A quick and (not so) dirty previously on Time, make it go faster or just rewind: Logan gets beat for donating 500k to the soup kitchen. Veronica takes him to her house for the night since Keith is out of town. Wallace argues with his mother and is no longer allowed to spend time with Logan and Veronica - he makes a deal with Weevil for a friend his mom will approve of (Norman), who turns out to be Cervando. They all go to the zoo where everyone around them realizes and points out (much to Veronica's annoyance) that LoVe totally have it bad for each other, but they're both uncertain (for now really I promise!). LoVe go back to the soup kitchen and volunteer. Beaver approaches Veronica about finding out who his stepmom (Sadie) is cheating on his dad with. Duncan is stalking LoVe. Casey's grandmother has another stroke and he moves out to the Moon Calf Collective. Lots of subplots running here!

Chapter 24 - When the World Starts to Change

Duncan arrived at school Monday morning, filled with excitement. Other than the short time he'd followed Logan and Veronica on Sunday, he'd spent most of the weekend bouncing ideas around with his mother about ways he could really make the most of his new role as council president. Though his best idea had been his own brainchild.

He was going to expand Pirate Points.

He'd given a lot of thought to Wanda's proposition of abolishing Pirate Points for being unfair and showing a preference for the wealthy kids. Something even Duncan could acknowledge as the truth, and that realization had planted the seed of his new plan. The sports teams and student government were heavily populated with '09ers and they were the only ones with Pirate Points. It didn't take a genius to work that one out. But rather than take it away entirely—and spark a mutiny, watching Logan and Veronica at the Neptune Homeless Shelter had given him a better idea: a presidency based on meeting the needs of his whole constituency.

His father had loved the idea. Called him a "man of the people" and Duncan couldn't deny it. He did like the idea of more people liking him over this. Duncan hadn't thought much about what the other students at NHS thought of him up to the present, but the election showed that, at least on some level, most of the school liked him. Expanding Pirate Points would likely enhance his popularity and the overall opinion others had of him. Duncan liked the contrast that set with Logan, who was popular but mostly despised. He wanted Veronica to see that, and if he couldn't get Logan to do things that would drive her away, then Duncan would do things to inspire her admiration. Maybe even bring Veronica a little closer when she saw that Duncan was the more selfless of the two.

Veronica would respect his idea. Even if she was still acting uneasy around him. In hindsight, blowing up and accusing her of sleeping with Logan had been foolish. Though he really hadn't expected it to take her so long to get over it. She'd always been so forgiving and gentle. Well...mostly.

FLASHBACK

Duncan rested his shoulders against the cool metal of his locker and let his eyes settle on Veronica's locker just across the hall. She hadn't requested a new one after they'd all fallen apart. While Duncan's functionality wasn't at its peak by any means, he'd found a new source of hope inside himself after his special night with her. He hadn't seen her since, but she would be arriving any moment. He could feel it.

Just behind him he heard a low whistle and turned to see what had caught Logan's attention.

Logan moved toward the small blonde making her way down the hall. "Ronnie Mars!" He whistled again. "What is this?" Logan flicked Veronica's shorn locks that stuck out unevenly.

Duncan's chest clenched. That can't be Veronica?

"Wow, Mars. What dumpster did you crawl out of?" Logan's eyes burned with excitement. Duncan hadn't seen him look so alive in months. Duncan turned his attention back to the small blonde and saw that same fire reflected there.

"Yours, Logan. You know how much I like Mrs. Navarro's cookies. Gotta get what I need." She smirked cruelly and it made Duncan's heartache.

Sean Friedrich, who had been standing back by Duncan, stepped forward and grabbed Veronica's shoulder, turning her to face him. "Makes sense, this look must be one of Trina's rejects. You'd fit right in with her playing Dead Hooker #4. Right, Logan?"

Veronica visibly shrunk at his works, then her face hardened. She grabbed Sean's hand, gripping a pressure point by the look of agony on his face. "Don't fucking touch me!"

Sean twisted out of her grasp in time for Logan to grab him by the neck—no longer paying attention to Veronica. "Don't talk about my sister like that or I'll find a pressure point that'll hurt more than what Mars just did." Logan shoved Sean away and rejoined Duncan.

"You don't even like Trina," Duncan said in a low voice.

"No. But I'm the only one who gets to talk about her like that. Now get your shit, DK. I don't want detention on the first day back at school, my dad's in town."

END FLASHBACK

Duncan stopped at his locker, dropped a few things off, and turned to look back at Veronica's old locker. It had been less than a year ago when she'd practically brought Sean to his knees and fought back when Logan antagonized her. It had been like watching a stranger inhabit his Veronica, who was gentler, softer. Over the year he'd seen other versions of Veronica, but none as aggressive. At first, it had really bothered Duncan but he had different facets of himself so it made sense that maybe she did too. So long as she kept his special version of herself just for him. And so far that had been true. Duncan walked down the hall dodging the various groups of his new constituents as he made his way toward the main office.

The last time he'd seen his Veronica had been the night of Shelly's party. It had been magical. Like a night out of time. He had never brought it up, and she certainly never had. The next time he'd seen her she'd been different, and even if he had wanted to bring up what had passed between them, he found the new her kind of scary. She'd clearly put away his Veronica. He liked to imagine she'd put that part of herself away somewhere safe. To wait. Until things were different. Until her being his sister didn't matter.

Walking on autopilot, Duncan found himself at the school's main offices. He let his mind dwell on his favorite image of Veronica, like an angel in white with softly glowing hair. Then he rolled his shoulders and put her away where he kept her safe inside him.

Once in the office, he headed for the announcements desk and took a seat. He'd be announcing the new policy for Pirate Points this morning and felt a familiar, but long forgotten tingle. Excitement.

Veronica quickly settled into her desk at the back of the room, Logan sitting next to her. He looked tired, but his color was better and he had a softness to him she was still getting used to seeing again.

The trip to the soup kitchen must have helped, she thought, opening her book and waiting for the start of day's announcements. A folded slip of paper landed on her desk with soft woosh. She unfolded and opened it as Duncan's voice came over the PA.

"My fellow students, it is with great pleasure that I..."

Veronica tuned Duncan out; the student council plans were of little interest to her now that the election was over. At some point, she really did need to think of a way to make Wanda pay, but Veronica needed to wait for the right moment—a moment when she could extract the most bang for her buck. With a shake of her head, she turned her attention to the note on her desk. Logan's looping print filled the small page:

Free tonight? Studying and a movie? Maybe work on the thing?

Next to the last question was a drawing of a lily. Logan wanted to dig into Lilly's case. Veronica felt her mouth pull into a smile. She turned to Logan, nodded her head with enthusiasm, and slipped the note into her pocket.

Well, Veronica, the way he found out about your investigation might not have been so great, but it looks like Logan is ready to help you the way he said he would. Maybe things are looking up.

Duncan's voice came back to her attention as he signed off. "I hope you all have a great day, and I look forward to being your president."

Veronica turned to Logan to ask if he had heard any of the announcements, but was interrupted by the voice of their teacher as she started her spiel on the new chapter they were starting. Only slightly disappointed, Veronica refocused on the task at hand.

"Keith."

Richard Casablancas Senior extended this hand across the desk toward Keith, who accepted it and shook firmly. Back when he'd still been sheriff, they'd had several encounters involving the kids. Usually, it just involved Dick being out after the minor's curfew with Logan and a few of the other children of the more affluent Neptunians. Even Veronica on a few notable occasions. Though one time stood out as different from the rest, they'd reported a pet missing or taken. It'd been a few years ago and had always bothered Keith, but pets went missing and sometimes were stolen. He just hadn't had the resources to investigate a case with such limited evidence.

"Mr. Casablancas, come on back to my office."

Keith led the way through the main area into his office, passing Veronica's empty desk brought him a modicum of relief that she was in school. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate her help, but he could see the experience of working on cases changing her, reshaping her view of the world. And that was just the ones he knew about. He knew she was working off-book but didn't know how to stop her without restricting his own caseload—something their checking account couldn't afford. It was a no-win scenario, his own personal Kobayashi Maru.

He wasn't sure what was going to come out of this meeting but hoped he could keep Veronica out of it since it might involve people she was friends with. His detective-sense had him thinking that wasn't very likely though. Keith gestured to the open seat on the customer side of his desk and then took a seat himself.

"Really, Keith, call me Dick. Never did much care for the name Richard," Dick said, taking the seat Keith had indicated.

"So Veronica told me a little about why you'd be coming in today. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised," Keith told him, folding his hands on top of the desk.

"You and me both. Beaver informed me last night that he'd reached out to you about his stepmother, Sadie. I thought the boys liked her." Dick scratched his head, feigning confusion. Keith wasn't buying it.

"I kind of thought that was why you were here...because the boys like her too much. Or is it maybe more of a case of her liking the boys too much?"

"So it seems." Dick's eyes narrowed for a moment. The good ol' boy demeanor slipped slightly but was back in place in the blink of an eye. Keith shifted to full alert.

"What is it you, or your sons, think is going on?"

"Beaver's convinced Sadie is sleeping with one of their friends. His words were 'one of their famous friends,' which really limits who we could be talking about."

"Do you think Logan is sleeping with your wife?"

The act Dick had been employing dropped, but this time it looked intentional. "I do not. I'd sooner believe Aaron was the one sleeping with her." Dick's countenance darkened considerably. "Wouldn't be the first time Aaron was caught sleeping with one of my wives."

"I thought you were friends with Aaron Echolls?"

"I am."

"Okay, then." Keith couldn't pretend to understand how the interpersonal relationships of the Neptune elite worked. It made him regret yet again that he'd ever given into Lianne and moved them to Neptune instead of taking the promotion back in Fresno. "Dick, do you want me to look into this?"

"I do. You and Veronica. Beaver and Dick have both told me what a resourceful young woman she is. I'm having my annual Halloween party this coming weekend. I'm told Veronica will be going..."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable bringing Veronica in on this. Especially if it turns out to be true that your wife is having an affair with one of your sons' classmates."

"Whatever you think is best. But Veronica will be at the party and I'd be happy to give you all the access you need. Here's the thing though Keith, and don't be upset, your daughter can blend at my party, whereas you cannot."

Keith nodded. It was true. He'd never blend there; no one would believe he was socializing with the likes of the Casablancas' and Echollses. Everyone would know exactly why he was there, just not who he was there investigating. From his years as sheriff and now a PI, Keith knew it could be pretty much any of them who were being investigated, and for anything from infidelity to insider trading. Almost anything was possible with the '09ers.

Veronica, on the other hand, used to be friends with most of the kids who would be in attendance. She and Logan were close again and everyone knew it. No one would bat an eyelash at her being there. Logan would be with her; she'd be safe with him. There would definitely be a discussion about underage drinking and his daughter's future but the plan had more merit than he was happy to admit. What was one more concession after so many?

"Okay, Dick. I'm going to do some preliminary work and see if I can't shake something loose. Depending on what I find, we'll use the party as a chance to observe Sadie in the wild, so to speak."

Dick stood, reached into his pocket, and extracted a folded check. He passed the check to Keith through a handshake. Dick's eyes lingered on the check in Keith's hand. "Discretion?"

With a glance down Keith replied, "Absolutely."

"Excellent, Keith. I'm interested to see what you find." With that, Dick strode out of Keith's office. A few seconds later, the bell on the main door announced his departure.

Keith sat back at his desk and unfolded the check. Eight Gs. It was more than double their standard fee and had Keith wondering what all Richard Casablancas Senior wanted him to be discrete about.

Logan strolled down the hall, underclassmen parting as he approached. It was funny, he'd never really spent that much time thinking about it but he walked through most of his life that way.—everything parting around him, requiring very little meaningful interaction. It was as though he was always just skating the surface, only truly interjecting himself when the people involved were important to him, which meant Duncan, Lilly, and Veronica, occasionally his mother.

It gave another layer of clarity and self-awareness to how he'd felt and acted after Lilly's death. Nothing was left but pain and the only reactionary outlet: the people he cared for the most. Duncan was so drugged that he was hollow, his mother had been a shell for years, and Veronica...

"Hey," Veronica said, startling Logan from his thoughts, as she fell into step next to him. "Did you catch any of Duncan's policy stuff this morning? It seems like everyone was talking about it today."

"Huh." Logan shrugged. "I guess, but who cares about any of that? Pirate Points are here to stay, ahoy..." He, in fact, had heard all about it during most of his classes.

"Um, most of our classmates..."

"Yeah, yeah. Go Pirates!" He pumped his fist in the air and rolled his eyes. "I'm more concerned about what movie we're going to watch tonight. I think I should have first choice—"

"And why is that?" she asked, crossing her arms under her breasts, creating just the slightest bit of visible cleavage that drew Logan's gaze and sent a warm shudder through him. He'd been physically reacting more and more strongly to Veronica since the trip to the zoo, but the crowded halls of Neptune High were not the place to explore how she might react to any of the advances he was fantasizing about. As casually as he could, Logan shifted the books he held to cover his growing erection and, with no small effort, looked down the hall toward the exit.

"Well, there's the obvious: I have better taste in movies. And then there's the fact that you'd have us watch The South Park Movie...again," Logan said, pushing the door open on the lesser used side exit that they were taking out to the parking lot.

Veronica stepped in front of him as they walked through the door with a shrug. "I think the fact that you don't want to watch The South Park Movie again is more of a negative reflection on you than on me. What do you want to watch? You've Got Mail? And don't think I'm not aware that you cry at the end every time."

"I'm not embarrassed, that is a classic-in-the-making, rom-com, and further proof of my good taste."

Veronica snorted. Logan was undeterred, though You've Got Mail was not at the top of his list for the night. "I was going to suggest Anchorman, Mars. But now it's 50 First Dates or bust."

"Compromise?"

"I'm listening."

Veronica stopped walking, spun on her heel, and shot him a toothy grin. "Both." She then strode off toward her car, leaving Logan staring after her with more than his heart pulsing faster. Both indeed.

Cassidy watched Logan and Veronica flirt their way across the NHS parking lot. They were almost cute —even he could admit that, and maybe in a different life he would have been happy to see people he was supposed to care about being happy. But it wasn't a different life, and he was who he was. That was just not how he was wired for amusement.

Unlike the masses gossiping in the halls of Neptune High, Cassidy had work to do. So far things were progressing nicely. He'd have Sadie out of his house and life by the end of the weekend. That would be one less set of untrusting eyes watching him. He actually did care that she was constantly trying to sleep with Dick's friends and cheating on his dad with who knew how many other men. But, more than that, Cassidy cared that Sadie had way too much free time. Sadie didn't have much of an attention span, but what little she did have was recently and inconveniently focused on Cassidy.

It really pissed him off that she was such a nosy bitch. If Sadie hadn't overheard him and Peter talking about Coach Goodman, Cassidy wouldn't have had to worry about her as a complication. But no such luck. She had to go before she created more problems.

"Speaking of problems..." he muttered to himself as Duncan Kane walked across his sightline. Duncan was proving more unstable and harder to control than expected.

Cassidy broke into a quick jog and caught up to Duncan, grabbing lightly on the strap of Duncan's duffle to get his attention.

Duncan's bright smile faltered when he turned and made eye contact with Cassidy. He recovered after a moment and stepped back. It was subtle, but Cassidy saw it. Duncan was afraid of him. Good. Maybe this part of the game would be back on track in time for the Halloween party.

"Beav, you have any input for me to take to the student council?" Duncan asked, presenting an affable air.

"No, Duncan, but I have some advice for you. Next time you want to screw with Logan and Veronica, don't. Your idiotic plan backfired and the two of them seem closer than before."

Duncan's hail-fellow-well-met demeanor broke. "It just wasn't enough. I'll prove to her—"

Cassidy shook his head. "You'll prove you're a lunatic. Can't you see it when she looks at you? You're making it worse, she doesn't trust you and, to top it all off, she and Logan are..." Cassidy waffled his hand, searching for a word that wouldn't set Duncan further off track. "They're getting too...friendly. Neither of us wants that, now do we?"

Duncan sulked. "No. What is your big plan? It's not like you tell me anything."

"And whose fault is that. You've been avoiding me. So I think, until you get your head on straight, you'll be staying in the dark on my plans. Just remember, we both want the same outcome, so stay on task. Be the normal, all-American, boy you were before... Lilly."

Duncan visibly paled, nodded, and walked away.

So long as Duncan played ball, things would be on track for Halloween. Maybe if setting up Logan with Sadie didn't work out he could use Duncan...it had potential.

Veronica pulled out her laptop and booted up the secondary partition she had created to hide her investigative files. She glanced up and saw Logan fidgeting with knickknacks and avoiding the spot on the couch next to her. It actually felt strange that he hadn't sat down too close to her. It had seemed like he was always too close. Maybe it wasn't so much too close as just close, and she missed it when his warmth and buzzing energy weren't in her space.

"Come sit down, we need a direction to start looking. There's just so much here."

Logan turned on his heel and came to the couch and sat, legs jangling, pen clicking, and jittery as a ten-year-old after an espresso. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea tonight. We could just get the movie?"

"This was your idea. It'll be fine. We just need to start putting the evidence into a context relevant to who Lilly was. Even my dad didn't really know all of it—not the parts of Lilly she kept hidden," Veronica said, resigned to the fact that Lilly must have hidden so much.

"Well, she had a secret that she didn't stick around at the car wash to tell you about. Do you know why?"

Veronica leaned back heavily into the couch. That was true. If Lilly had such a big secret to share, then why hadn't she stuck around and given Veronica a ride home? "You think she was supposed to meet someone?"

"Makes sense. We know she was alive after the TOD the coroner gave, so she didn't head straight home after the car wash. Which means she went somewhere."

"Okay. So on our list should be: checking which intersection that red light camera was from. That might clue us in to where she could have been coming from. It's coded on the ticket, but that shouldn't be hard to find out," Veronica agreed as she opened up a text file and began making a list.

"It really bothers me that the coroner's time of death can't be right."

Veronica nodded; it bothered her too. She scrolled down the list of scanned files until she reached the right one.

"The TOD was determined by a technician at the scene and confirmed at the morgue, which I think is normal from what I've heard my dad say," she added after seeing the lines of Logan's mouth set. She scanned further down the document trying to avoid the harsher parts —blunt force, possible implement found in pool. She finally found what she was looking for. "This isn't the elected county coroner. I don't know this name."

Logan's chin pressed into her shoulder as he leaned in to read the screen. "Michelle Powell, M.D."

Veronica continued to stare at the name. It didn't seem completely out of the question that they might have brought in someone from San Diego or maybe LA.

"Do you think it's a fake name?" Logan asked, his chin digging into her shoulder with each word.

She dislodged his chin with a shrug and turned to face him. "Maybe. More likely they brought in someone from one of the nearby cities. At least that would be my guess. I'm pretty sure my dad would have caught a fake name or someone without credentials."

"Okay, so that means the person is probably legit. What do we do next? Try to find Dr. Powell?"

"That's a good option. Though if she's been paid off we might tip them off to our investigation. I'm thinking I'll run a background check next time Dad is out of town."

"Can't we at least Google her right now?" Logan asked reaching for the keyboard.

"Not a good idea," she said, shifting the laptop out of his reach. "Specific searches can actually be monitored."

"Oh, really? That's creepy." Logan shivered dramatically.

"Don't worry no one cares how often you search for 'Alyssa Milano nude,'" she teased and elbowed him in ribs.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Mars. So all that aside, we have a place to start?"

"We do. And once we know whether Dr. Powell lied or was mistaken we'll have a whole new direction to look. If she lied, there might be money we could trace, and if she didn't lie, then we know something was done that led both a coroner's assistant and a doctor to determine the wrong time of death."

It felt like something was finally happening—some reality breaking free from the nightmare of Lilly's murder and providing a tangible lead. A euphoric rush of adrenaline swirled in Veronica's belly.

You're really doing this, Veronica. You're really doing this.

The smooth, softness of Rebecca's sleeve brushed against Keith's as she slid her arm through his. Keith pulled her a little closer and slowed his pace as they strolled toward Amy's on the pier. A nice sweet end to another pleasant date. He let out a contented sigh. He'd really missed the comfort and warmth of being intimate with another person.

"It nice to see you so relaxed, Keith. I'm not sure you were even this mellow at Santana," Rebecca said with a playful nudge.

"I've had a surprisingly good day, and it's ending with my special lady friend and some ice cream. Why wouldn't I be relaxed?" He looked down at her and laughed outright at the disbelief on her face.

"Laugh all you want, but last time you were able to make time in your busy schedule for me, you almost blew your top over innocent pictures of your daughter with one of her friends."

Keith stopped laughing but continued to smile. He released Rebecca's arm and instead wrapped his across her shoulders, pulling her in close against him. "Innocent might be a bit of a stretch, but I had a talk with them, and I'll be having more talks with them, don't you worry about that."

"The thought never crossed my mind. So what are they up to tonight?"

"Veronica says homework and a movie."

"Veronica says? You don't believe her?" she asked, turning out of his hold.

"Did I say that?"

Taking a step further out and facing him head on she shook her head. "No, but it was implied. What do you think they're doing?"

Keith huffed a tired sigh. This wasn't what he wanted to be talking about with Rebecca. Though for a moment he considered asking her about Logan, then changed his mind. "Are you trying to counsel me, Ms. James?"

A stilted giggle shook her small frame and she moved to tuck herself back under his arm. "Nope, nope. Not my intention, I'm not getting involved unless you want me to. I just, well, Veronica...and Logan. I think whatever's going on, it's good. They're both different. Not like before...but maybe better. I'd really like to continue to see them looking happy."

"Me too. I just don't want Veronica to lose sight of her plans. Duncan—"

"Logan is not Duncan, Keith. Okay, I'm just going to say one more thing and then we'll focus on ice cream. I think they're both grieving kids who just might finally be facing that pain and that it might be bringing some other emotions to the surface. Emotions that, as a dad, you may not be too comfortable with but should let run their course."

"I know." He looked into her face and found her lips pulled into a skeptical moue. Keith couldn't resist, he gave her a quick kiss with a laugh, then said, "I know, really I do but it doesn't mean I have to like it. And you'll be happy to know I haven't put any restrictions on them spending time together, yet."

Keith smiled down at a now laughing Rebecca, stole another kiss, and led her up to the counter to place their order. He may not always want to hear it, but she seemed to have better than expected insights into his daughter and Logan. The additional perspective was helping him cope with the future he could see building between Veronica and Logan. A future where he worried for Veronica's heart after having lost too much already.

The heat from Logan's arm sent tingles through Veronica's chest as he pulled her against him so they could both walk through the doors into Neptune Video. He'd always been a strong physical presence. Even with the old, and short-lived crush Veronica had for him, she'd never really considered what it might be like to have his full attention, and intention, directed at her. But after the weekend, and past few weeks, she was more confident in her ability to assess his feeling, and that they were more than friendly. And she had to admit that she liked it; the hot flame of his intensity and something more that was hard to define beyond how it made her feel —giddy and almost like the girl before Lilly died, but now with an edge.

How she'd gotten that edge was the splash of cold water she'd needed to pull herself away, create more distance, even if it was only physical. With a small smile, she slid out of his grasp and strode off toward the back of the store. She heard a sigh from behind her and then his footsteps changed pace to keep up with her.

Sorry, Logan, forgiveness isn't amnesia. And this girl hasn't forgotten.

"Come on, we deserve a reward. That was intense going through those files," he said, coming bodily up to her but not quite touching her.

Veronica reached for the happy calm she'd felt before and let herself relax into the banter. "Ha! That was nothing! C'mon, you helped with all the scanning, that was way more intense than what we did tonight."

"Irrelevant. It felt like it took forever. Made things more real. Now I want to watch something good while getting sugar high."

Veronica let her fingers slide along the movie titles. She'd led them to the '80s section of the rental store and her attention caught on one of Aaron Echolls' early films. She snapped it off the shelf and hid it behind her back.

"I've got the perfect movie. It's got to be one of your favorites," she teased, turning to face Logan again.

"You think you're so clever, Mars. Let's see it's got to be either Clash of the Titans or King of the Mountain. And you know full well I won't watch either of those."

"I'll have you know it isn't either of those."

Logan stepped closer to her, his longer arm reaching around behind her, his chest barely making contact with her own.

Veronica pouted. "Spoilsport. Fine, we'll get something else." She turned to put the movie back on the shelf and bumped into a familiar figure.

"Hi, Veronica," Justin said with a shy smile, toe digging into the gray industrial carpet.

"Justin, hey." Logan's hand settled on her shoulder, steadying her, but it also felt possessive. She turned toward Logan and saw his typical cynical smirk, which might as well be a totally neutral expression, it could mean almost anything.

Justin's attention turned to Logan and he stuttered, "Lo-Logan Echolls. Oh man, you're friends with Veronica Mars..." Justin's expression turned from excited to crestfallen.

"You gonna introduce me to your friend, Ronnie?"

She elbowed him in the side. "Don't call me Ronnie if you're going to be an ass."

"Excuse my poor manners, Justin, video store person. How do you know my friend here?"

"Veronica found my, um...dad."

Logan's smirk faded into a softer expression as the hand on her shoulder gave a gentle squeeze and dropped. Had that been a flare of jealousy before? Over his mini-me wannabe? Must be frosted tip-envy.

"How's that going?" Veronica asked, putting Logan's reaction off to think about later.

"Great," Justin beamed. "Julia's taking me to this computer design and programming workshop at UCSD. I'm more of a graphic design guy, but it'll still be cool."

"That is great. And your mom?"

He looked down at the floor again. "Doesn't know."

Veronica nodded. That was a tricky tightrope he had to walk.

"Right. Well, we were picking out a movie..." Logan's words hung in the air.

"Sure. Yeah," Justin said, his movie store guy persona kicking in. "Hey, someone just returned Zero Effect. You'd be totally into it. It doesn't star Aaron Echolls though," he said, spotting the movie in Veronica's hand.

"All the better. Zero Effect it is," Logan took the case from Veronica and handed it to Justin. "Bill Pullman called Aaron a self-absorbed pretty boy to his face, and I've been a fan ever since."

Justin gave Veronica a confused look but didn't comment. Veronica gave him a wink and a smile, which earned her a big goofy grin.

"I'll have that movie up front for you guys in just a minute."

"Thanks, Justin," she said and turned to catch back up with Logan.

"Done flirting with the munchkin?"

"That was not flirting. And if you can't tell when I'm flirting, then you haven't been paying attention," Veronica said and turned to head down a different aisle. A moment later a warm heavy arm slid across her shoulders and pulled her into a hard chest.

"I've been paying attention."

The end credits rolled slowly down the screen and Veronica snored softly against Logan's arm. When she'd fallen asleep a little over half-way through the second movie, he'd wanted to wrap his arm around her but was worried that not only would it be creepy that he'd waited until she was asleep but also that she wouldn't be receptive.

Though his belief that she would never return his somewhat-more-than-friendly feelings was being shaken, there was an understandable skittishness there that made Logan confident it needed to be her move rather than his. More still, he needed to come clean with her about having GHB at Shelly's party the previous year. There was no way she would forgive him if they advanced their relationship to more than friends without that confession being laid bare.

Then there was Keith. He was being pretty cool about all the time they were spending together. He'd even let Logan stay over and teased them about flirting with each other. But there was a big difference between Keith being okay with Logan "Veronica's friend" and him being okay with Logan "Veronica's boyfriend." What sane father would want Logan dating their daughter—none. Maybe especially Keith, since he was very aware of the sorts of activities Logan had been known to get up to. Sex, parties, drinking...bum fights.

Logan still needed to talk to Veronica about the pictures leaked to The Smoking Gun. There was something off about them. Something off about the whole situation. He went back over the afternoon and the previous few days in his head and it hit him. He'd spent a lot of time at the Mars' apartment but no other pictures had been posted to TSG.

That couldn't be right. He gently shifted Veronica off his shoulder and back onto the couch and then reached for her laptop. A quick search revealed that the only new images staring "Logan Echolls" that had hit the internet were from his own driveway.

"If the paparazzi found a friend of mine without privacy fences, they'd still be all over it hoping to get more incrementing pictures," he mumbled to himself before he carefully got up from the couch to look out the windows. Nothing looked amiss. The neighbors from upstairs were sitting out on one of the picnic benches watching their little dog scamper about. People were coming and going, but they all looked familiar. Logan had spent enough time at Veronica's lately to know who belonged.

"Hey, whatcha doin'?" Veronica asked groggily from behind him.

"Checking for spies," he said, dropping the blinds back into place. He turned back to face her and was met with a skeptical look. "I'm being totally serious."

"Okay. Spies? I can't imagine the government has much interest in the Sunset Cliffs Apartment complex."

"Not those kinds of spies, silly girl. Spies of the National Enquirer or People magazine variety."

"Oh sure, those kinds of spies. You know most people call them photographers or paparazzi. Makes it easier to know what you're talking about when you use the most specific adjective."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, save it for class. I'm being completely serious. Have you noticed anyone who doesn't belong here?"

"Besides you?"

"Hardee har-har. Yes, besides me, and anyway you're the one who keeps dragging me over here. Me, I prefer my life of pampering. Here you make me help with the dishes."

"Go home if you dislike it so much," she said, a slight growl in her voice.

Now he'd done it. He walked slowly toward her, hands out, placating. "Maybe you should go back to sleep and we can start this conversation over. See, I'm being a jackass and you keep distracting me from what I want to tell you."

Her face softened just the barest amount, and then she settled back on the couch and closed her eyes for just a moment. They popped back open and she restarted their conversation, "Hey, whatcha doin'?"

Logan let out a tense breath and moved to sit next to her. "I think the Smoking Gun photos represent a different problem than we originally thought."

"How's that?" she asked, her annoyance from earlier now fully replaced with concern.

He pointed to the window. "No photographers out there. No new photos posted of us together here."

Veronica nodded her head. "Of course. Paps would be swarming this place if they thought they could get compromising photos of Aaron Echolls' bad-boy son." She folded her hands in her lap and twisted a few of her rings. "But they haven't. What does that mean..." she trailed off and continued fiddling with her rings.

"You thought the style looked familiar?"

"I did. I think we need to spend some more time looking into who sent in the tip and the photos. We're going to need someone with skills I don't have."

A creased formed between her brows—frustration. Logan couldn't help but laugh. "Not too often something is beyond your reach, huh, Mars?"

"Only this and the top shelf in the kitchen," she said, a laugh finally breaking through her serious demeanor.

"Have someone in mind?"

"Not right off the top of my head. I'll do some scouting tomorrow. Unless you know someone."

"I'd probably ask Duncan. You know, Kane Software and all. But would you believe that kid doesn't even know how to use incognito mode on his web browser? I know you won't be shocked to find out his browser history is full of tight blon—"

Veronica's hand smothered the rest of his words. "That's more than I need to know."

Logan puckered his lips and pressed a wet kiss into the palm of Veronica's hand.

"Ewww. Now I'm all wet!"

"Not even close, but I'm sure I could get the job done," he said, giving her a cocky grin.

"Gawd, Logan!"

"Close. Less disgust and a little more of a moan and you'll have it."

"I'm going to let you have it all right!" she yelled, launching a pillow at his head followed up by a tackle.

Logan let her slight weight press him back flat onto the couch, batted away the pillow, and waited for her to realize her mistake. Her face was only inches away; he wrapped his hands around her hips then slid them rapidly up her waist to tickle her. She squirmed and thrashed and drove him crazy but he loved it.

"Uncle," she called out, her breath coming in short pants.

Logan let his hands fall away from her waist to settle on her thighs, which he gave a brief squeeze and then helped her off of him. While she was resettling her clothes he nabbed the pillow off the floor and covered his lap, hopeful that in heat of the tickle war she hadn't noticed his hard-on. If he didn't get better control of himself, she was going to notice one of his less-than-well-timed boners and totally freak out. He said it before, and he'd say it again. Being a teenage boy sucked.

"Satisfied?" he asked, giving her his best teasing grin.

"Not hardly, but maybe later."

His stomach lurched, and his blood surged south. He swallowed dryly. "Is that so?"

She laughed and stood up from the couch, heading for the TV. "No! You perv. God, the look on your face. And that pillow, really Logan?"

Great, so she'd noticed and was disgusted. "Well, would you prefer I just sit here with it out for your viewing pleasure?" he asked, gesturing like he was going to remove the pillow.

Her face turned bright red, the blush spreading in an uneven pattern across her neck and chest. It was charming and made him want to do things that were wholly inappropriate with her.

"Sorry, just give me a minute and I'll get out of your hair."

"I...um...yeah, maybe that'd be good. For now." She turned back to the TV and bent down to eject the DVD.

Logan averted his gaze from her ass and ran through his list of unsexy things. The heat receded and his heart rate slowed, control. He adjusted himself subtly and stood up from the couch, dropping the pillow back down on the couch.

When he looked back up at her, she had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"What?"

"I think I know someone we can ask for help."

AN: So I want to start by thanking all of you for sticking with me! I know it's been a crazy long time since I was able to update this story or to post anything really. All of your supportive comments and messages mean so much and have kept me coming back to this (and my other stories).

Huge thanks to Bondopoulos – Beta-extraordinaire, cheerleader, and friend! Thanks for fielding more than a few weird baby related questions and keeping me thinking about this story while my brain could barely remember my own name ;)

I've gotten quite a few messages asking about Part 3 of Breaking the Rules, here's what I can tell you: I've had several false starts that keep tripping me up but I am working on it Right now I'm doing Camp Nano and while I probably won't hit 50k words this month I'm definitely making some progress on a few different things, though Time seems to be where my muse is wanting to live for now. So here's hoping for another chapter sooner rather than later!