Disclaimer: You don't have to watch House or VM to get the plot. This is a Veronica/Logan and House/Cam fic. It follows five months after both Season 2 finales. And it does coincide with some of House's plots for season 3. Please read and tell me what you think! Thanks!

Chapter 1

"You're not the same," House said evenly, those blue eyes grilling a hole through Allison Cameron's head. She was sitting at her desk, her glasses slipping down her nose as she checked his mail. He was leaning against the glass wall twirling his cane in his hand. He desperately wanted to take some Vicodin but had kept that habit hidden to all since the shooting five months ago.

Cameron's head popped up, her brows furrowing as she stared back at him. She had tried not to squirm when she knew he was standing there, but she could not help but feel the heat climbing up her spine to the back of her neck and the rush she felt in her thighs. Gulping, she asked, "Excuse me?"

House did not blench. "After Ezra," he said. "You don't want to go near patients. You're pissier than normal, too."

She glanced down at the letter in her hand. She had hoped that this time he was going to profess love or even like. Cameron just wanted something, anything resembling a signal from him. House was her boss, but she had loved him for the past two years and could not stop. He was a psychotic, obligatory jackass, but he was hers, at least in her heart. But he was not declaring anything. About two months ago, she had ended a terminal patient's life, Ezra's life, at his request. She fought back tears as she remembered his last gasp, his cold eyes that did not close after death. House was right. She was afraid to even touch a patient now. Cameron never wanted to make that decision again. She was a doctor. She was supposed to save lives, not take them.

Cameron stood up and took her glasses off, dropping them on the desk. Pushing her shoulders back, she said, "Thank you for your concern, Dr. House, but I'm fine. In fact, I have to go run labs for our patient now."

She brushed past him, but he grabbed her arm. "No, you're not," he said barely above a whisper. "You're coming with me."

Cameron's mouth dropped open. She did not even have time to register that his hand was wrapped tightly around her arm, that his fingers were very close to somewhere she had always fantasized about him touching. "What are you doing, House?"

He squinted, and she could not tell if he was angry. "I'm teaching you how to be a doctor," he said as he pushed her out of the door.

…………………………………

"We've been dating five months now. Can I call you Pooky yet?" Logan Echolls asked with that hint of sexy mockery.

Veronica Mars curled up next to her boyfriend as she lightly kissed his neck. "Only if you plan to die by next week," she cooed. They were sitting on the couch of his permanent hotel room. Logan's mother had committed suicide two years ago and his father had been shot to death five months ago after he had been found innocent of murdering Logan's high school girlfriend, the girl he had been having an affair with. His father had been a movie star, akin to the status of Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise. But after he was orphaned and his house had burned down, Logan lived here, at The Neptune Grand in California. Logan was now nineteen and worth literally millions.

Veronica and Logan were now dating. Again. But this time they were in college at Hearst University. Neither lived on campus. Veronica was still living with her dad and frequented Logan's hotel room. She was not sure how she ever ended up falling for this psychotic, obligatory jackass, but she had. And she was having a difficult time standing up.

Logan wrapped his arms around her and pecked her lightly over her lips and cheek and forehead. His heart flooded with joy every time he even touched her. She was his salvation. His opportunity at a normal life in what had been Hell for the last two years. His dark eyes flashed jokingly as he said, "Well, will you call me Pooky, then."

Veronica sat up and placed her legs on either side of his lap. She began unbuttoning his shirt. "Then I'd have to kill myself," she whispered into his ear with a smile, rotating her hips just to drive him crazy.

He tensed, grabbing her waist to set her down on the couch. Logan stood up, his back to her. Veronica gasped as she realized what she had said. He still missed his mother deeply. For several years, he had felt that she was the only one that had loved him. His father had beaten him severally over the years, but his mother was always there. Until now.

Veronica jumped up, resting her hands on his hips. "Logan, I'm so sorry," she said. "I didn't mean it."

Logan turned to look down at her. She saw tears in his eyes that broke her heart. Veronica was afraid that he would hurt for the rest of his life. The pain he had went through, that they had both went through, might never go away. His eyes pleaded with hers as he said, "Just never go away, okay? Make sure you don't die."

Veronica hugged him tightly as she smiled. She had seen a lot of death and betrayal herself. Besides her dad and Wallace, Logan was her rock, the person she knew she could always go to, always trust. "Never, Pooky. You better promise me the same thing."

Overcome, Logan picked up her small frame, her legs winding around his waist. She rubbed her hands down his shoulders and back. She loved his body. It was strong and trim, but not overly toned. He wasn't handsome in that magazine away, but he was beautiful to her. They broke a lamp as they rushed towards his bedroom. Both struggled to not break the embrace of their lips.

Once in the bedroom, he gently laid her on the bed. Logan pushed her shirt up to kiss her taut stomach. Glancing up briefly, he asked, "Don't you wish we had been doing this last summer?"

"Shut up and have your way with me, Rhett," she cried in a Southern accent. Both liked each other's bodies, and their intelligence, but the thing that attracted them most was their banter. Neither had ever found someone else that could match their wit. Their hearts raced when one tried to out-talk the other.

"As God as my witness, I will never go without lovin' again," he groaned, ripping off his shirt.

Their moans of passion turned into sighs of frustration when they heard a knock at the door. "If that's your dad, I never touched you," Logan said thickly. He'd never admit it, but he was slightly afraid of the former sheriff who was now a private investigator.

"He always said he should have invested in that Chastity belt," she said as she got up to answer the door. She knew, with a satisfied smile, that it would take a few minutes for Logan to be able to join her in the front room.

She readjusted her clothing and opened the door. Veronica blinked as she saw who it was. Alicia Fennel stood there, twisting her purse and biting her lip. She was Wallace's mother. Wallace had been Veronica's best friend for two years since they were the outcasts in high school. "Mrs. Fennel," she said, "Is everything all right?"

Alicia glanced past Veronica as she spotted Logan entering the room. "Wallace has collapsed," she said, tears now falling from her eyes. "The doctor said it could be fatal."

Veronica felt like her world was crashing down. She had once told Wallace that he could never die, much like the pact she had made tonight. But now all bets were off. Alicia did not give her time to respond. "The doctor told me about a specialist in New Jersey. Dr. House. But there's no way I can afford—"

Logan interrupted. "Don't worry about the bill," he said. "I'll take care of it. When's his flight?"

TBC