Title:Looking For The Watchword, Part 1
Characters: Veronica's POV, LoVe, Weevil, Wallace, Keith, Alicia,...
Spoilers: All season 1
Rating: PG for now
Word Count: 910
Summary: Set a few weeks after the first season finale as Veronica tries to deal with the aftermath of Aaron's arrest. This part picks up right where the season ended with my take on who's at the door and goes on from that.
Disclaimer: It's not mine and I like Rob Thomas' version much better. That said...
It all started shortly after Aaron Echolls was arrested.
Keith was back at home recovering from his injuries and things should have been going back to normal for her. The thing was, Veronica didn't remember what normal felt like.
The summer was already halfway through but the paparazzi were still swarming in town. The Lilly Kane case was back in the spotlight and with a celebrity as the new suspect, things were not about to calm down. Especially when the son of said celebrity couldn't help but make a show of himself every other day.
Six weeks before…
"I was hoping it would be you," she said opening the door to her late night visitor.
Weevil looked at her with a mix of annoyance and concern.
"I heard a story on the radio. How is your father?" he asked.
"He is in the hospital. The doctors say he'll be alright."
Weevil nodded and Veronica got out of the way as three of the PCHers got on the porch carrying an unconscious Logan.
"What happened to him?" Veronica asked as the three bikers were roughly letting go of him on the couch.
Weevil briefly looked at his shoes and told his guys that he'd be right there.
"Your boy put up a bit of a struggle and one of the guys lost a bit of control and knocked him out", he said looking at her.
"Knocked him out?", she stepped over to the couch and kneeled next to Logan.
She took his face in her hands and looked at his swollen jaw before giving the glare of death to Weevil who had just stepped in the apartment and pretended not to notice. Veronica got up and walked to the bathroom to get a towel and filled it with ice. She put it on Logan's jaw. He moaned but didn't wake up and Veronica turned her attention back to Weevil while holding the ice packet to Logan's cheek.
"We found him on Coronado Bridge, dancing on the edge with a bottle in his hand."
For a second, Veronica's breath stopped but she recovered quickly and her clenching jaw prompted Weevil to go on.
"We got him down but as I said, he wouldn't listen."
"Does he know about his dad?"
"We put him in his car to bring him here. Felix told me it was all over the radio but he was out already so…"
Veronica was thoughtful for a second, her right hand still holding the ice as her left hand was mindlessly stroking Logan's hair.
"Thank you." Her voice was barely above a whisper. All of a sudden, her face was showing just how exhausted she was and Weevil fought the urge to ask her if she was alright. Too many people were going to ask that in the days to come and he knew her well enough to figure out that her answer would be a lie anyway. He simply nodded and left, softly closing the door.
Veronica took another look at Logan's jaw and carefully caressed the red skin where a bruise would be in the morning. At least he was alive, she thought. She didn't know if she was to be pissed off at Logan's behaviour or relieved that he was still alive and her sleep deprived brain didn't help her reach a decision. She let her hand linger on his cheek some more and then got up and went to bed. She told herself that things would be clearer in the morning. As she was drifting off to sleep, she briefly wondered how many other lies she would have to tell to get through all this.
Veronica woke up as Backup was licking her hand. She opened her eyes halfway. The clock indicated 10a.m. As Veronica sat on her bed, she could feel all of her muscles aching and the previous night's events made their way back slowly to her mind. She sighed and decided to check on her dad before going in the living room and having to deal with Logan. She picked up her cell phone. Two missed calls from Wallace. She listened to the voicemail and couldn't help but smile at her best friend. She would have to call him too but he already knew she was okay and safe so it could wait. She called the hospital and talked to Alicia. Her dad had woken up earlier and he was okay. Right now, the doctors were running a few more exams on him but his burns were not as bad as they had originally feared. Veronica told Alicia that she would come by later and promised to call Wallace.
Veronica quietly walked to the bathroom. The bruise was covering almost half of her face and looked pretty nasty but at least it was not swollen. She opened the medicine cabinet and downed two Advil.
She then took a deep breath and went in the living room. Logan was still sleeping, sprawled on the couch, looking peaceful.
Veronica almost turned back to hide in her bed hoping that somebody else would tell him.
As silently as she could, she started the coffee maker and set cereal boxes on the counter with milk and two bowls. She then walked up to the couch, for the first time noticing that the bruise on his face almost perfectly matched hers. She didn't have time to dwell on it though as Logan slowly opened his eyes.
TBC…
A/N: I am looking for someone who could please beta the story as I am very flawed and appreciate constructive criticism. Thank You.
A/N 2: I crave feedback, please leave a review even if it's just says "I hate it". Thanks.