize she was at the party. I hadn't seen her at all earlier. All I remember was blonde hair and saying your name… and the voice saying she was you…" He sucked in another shaky breath before he continued. "And then later when I was lucid enough again… I realized who was next to me…" He shook his head before he continued. "I left without even talking to her and some how made it back to the place I was staying with Dick. I just wanted to pretend it never happened… I didn't want it to be true… but I couldn't change it either."

Veronica took a shaky breath as well. "Why didn't you tell me that before?" she asked weakly.

Logan let out a self-deprecating pained laugh. "I didn't think the truth would make it any better… it wouldn't change what had happened… you wanted me to tell you it wasn't true, and I couldn't change that."

"I don't think it makes it any worse," Veronica said softly. Logan finally lifted his head up slightly so he could see her. She'd seen him at some really low points, and the look on his face definitely ranked right up there with the worst of them.

"I wish there was some way for us to get past it," he said softly, his eyes looking a bit glassy. "I didn't think about the snow… and well that. I'm so sorry about today."

"Me too," Veronica said softly as she gave him a weak smile. "Both things… figuring out how to get past it and being sorry about today."

Logan nodded and looked a bit less upset than he had moments ago, but she could still see how distraught he was feeling. She watched as he tugged the sleeves of his Henley down over his hands and then wrapped his arms around his waist, staring at the fire instead of her. His shoulders were slumped forward in complete contrast to the angry version of him that had stormed out of the cabin earlier.

The way that what happened in Aspen had transpired didn't totally excuse it in her mind, but it did seem to take some of her feelings of betrayal away. At least she was now starting to believe that he really hadn't intentionally tried to hurt her. She stood up and walked over to sit next to him, resting her head against his shoulder as she reached out to touch the hand that was crossed over closest to her. She gently pushed his sleeve back so she could rub her fingers over his. She felt him take a shaky breath as he exhaled when her warm fingers came in contact with his very cold ones. After a few moments, he carefully moved his arm that was on the same side as she was so he could wrap it around her shoulders. She appreciated the gesture and intertwined her fingers with his before she snuggled a little closer into his side. Neither of them seemed to know what to say, so they just sat there silently watching the flames dance over the logs, the silence occasionally broken by a loud crackle from the hotly burning embers in the fireplace.

Veronica wasn't sure how long they had just sat there watching the fire together, but eventually the serene peacefulness was abruptly interrupted when her stomach growled loudly. "Time to feed Norm?" Logan asked with a soft chuckle. She let out a soft laugh as well and nudged his side with her elbow. He used to tease her that she must have had a tape worm in her stomach with how much she could eat and still stay so thin, and at some point he'd named the worm Norm. He laughed at her nudging him and then untwined their joined hands and placed his gently on her stomach. "Don't worry buddy, I'll be sure she feeds you," he commented to her belly.

While she missed the feel of their fingers wound together, having his hand so intimately placed on her stomach sent a warm feeling through her body that she wasn't expecting. He must have become concerned that he was crossing the line of being just friends again and quickly pulled his hand away, giving her a slightly apologetic look. "Sorry… did you want to start making dinner?"

Veronica nodded in reply, a bit surprised at how much she wanted his hand back on her. She waited a few seconds to be sure her voice was steady. "It's fine… yeah, making dinner sounds like a good idea."

Logan stood up and reached out his hand to pull her up from the couch. "Let me know what I can do to help."

They'd gone with simple spaghetti and French bread when they were at the store because Veronica didn't want to bother with anything too complicated for just one night there. The little market had some sausage that she was going to fry up to add to the jarred spaghetti sauce to make it a little more appetizing. She had Logan fill a large pot with water to bowl the noodles in, while she searched for a frying pan to use to cook the sausage before she added it to the sauce. Veronica grabbed a bottle of beer out of the fridge when she opened it to get the sausage and held the bottle out toward Logan. He gave her a grateful nod as he took it from her. She grabbed her own and the sausage and closed the fridge door.

"So was your dad furious you're not making it back tonight?" Logan asked hesitantly as he watched her frying up the sausage. She wasn't sure if his nervousness was because he was worried about her dad, or if it was about bringing up their current situation again.

"I… um… I haven't actually called him yet," she said as she moved the sausage around a bit with the spatula.

"Oh…" Logan replied, sounding at a loss for how exactly to react to that. "The lady at the desk… she um… she mentioned that the church across the way does a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service if we were interested…" Veronica was a little surprised at how nervous he sounded as he shared that with her.

She chuckled slightly despite herself. "Are you suggesting that might make my dad less angry… if I tell him I'll at least be going to church?" she asked with a playful lilt to her voice.

Logan shrugged and looked down at the floor, avoiding her eyes. She watched him for a moment trying to figure out what was going on with him now. "Did you want to go?" Veronica asked, suddenly curious as to why he had even brought it up.

He shrugged again and looked up at her for a second before returning his gaze to the floor. "If you're interested, sure, but if not… that's fine too." Would he really have asked if he didn't want to go, Veronica? She tried to think back through the years to remember if it was something he used to do. Suddenly she remembered something Lilly had mentioned to her once.

"Your mom liked to go to them, didn't she?" she asked softly as she watched him carefully. He let out a quiet sigh and nodded, still staring down at the floor and not saying anything. "Yeah, we could go… that would be nice," Veronica added earning a quick glance and small smile from him.

She went back to cooking the sausage and starting thinking about it more. "Was that what you were supposed to do tonight back in Neptune?" she asked as she remembered his comment about her not being the only one who's plans were messed up. She suddenly realized he must not have just been planning to go to one alone because by that point he already knew he could go to the one here. She couldn't help but wonder if that also was the reason he'd pulled his hand off of her stomach so quickly. Even if the brunette… Kyra… isn't his girlfriend, that doesn't mean he isn't seeing someone else, Veronica.

He was picking at the label on his beer bottle when she looked back over at him. "Yeah, I was," he replied as he looked at her for a moment before looking down at the bottle again.

"Oh… I'm sorry my little wild goose chase screwed that up for you," she replied as earnestly as she could. "I hope… whoever it was you were supposed to go with… isn't too upset about this unfortunate turn of events."

Logan chuckled, and not in a bitter or angry way, but in an actually amused way. "No… actually I think she was excited about it."

Veronica turned back toward him with a puzzled expression on her face. "Did she not actually want to go and she's glad she's getting out of it?"

Logan shook his head, but she couldn't miss the way his lips curved up into just the smallest sly smile. "No she wanted to go… she'll still go without me."

"Then why was she excited about your current dilemma and standing her up?" Veronica asked as she continued to watch him. She was completely perplexed and couldn't help but wonder what he wasn't saying.

"Well it wasn't a date…" Logan said as he glanced at her again. "It was more of a family thing."

"Oh… well family things can be pretty big," Veronica replied, thinking how rarely she had allowed Logan to be anywhere near her dad when they were dating. Suddenly the implication of joining a family for their holiday celebration seemed very significant to her and she couldn't help but wonder how close Logan was to this mystery woman. "She must really like you if she wanted you to spend Christmas Eve with her family," she mumbled as she turned back toward the stove, not wanting him to catch any hint of jealousy in her expression. It was bad enough that he might notice it in her tone.

"She does," Logan replied fondly, which made Veronica's chest tighten slightly. It wasn't just his answer that bothered her, but the almost loving way he'd said it.

Veronica swallowed the lump in her throat before she spoke again. "Sounds like you really like her too?" She continued to just stare at the frying sausage rather than risk seeing his reaction to what she had just said.

"Yeah." Logan's answer came out with the same tenderness he'd just answered the last question with. "She's a great kid." Wait, what? "You met her once… in the elevator at the Grand." Veronica turned and gave him a confused look. "She was about this tall," he said as he held his hand at about the middle of his chest. "Wearing one of your t-shirts."

"Oh… right," Veronica closed her eyes for a second and shook her head. The little girl in the elevator who asked if I'd heard the dedication and got all giddy when she realized who I was. "Wait, who is she?"

Veronica couldn't help notice Logan was grinning a bit more now at her bemusement. "Dick's ex-sister-in-law," he replied with an affirming nod. Veronica was sure her expression now was even more confused and exasperated. Logan chuckled softly before he continued. "Dick ran off and married her sister in Vegas, and left Heather with me while they were gone. The two of us ended up becoming gaming buddies. We play online at least once a week and I take her to Amy's every so often. When she found out I didn't have any plans for Christmas, she convinced her mom to let me join them."

"Dick got married?" Veronica asked, as shocked about that, as she was about who Logan was actually supposed to go to church with.

Logan nodded again and chuckled before he explained more. "Yeah, but they had it annulled when they got back. I'm not sure Heather's really technically his ex-sister-in-law since it was annulled, but it's still fun to call her that, especially around him."

Veronica let out a surprised laugh and turned back to the sausage again. A small smile crept across her lips as she thought more about his comment that Heather was excited he was stranded here with her. Heather's performance in the elevator was definitely unforgettable and she appeared to have one objective in mind that day. The song dedication also made a lot more sense in hind sight thinking about both Heather and Logan's reactions that day.

"You can toss the noodles in," she instructed over her shoulder with a warm smile. Logan nodded and started to open the package of spaghetti noodles that was next to him on the counter. Veronica couldn't help but notice that he finally seemed to be more at ease again. She was relieved to see that he was starting to act more the way he had before she'd gone into full psycho ex-girlfriend mode earlier when they first reached the mountains.

Veronica popped the loaf of French bread into the oven while she finished working on the sauce. They'd also grabbed a prepackaged bag of salad and a bottle of Italian dressing which she had Logan get out and set on the small kitchen table. It didn't take much longer for everything else to be ready and soon they were both sitting down to eat.

This absolutely was not how she'd planned to spend Christmas Eve, but looking back at some of her other ones, this was far from the worst.

Veronica had been putting off calling her dad because she hadn't actually told him about taking the case, let alone driving up to the mountains with Logan. She had thought that they would be able to be back way before his flight landed, and even if it was slightly later, it wouldn't have been a big deal. Now she wasn't sure what his reaction might be when he found out her predicament. He'd finally texted her while they were eating to let her know he was back in Neptune. She knew he wouldn't be overly concerned if it took her a little while to return the text, but eventually he'd begin to worry. When she and Logan were all done eating and had cleaned everything up, Veronica decided she'd better stop delaying the inevitable.

"Hey Daddio," Veronica said as Keith answered the phone. "How was Tucson?"

"Much drier than here, that's for sure," Keith replied. "And where exactly are you? You do know it's Christmas Eve right? I'd expected a joyous holiday greeting when I returned. Not a dark empty apartment."

"Yeah… about that," Veronica responded with a small grimace. "Funny story… I sort of took a case to serve papers and ended up snowbound in the mountains."

"You what?" Keith asked sounding increasingly irritated as he let out a loud exhale. "I guess I'm relieved to know that you didn't drive up there yourself since the Saturn is still here, but that begs the question of how did you end up there?"

She took a steadying breath before she answered. "Logan offered to drive me up since his SUV is better equipped for snow and he has more experience actually driving in it," she explained as she glanced over at Logan who had been putting more wood on the fire. At the mention of his name Logan glanced over his shoulder at her and she thought his expression looked a bit worried.

"Oh…" Keith replied, apparently processing what she'd just told him. "I'm not surprised there were road closures up there with how much precipitation has been coming down. I do wish you had let me know before you went though. I realize you're an adult now, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to be informed about things like this ahead of time, honey." He paused a moment before he continued. "You're not literally like stuck in the car are you?"

Veronica laughed softly at that. "No, we found some accommodations." She chuckled a bit louder as she looked around the room again. "Western themed accommodations even."

"I'm assuming since the two of you are not dating, that I don't need to reiterate my preference over sleeping arrangements, correct?" Keith asked in his disapproving dad tone.

"Correct," she answered back as she rolled her eyes slightly. She wasn't surprised he went there, although it wasn't like his preference ever stopped them in the past.

"Do you think you'll be back tomorrow?" he asked, his tone shifting back to concerned dad mode.

"Absolutely," Veronica replied as positively as she could. "The deputy we talked to thought they'd be able to get the road all cleared tomorrow, and then we'll be home. No opening presents until I get there. You got it?"

"Got it," Keith said with a soft chuckle. "Do you have Backup with you?"

Veronica filled Keith in on Mac taking Backup for the day and that she'd let her know Keith was home if she wanted to bring him back over.

"Don't get into any trouble up there," Keith added as sternly as he could.

"Trouble? Us? We're actually headed to church in just a little bit," she added as she gave Logan a quick wink. The somber look that had been on Logan's face while he watched her talking to her dad at least lightened slightly at that.

"Church… really?" Keith replied a bit skeptically.

"Yep, Christmas Eve Candlelight Service," Veronica explained.

"Hmm… maybe you should hang out more with Logan," Keith teased in reply.

Veronica laughed and shook her head slightly. "Goodnight, Dad. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. See you tomorrow," Keith said tenderly before they disconnected the call.

"Good call on the church angle," Veronica said to Logan with a sly smile. "I think my dad was actually impressed, knowing that had to have been your suggestion instead of mine. I just need to give Mac a quick call and then we can go," Veronica explained as she walked over and sat down on the couch near the fireplace. Logan nodded as he finished putting more wood on the fire and then took a seat in the chair across from her. She was a little disappointed he hadn't taken the spot next to her, although realized that was a bit presumptuous given where things currently stood between them. And where exactly is that anyway, Veronica? Instead of dwelling on that, she pressed Mac's name on her screen.

"Success?" Mac asked as she answered the call.

"Unfortunately not," Veronica answered with a little sigh.

"Sorry, I know how much you hate it when you don't get your man," Mac replied sympathetically. "Will you be stopping by soon for Backup then?"

"Actually we sort of got stuck up here in the snow," Veronica relayed to her friend.

"Logan got the SUV stuck in the snow?" Mac asked in disbelief.

Veronica laughed slightly before she continued. "No. The road was closed due to downed trees, so we couldn't make it back. My dad's home now though if you want to take Backup over to him."

"Sure, we can do that. I'm sure your dad would like one of his children there for the holiday," Mac replied a bit sarcastically. Veronica could tell that Mac was holding back from saying that she told Veronica going up on Christmas Eve was a bad idea. After a moment of silence Mac continued sounding almost hesitant. "And everything is going okay with you and Logan?"

Veronica glanced over at Logan who had been watching the fire while she was talking. "Yeah," she answered, holding back on saying the 'now' that she was thinking. "We're currently at a small cabin."

"I hope that didn't entail any B&E," Mac commented with a laugh, causing Veronica to laugh as well.

"No... we actually did rent it... no felonies or misdemeanors… yet, but the night's still young." Veronica saw Logan's lips curl up in a devious grin. "Although Logan's dragging me to church soon, so maybe we'll actually stay out of trouble... at least for the night."

"Maybe you two getting into some trouble is exactly what you both need," Mac replied mischievously. "I personally think you're both happier when you're neck deep in some sort of mayhem together."

Veronica couldn't help but scoff at that. "I have no idea what you're talking about Mackenzie," she replied hoping Logan wouldn't notice that her face had heated up slightly.

Mac laughed on the other end of the phone. "Right... well have fun at church... with your fettuccine... and I can't wait to hear all about it when you're back."

"Goodnight Mac," Veronica said, trying not to react to her final comments. Mac laughed again and said goodnight before she ended the call.

"Should we head to the church soon?" Veronica asked as she slid her phone onto her pocket.

Logan turned from watching the fire to look at her again. "Yeah... but if you'd rather not go, that's fine too."

"No, I'd like to go," Veronica replied with a gentle smile. She figured it was the least she could do for being so horrible to him earlier.

"It'll be colder out now that it's dark," Logan warned.

She almost reflexively replied that he'd have to keep her warm then, but caught herself before she did. What is wrong with you, Veronica? You've gone from being furious with him to wanting to shamelessly flirt with him. He'll surely think you've lost your mind if you do that. Talk about sending mixed signals. "I know Mac threw in gloves, scarves and hats, so I'll be fine," she said instead as she stood up and headed over to where the duffle bag was still sitting. She pulled out two different stocking caps and held them up. "Which one seems more churchy?" she asked with a playful smirk.

Logan chuckled at her and shrugged. She selected the one that she spotted a matching set of gloves and a scarf for. It didn't take her very long to get all bundled up and ready to go. Logan had carried in his duffle bag from the car as well while she was getting bundled up and pulled out a stocking cap and some gloves for himself. "It's still snowing a little bit," he said in a worried tone as he watched her carefully. "If you'd rather not go out in it… that really is okay, Veronica."

She immediately realized what his concern must have been about. "I'm doing better," she said with a tender expression. "I don't know… I guess hearing what really happened… while it's still painful… I'm not as angry about it as I was before."

He instinctively looked away from her and nodded. She saw that self-loathing look cross his face again which broke her heart, but she wasn't really sure what she could do about it either. Instead of dwelling on it, she thought distraction would probably be the best alternative.

"Ready to go then?" she asked, drawing his attention back to her. He nodded and forced a smile on his face as he headed toward the door.

The church was just up the road from the cabin, so they'd decided to just walk over instead of drive. Logan had grabbed a large flashlight from the Range Rover that they could use to light their way if needed. The service had been even better than Veronica had expected and she couldn't help but feel calmer and more at peace with things as they walked back to the cabin when it was over. She'd been slightly worried about their attire when they first headed over there, but she quickly saw many of the other patrons were dressed quite similarly, having also walked over from other nearby cabins and houses. Everyone was also extremely courteous and friendly, much the same as the couple that ran the resort they were staying at had been.

Besides commenting to Logan that she really enjoyed the service as they left the church, they hadn't said much else on the way back. As they got farther from the church, all she heard was the slight crunching sound the snow made under their boots as they walked. Most of the cabins and houses they passed were decorated for the holiday with lots of sparkling lights that reflected off the newly fallen snow. She had to admit, she finally did feel like she was in a winter wonderland versus how she felt earlier in the day.

Logan had given her several tender looks at the church and had sat as close to her as possible, but kept his hands completely to himself and situated in a way that made it impossible for Veronica to just casually reach out to hold one, although she thought of it several times during the service. They were walking side by side on the way back to the cabin and a couple of times she bumped into him, always eliciting a quick 'sorry' from Logan, even though it was never really his fault.

The Christmas lights were more visible now on the cabin that they were staying in since it was quite dark and the snow had stopped falling. The bright twinkling lights made the small cabin look almost magical as they made their way back to it. She felt a warmth spread through her that she really hadn't felt in longer than she could remember. It was more than just the holiday trappings though, and maybe it was due to some of the things that had been said at the evening service. It had certainly been a much needed reminder that you should never take for granted the things… or people… in your life that were most important to you. Over the last few months, Veronica had tried to ignore how much Logan really did mean to her, but she didn't want to do that anymore. She realized when he wasn't in her life it felt like something was missing. She may not have wanted to admit it before, but something about tonight forced her to finally face that truth. She was actually surprised that it didn't scare her to death, but instead it gave her strength and determination.

When they reached the steps to the cabin, she started up them but then stopped, nearly causing Logan to bump into her. She turned around so she could face him, their heads at about the same height since she was a step above him. Veronica could tell he had a confused look on his face as he stared intently into her eyes. She could see the lights from the cabin sparkle in his eyes since he was facing toward them, making the moment feel even more magical. Logan looked like he was about to ask what was wrong when she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. She knew it probably wasn't the wisest thing to do, but she just couldn't help herself given everything she was feeling at that moment.

Veronica was initially afraid he'd pull away, or not return the kiss, but after a moment of what was likely surprise, his body seemed to fall right back into their old rhythms. She felt his glove covered fingers from one hand land on the base of her neck and pull her even closer to kiss her more deeply. It seemed like minutes, although it may have only been seconds before they pulled away, both a little short of breath. Puffs of their warm breath could be seen floating in the air given how cold it was outside.

Logan stared intently into her eyes. "What are we doing?" he asked with a breathy chuckle, reminding her of what she'd said to him about three years earlier.

"No idea," she replied back, stealing his own line from him. He let out a nervous laugh and rested his forehead against hers for a moment before he placed a light kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Well, we should get you inside where it's warmer while we figure it out," he said in a low husky voice. She nodded and turned to continue up the stairs, waiting at the top while he unlocked the door for them.

He held the door open and gestured for her to go in ahead of him. She stopped a few feet inside the cabin, giving him enough room to come in and close the door, but not much more than that. As soon as he closed the door, she leaned toward him and pushed up as high as she could on her toes to kiss him again. She quickly took off her gloves, letting them fall to the floor, so she could touch him with her fingers. Her hands flew up to his head, and she hastily pushed his stocking cap off, likely landing on the floor next to her gloves. She'd always loved to run her fingers through his hair and didn't want anything to get in the way. He must have followed her lead with his gloves as well, because a moment later, she felt his warm fingers caress over her slightly cold cheeks. She could only stand on her toes for a short while and eventually had to sink back down, breaking the kiss.

"I should have suggested going to church months ago," Logan teased lightly as he stared at her with what could only be described as total amazement and gently stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. He took a deep steadying breath and then gestured toward the fireplace with his head. "I should probably put some more wood on the fire," he suggested though he really didn't seem to want to move away from her.

"Yeah…" Veronica replied weakly with a sensual smile as she pulled his head down to kiss her again. Her fingers quickly found the zipper on his jacket and pulled it down, allowing her hands to slip inside so she could run them up and down his warm torso. She felt him moan lightly against her lips as they continued to kiss.

Moments later, she pushed his jacket off his shoulders. He followed suit and carefully removed her scarf and then unzipped her coat as well. She let out a throaty moan as his mouth moved from her lips down to her neck before he also pushed her coat off her shoulders. She was too busy enjoying the sensations coursing through her body to worry about where their winter-wear was landing.

"Come on…" he mumbled in a low lusty tone as he kept kissing her and started walking backwards toward the couch. "I really should put wood on the fire, or it's going to start getting cold in here too," he said as they got closer to the fireplace.

"I'm certainly not feeling cold at all right now," Veronica said with a salacious smile as she pushed on him slightly, causing him to fall back onto the couch. "Much better," Veronica said as she climbed onto his lap. She captured his mouth with hers again, being more aggressive with her kisses than she had been before. He moaned again as she bit lightly on his lower lip.

He took a deep breath and pulled his head slightly away from hers. "I'm going to hate myself for asking this…" he said in a slightly hesitant way.

"Then don't," she replied and pressed her lips to his as she shifted closer to him on his lap, causing him to groan a bit louder than before.

"I just don't want this to be a one time… stranded at Christmas Eve and feeling sentimental… thing," Logan forced out as soon there was a break in their kissing.

"I don't know what this is, Logan," she replied honestly as she reached up to stroke his cheek with her hand. He leaned into her touch and closed his eyes as he let out a deep sigh. "You never needed labels before?" she asked as she nuzzled her nose against his. She thought back to the last time they reconnected after they broke up over winter break the prior year and he didn't seem concerned about it then.

He took a deep breath and pulled his head away enough to really look at her. "Please be honest with me, Veronica. Is there any part of you that wants more than just tonight?"

She gave him a tender smile and nodded. "Yeah… part of me does want that." She could tell he relaxed at that and his expression softened. "And it's more than just a small part of me," she continued causing him to smile even more. "Is that enough for now?" she asked as she ran a fingertip across his lips.

"Yeah," he replied before he bit playfully at her finger. When she pulled it away, he pressed his lips to hers and pulled her tightly against his body. One of his hands traced up her back, toward her head. She laughed softly against his lips as he pulled her hat off and tossed it back toward the door where all their other things had landed.

"We still have too many clothes on," she said in a sultry tone as she reached down to pull her sweater over her head. She watched as his eyes darkened while he gazed at her red lace bra.

"Very festive," he commented as he reached up and traced the top of the lace with a fingertip.

"Mm… I do aim to please," she replied with a salacious grin.

"Hmm… what a coincidence… I think we share the same motto," he said leeringly before he trailed kisses from her neck, down her chest toward her breasts. She moaned and arched up as his tongue sent a wave of desire through her. And please he always does.She rocked her hips slightly on his lap, causing him to momentarily stop what he was doing to her left breast and let out a slow moan.

"Your turn now," Veronica said as she pushed on the plaid long-sleeve shirt he was wearing so she could get the Henley off too. He quickly shed both of them and she let out a satisfied sigh as she ran her fingers over his bare chest.

While passionately making out on the couch in front of the fading fire was heavenly, after a while Veronica was ready to take things to the next stage. She gave him a come hither look and stood up, holding her hand out to him. It didn't take him long to immediately stand and take her hand with his.

"We haven't checked out the bedroom yet," she said coyly as she dragged him in that direction.

"There's only one thing I'm interested in checking out," Logan replied with a lecherous tone.

As she flipped on the bedroom light, they both froze in place and then broke out laughing.

"Is that a covered wagon bed?" Veronica finally asked incredulously when she'd stopped laughing enough to talk again. Logan continued to laugh as he nodded.

"Just think of all the fun role playing opportunities," he said as he waggled his eyebrows at her. "This place is a gold mine," he added, causing them both to laugh harder.

Veronica shoved him slightly on the chest. "No more even remotely western references," she said as she tried to give him a stern look. Although standing there in just her red lace bra, with her pants and snow boots still on, it was certainly hard to imagine Logan taking her seriously.

"That's going to be extremely difficult, standing in the middle of Wild Bill's… In Twin Peaks," he added in a salacious tone as he glanced down at her breasts and than back up at her eyes. Veronica laughed and shook her head as she rolled her eyes slightly.

Not only was the bed set up to resemble a covered wagon, but there were lots of red, white and blue decorations, including the pillows and quilt at the end of the bed.

"And here I thought your red lace was appropriate for the holiday, but now I see you were just trying to be patriotic and match the bedding," Logan teased with a chuckle.

Veronica narrowed her eyes at him. "So… what are you… holiday festive, or patriotic?" she asked as she glanced down at his pants and then back up at his face.

Logan's grin grew even more as he kicked off his boots and started to unbutton his pants. Veronica couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle as she watched him eagerly try to get out of his clothes. Her light chuckling turned into a much louder laugh when he actually did pull down his jeans leaving him in only a pair of boxers. He was wearing a pair of dark blue silk boxers with cartoon Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and holiday decorations adorning them.

Veronica finally stopped laughing enough to speak again. "I guess you've got both bases covered, since they are certainly perfect for the holiday, but also have red, white and blue on them."

"What can I say," Logan replied with a confident smile. "I've always been an overachiever."

"Yeah you have," she replied with a seductive grin. "You wanna earn an A-plus helping me out of my boots and pants too?" she asked before she sat down on the edge of the bed and wiggled her feet at him.

He nodded and a few seconds later had both of her boots as well as her socks off. He took a deep breath as he bent down closer to her stomach so he could place kisses there before he unbuttoned her jeans and she lifted up enough for him to pull them down. She could easily tell through his silk boxers what affect seeing her in the red lace bra and matching underwear was having on him. Thank god I went with a lacy matched set today.

"You're absolutely gorgeous, Veronica," Logan said huskily as he stood there staring at her.

"You're not so hard on the eyes either, Echolls," she replied back with an exaggerated waggle of her eyebrows. When he stood frozen in the same spot, still just looking at her reverently she started to feel a little uncomfortable with the attention. "This isn't a museum, you are allowed to touch," she teased hoping that would break whatever spell he suddenly seemed to be under.

"I know… it's just…" he took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "I never… I never thought I'd get the chance to see you like this… be with you like this… and I just… I've missed you so much."

She gave him a tender smile and nodded in reply. "I missed you too," she said as she held her hand out toward him.

He took her hand and turned it so he could kiss the back of it before placing kisses up her arm as he moved to be closer to her again. It didn't take long for his lips to find hers and his hands to start caressing over all of her curves. She let out a satisfied sigh when his mouth moved from her lips to her neck and his fingers touched her exactly the way she used to love.

"I know it's only Christmas Eve," she purred against his ear. "But I really want to unwrap my present," she said seductively as she pushed his boxers down over his hips. She felt him groan against her collarbone and could tell his breathing had sped up considerably.

"There is no way on earth any Christmas is ever going to top this," Logan moaned against her skin before his teeth nipped playfully at her through the lace of her bra.

"That sounds like a challenge," Veronica replied coyly causing Logan to tip his head up to look in her eyes. "You know how much I enjoy a challenge," she added before he shifted so he could press his lips to hers again. In his new position, more of his body was pressed against hers and she couldn't help rocking her hips against him. He suddenly broke the kiss and shook his head slightly at her as one hand landed on her hip to keep her still.

"Oh no… I want to savor this for as long as possible," he said with a dangerous look in his eyes. "Remember… there's no need to rush anything… we're not going any where for a really… really… long time."

By the time they'd finally reached the point of exhaustion and needed to rest for a while, the cabin had gotten noticeably colder. Of course being covered in sweat only made the cool air feel even chillier and Veronica shivered slightly as she lay panting across the top of Logan.

"I'd better finally take care of that fire," Logan said softly as he kissed Veronica on the top of the head. She slowly nodded, still a bit to winded to actually give him a verbal response. She found enough energy to roll off of him, so that he could crawl out of bed and go start the fire again. He sat up so he could reach the quilt at the end of the bed and laid it on top of her as he placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "Be back soon," he whispered to her before he climbed out of bed. She watched him head to the bathroom first to clean up before he stopped and gave her another kiss and then disappeared out to the main room. She chuckled as she noticed he'd put his Rudolph boxers back on.

Veronica laid in bed basking in the afterglow of what they'd been doing for the last hour or so. She actually didn't have any idea what time it was, or how long they'd actually been going at it. He wasn't lying when he said he wanted to savor it. Endurance… definitely an apt code name for Logan. Veronica could hear him out in the main room, apparently rebuilding the fire which must have gone out at some point based on how cold the cabin had become. She felt like she'd recovered enough to get out of bed and decided watching Logan build a fire sounded much better than lying in a covered-wagon bed alone, so she climbed off the bed and wrapped the quilt around herself. She certainly wasn't going to exert the effort to actually put clothes back on. If she was lucky, there would be another round of reconciling before they were too exhausted and needed to actually sleep.

Logan glanced over his shoulder when she came out of the room and headed toward the couch. He gave her a tender smile and then went back to working on the fire. She was a little disappointed that he'd actually put on a pair of sweats and his flannel shirt, although the shirt was completely unbuttoned at least. Once he had a decent blaze going again, he turned to look at her. He was still sitting on the hearth by the fire and she noticed his expression was a bit serious again.

"Any regrets?" he asked, catching her a bit by surprise. She certainly hoped he wasn't having any after the mind-blowing sex they'd just had in the bedroom. She suddenly realized she did have one regret though and slowly nodded in reply. She hadn't meant to make him feel bad though and her heart ached as she watched a broken expression start to form on his face, so she quickly started to explain what she meant.

"I regret we didn't do this months ago," she said lovingly. She was pleased to see a relieved smile form on his lips. He stood from the hearth and walked over to kneel down in front of her, cupping her face with his hands and pressing a slow, loving kiss to her lips. She gave him a coy smile when their lips finally parted. "I'd invite you to snuggle with me under the quilt, but I have a strict, no clothes allowed policy," she said trying to sound as serious as possible.

"Well if it's policy…" Logan said as he gave her a lecherous look and shrugged out of the long-sleeve shirt. It only took him a moment to push his sweats and boxers off as well. She opened the quilt, earning a soft groan from him. "Seriously… the best Christmas ever," he whispered as he knelt down again and wrapped his arms around her waist. She shifted toward the edge of the couch so she could press up closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling the quilt around him as well. One moment they were kissing in that position and then the next minute, he'd pulled her off the couch to lie on top of him on the floor. While he didn't seem to mind being on the hard floor based on how his body was reacting to hers, she still reached up and pulled a throw pillow off the nearest arm chair and tucked it behind his head.

After a while of passionate kissing and some not so innocent touching, Logan seemed to slow down a bit. When she shot him a questioning look, he gave her a kiss on the tip of the nose before he tried to explain. "The condoms are in the bedroom, and I really just want to enjoy laying out here with you in front of the fire for a while," he said as he reached up and brushed some stray hairs from her forehead. She couldn't help but melt at that and nodded before placing her head against his chest so she could watch the flames dance in the fireplace. He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head and then adjusted the quilt around them a bit better before he started to slowly caress her back.

After a while, Logan finally broke the silence, although his voice was so low, if Veronica hadn't been lying right on top of him, she wouldn't have heard it. "A part of me doesn't want to be able to go back tomorrow," he whispered into her hair. She lifted up on her elbows so she could see his face again. He reached up to stroke her head gently. "I know it's stupid, but I'd love nothing more than to just keep you here… forever… so that reality won't have a chance to mess this up again."

"I don't know about stupid… but a little creepy maybe…" she teased back with a sly smile. As his eyebrows started to rise up in embarrassment, she placed a quick kiss to his lips. "I'm just teasing… and I do understand…" she paused and gently caressed his face with her fingers. Tracing his brows and then down his cheek with one hand. "But maybe… maybe these things that happen make us stronger… we always find our way back to each other eventually, right?" He nodded, but he didn't look all that excited by the implication either. "I can't promise that we aren't going to go through more rocky patches, but I can promise to fight a bit harder to work through them with you."

"Thank you, Veronica," Logan said before he lifted his head up to kiss her. "I'm going to hold you to that promise, you know," he said as he laid his head back on the pillow after the kiss.

Veronica gave him a loving smile and nodded. "I wouldn't have said it otherwise."

A blissful smile crept across Veronica's face as she slowly started to wake up. She felt warm strong arms wrapped around her from behind and Logan's face pressed against her shoulder blade. One of his arms crossed up from her waist toward her face where his fingers were intertwined with hers, while the other was loosely holding her around the waist from under her side. One of his legs was also comfortably placed between hers, effectively allowing him to touch as much of her body with his as he possibly could. His breathing was slow and deep and she was sure he must have still been sleeping.

She remembered waking up to Christmas morning as a kid, in those years before her family fell apart, and that there had been a certain excitement that vanished as she got older and everything had changed. Thinking back over everything that she'd done with Logan the night before sent her heart racing again, and she realized how she felt right now was even better than all those other Christmas mornings. She knew it was the promise of a new start that was having more of an impact on her than the memories of the physical things they'd done to each other, all though those were pretty amazing too.

She absent-mindedly started caressing Logan's calf with her foot and felt him take a deep breath as his arm around her waist tightened slightly. She let out a content sigh as his lips pressed a warm kiss to her shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Veronica," Logan whispered against her skin.

Veronica rolled over so she could face him. He gave her a sleepy smile as he looked at her through heavily lidded eyes. "Merry Christmas," she said softly in reply before pressing a tender kiss on his lips. A moment later, she moaned against his mouth as she felt his warm large hands pull her hips tightly against him. "Does someone have a special Christmas package for me," she chuckled softly, earning a breathy laugh from him as well.

"That depends on whether you've been a good girl," Logan replied as he shifted to place kisses down her neck.

"Hmm… I'm thinking the bad girl is more likely to get a better reward," she purred into his ear as she reached down to stroke him, causing him to let out a throaty growl.

There wasn't much coherent conversation after that, but lots of mumbled groans of appreciation and praise. As she laid sprawled on top of him when they were finished, she internally laughed thinking about how they seemed to be doing their best to make up for all those months of being apart. She wasn't sure about him, and she certainly wasn't going to ask this time, but she hadn't been this intimate with anyone since him. She really did mean it when she told him the night before that all the ups and downs would make them stronger and she vowed not to make the same mistakes again.

He was still panting heavily below her, trying to catch his breath when her stomach growled loud enough for them both to hear it. She felt Logan shake below her as he laughed. "I think Norm wants his breakfast," he commented in amusement.

Veronica pushed herself up enough so she could look into his eyes. He had one of those looks on his face that he would get when he was waiting for her rebuttal. "Norm's glad you're around again. No one else ever takes as good care of him as you do." She could tell from his expression that he didn't quite know what to say to that and certainly hadn't expected that to be her reply. She took a deep breath before she continued. "And he's not the only one," she said tenderly. "I'm really glad to have you back in my life too. I really missed you, Logan."

He leaned forward so he could place a quick kiss on her lips. "I missed you both more than you could ever know," he said softly in reply before her stomach rumbled again, causing him to laugh against her lips. "He's certainly a persistent little worm. He must have learned that from you."

She smiled and nodded before rolling off of him. "Come on," she said as she reached out her hand for him. "I'll start breakfast and you can get the fire going again."

She glanced around the room and noticed his plaid long-sleeve shirt had at least made it back into the bedroom, so grabbed it first and slipped it on. She gave him a sultry look before she turned and marched out of the bedroom. Once she made it back to the main room, she couldn't help but laugh when she took in the sight of it. It had been pretty dark the night before when they were out sitting by the fire, but now she could easily see the path of winter wear and clothing discarded hastily all over the room. She heard Logan in the bathroom and then a minute later he recovered his sweatpants from where they'd last landed and slipped those on. He walked up behind her and leaned down to place a kiss at the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

"Fire," she reminded him as his hands started to roam and she felt his hips press suggestively against her.

"It's not my fault you look so sexy wearing my shirt," he teased before he let out a disgruntled sigh and headed toward the fireplace.

They'd bought eggs, bacon and a loaf of bread the night before, expecting to at least be having breakfast there before they'd be able to leave so Veronica went about preparing those. There was also a coffee maker in the small kitchenette with coffee that the resort had provided and Logan went about making some coffee after he'd gotten the fire started again. There was a small window above the kitchen sink and Veronica could tell that it wasn't currently snowing, but the tree branches were still heavily covered in the fluffy white powder.

"I've never had a white Christmas before," she commented as she finished up the food and carried it over to the kitchen table. Logan held out a cup of coffee for her and carefully pulled her against him.

"So… does it live up to all the hype?" he asked inquisitively.

She looked up at him and couldn't help the giddy smile that spread across her lips. "I think this is my best Christmas ever," she replied as a grin started to form on Logan's face as well. "But it doesn't have to do with the snow," she added as she stared intently at him.

"I feel exactly the same way," he replied before pressing his lips to hers.

They'd leisurely packed up their things and gotten redressed after breakfast. While Veronica did want to get back to Neptune and her dad, she had to admit that a part of her really didn't want to leave yet. She'd definitely done a complete one-eighty from the prior day with how she felt about being up in the snow with Logan. Of course the fact that they hadn't exactly planned this little overnight excursion left them lacking several things, including a proper Christmas dinner.

"So… are you still heading to Heather's for Christmas when we get back?" Veronica asked as they were loading their stuff into the Range Rover.

"Well I haven't been invited anywhere else," Logan replied with a look that she could easily interpret.

"Hmm… I'm sure you'd probably rather spend it with her than hanging out with me and my dad," Veronica replied coyly as she bit on her lip.

"Is that an invitation?" Logan asked raising his brows curiously. "Because I think you need to work on it a bit if was."

"Shut up," Veronica said playfully before she leaned up on her toes to kiss his lips, causing him to laugh against her mouth.

"I'd love to spend the day with you… and your dad… if you want me to," Logan replied more sincerely as he reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She nodded in reply before she turned to walk toward the passenger door. He followed behind her and opened the door for her to climb in. He gave her a quick kiss after she'd climbed in before he closed the door and walked around to the driver side.

"I was thinking if you didn't have any plans for New Year's Eve," Logan commented as they headed back on the highway. "I know this great little place in the mountains that might be available for the weekend?"

Veronica couldn't help but let out a cheerful laugh at the way he was acting as innocent and nonchalant as possible. "It wouldn't happen to have an old west theme, would it?" she asked in amusement.

He shot her a quick glance as his lips lifted into a smirk. "Perhaps…" he said with a wink.

"I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be," she replied with a blissful sigh.

A/N – There actually is a Wild Bill's at the Pine Rose Lodge in Twin Peaks.