Duncan and Veronica drank quietly at the kitchen counter. Trina and Logan had split up, with Trina heading straight to see Aaron and Logan stopping at the sheriff's office on the way.

"You must be hungry from your flight…"

"I'm ok."

"Well, I'm starved. You want to go get something? There is no food here at Chez Mars."

"Chez Mars, huh?"

Veronica shrugged with a tiny smile on her face. "Logan likes my name better too. Come on. Let's go out to eat. We'll keep our phones on and we'll talk and talk."

"Sounds like a plan, Mars. Steak and potatoes?"

"And booze and companionship."

"You believe Trina's really his sister?"

"I think so."

"I hope so. He can't take too much more bullshit."

"I know. Come on. Let's fucking eat." He took her hand and they headed out the door.

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"They found your mother's DNA on the clothes," Lamb said softly and without preamble.

Logan looked up, shocked. "I… didn't even know she'd be in the system."

"She got a couple DUIs back when you were in high school." Logan nodded—that made sense. "I'm so sorry, Logan."

"No, that's ok. I mean, uh, it's good to know. Thank you so much. Did you guys find anything else?"

"There was a positive match for Liam Fitzpatrick's DNA as well. His blood was on her clothes. He's already serving a life sentence now upstate, but the feds interviewed him shortly after getting the DNA results. Fitzpatrick claims your father paid him to kill your mother and he had to return the hand to Aaron and tell him where the body was buried as proof. Sounds like he was more scared of Aaron than the other way around and he was expecting some form of blackmail sooner or later… If you can believe anything that he says."

"I might believe him over Aaron. Speaking of, apparently he's dying in LA right now." Logan didn't mean to sound blasé about the situation but it definitely came out that way.

"He's what? You want to go see him? Shit, the feds'll probably try interviewing him if he's conscious too."

"Yeah, I'm going to head up there next. Thanks again for the info on my mom. It's a relief to know for sure that she's gone… Well, you know what I mean. It's a relief to know anything for sure but I wish she was still here."

"I understand. Take care, Logan. I'll give you more news as it becomes available."

Logan nodded at the sheriff and hesitated outside a minute before calling Veronica on her cell. "Hey, will you go with me to see Aaron? I think I need you."

Logan picked Veronica up on his way out of town. It was everything he could do to convince Duncan that coming with them to visit the asshole of a man he had once shot was probably not a good idea. Veronica insisted on driving so that Logan could clear his head. Neither of them was drunk but they had both had drinks earlier in the day. At least Veronica had recently turned twenty-one. If Logan got pulled over, he could get a DUI for being .01. She was protecting him. Logan laughed at some of Veronica's halting gear changes as she drove his car—the girl was not used to driving stick shift but, like with anything else, she would become a pro at it by the time they reached their final destination.

Aaron was at the hospital nearest the prison—it dealt with all the inmates that were too seriously or chronically injured for the prison infirmary to handle. Trina was sitting in the ICU waiting room when they got there, not a trace of a tear in her eye.

"Logan, Veronica, hey," she greeted them, getting up quickly from her seat. She didn't feel like feigning any real grief, so she didn't.

"Hey, Trina. What's the news?" That was Veronica.

"They don't think he's going to make it. He's comatose. He took a really bad hit to the back of the head, apparently. Prison fight. I don't think it was random. I think someone was out to get him."

"Why?" Veronica again.

"He told me so as he was slipping in and out of it. Like I said, though: he's totally out of it now. Look, Logan. I know this is a lot to take in but let me just say what I've got to say. I am your sister, but I was hardly his daughter. I mean, biologically I was—yeah. But he wasn't really in our lives. I wasn't trying to help him because he's my dad or for any sort of altruistic purpose. He called me from prison a few weeks ago, begged me to visit, and told me he'd pay me ten grand if I tried to clear his name. He said his lawyer's doing jackshit, you don't care, whatever. So I figured I'd make a trip of it—visit California, see the sights and all that, see you. Well, I mean, he asked me to see you but I wanted to anyway. But the fact remains: I know he did it. Deep down, I know. I just wanted the cash and I sort of figured, what the fuck, you know? Meet you, do what he asks of me when you and I know he was never getting out anyway. Fool's dream. Even if he did, the same people who were trying to kill him on the inside would try to kill him on the outside." Trina had peppered her monologue with pregnant pauses, just waiting for Logan or even Veronica to interrupt. Say something. But all Logan did was squeeze Veronica's hand and look straight ahead at Trina, unblinking.

Finally, Logan said, "I get it, Trina. I'm just going to go see him before he dies."

"Only one visitor at a time in the ICU, especially with these prisoners," the floor nurse said when Veronica tried to accompany Logan to his father's room. Veronica nodded and fell back while Logan walked in, emotionless. There lay Aaron, once again in a guarded room. Could he hear Logan? Did he have any brain activity at all? Logan wondered if the State got to decide to pull the plug or if he did, if it even came to that. Maybe Aaron was just faking. If you could fake a coma. Logan wanted to slap his father again as he had once before, just to see if he was really almost gone. But what was the fucking point? They were nothing to each other anymore. Logan believed Fitzpatrick, Logan believed Trina's gut feeling, he believed what Veronica and Duncan had been telling him for months. He believed Aaron would have Lynn killed like the venomous coward he was rather than let her go. And maybe that was all this came down to—maybe she was finally ready to go and he would only let it happen on his terms.

"Is it wrong to wish death on someone?" Logan said quietly, mostly to himself, which was all the same because the federal marshal posted in the room did not answer him. Sacks or Leo would have. Lamb would have. But what would they have said?

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Veronica stood alone in the waiting room, unable to sit down or relax, when Logan finally walked back out.

"Trina had to go. She said she'll be in touch." Veronica hesitated. "How did he look?"

"Peaceful. He must really be gone, the part that makes him him at least. You know what I mean…"

"I know."

"Well, what do you say we go home, grab Duncan and drink responsibly for a few hours?"

"Responsibly?"

Logan failed to suppress a little grin. "Ok, maybe not totally responsibly but we can take a cab. After all, I just found out I'm basically an orphan. Not that I wasn't already. But, Ronnie, I promise to keep trying. Um, I promise to try harder. I don't want to turn into some drunk you can't stand."

"Oh, Logan, you never could. I will always love you no matter what."

"Ditto." They started to kiss in the ICU waiting room before realizing how horribly inappropriate that was and deciding to hit the road.

"I'll drive," Logan said sweetly.

"Fuck that. I'm getting really good at this manual shit." Veronica hopped behind the wheel before Logan could say anything else—as if he would. She certainly couldn't understand what Logan was feeling right now, all the mixed emotions. But between finally having some sort of closure on his mom and knowing that his dad couldn't fuck with him anymore (at least in live interaction), there was suddenly a bit of lightness surrounding Logan.

Drink they would. Drink to remember, drink to forget, drink to fucking drink. Tomorrow would start their new lives. Tomorrow, they would make all their promises come true. Tomorrow.