Chapter Text
Veronica Mars stood next to the window in her small Midtown studio apartment watching the warm soothing tones of a June sunset slowly fade as the night sky descended on New York. Bright city lights now illuminated the dark sky, brought to life by the hustle and bustle of people out celebrating the end of another grueling work week.
Usually she would be out on a Friday night with a few girls she kept in touch with from law school at Columbia. They would go out to eat, grab a drink at a nearby bar or club and chat about their jobs. They were nice girls, career driven like her, so conversation never got too personal, which was perfect because she didn’t like to talk about her past.
After she transferred out of Hearst following her freshman year she ended up going to Stanford. Neptune was a black hole that only seemed to continue to break her down. She desperately needed a change and Stanford offered her an opportunity out so she gladly took it and never looked back. Even though she continued to major and eventually graduate with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice she never took on another case as a private investigator after leaving Neptune. Instead she channeled that passion into going to law school. For the last two years she has been working as an Assistant District Attorney to Joel Sternson, one of the best District Attorney’s in the state of New York.
She loved working for Joel as an Assistant DA. He had a fierce work ethic that she admired; it reminded her of herself, with the drive to complete a case. They had more than the typical boss and assistant relationship; he was closer to a second father to her. He knew she was lonely here in New York with her family and friends back in California so he understood why she drowned herself in work. She was usually the first in and the last out at the office and as if that wasn’t enough she brought work home often.
Joel opened his home to her and invited her over on holidays and weekends to spend time with his wife, kids and grandkids. She never turned down his invitations and his family absolutely adored her but he still saw that ever-present sadness in her eyes, a void that was never filled. He recognized her natural skill set and saw her unwavering determination. She had amazing potential and he was confident one day she would be a top DA. He started seeing some worrisome signs more recently, her enthusiasm was dwindling and she was exhausted. He didn’t want her to burn out so quickly and knew she had only been back home two or three times since leaving Hearst so he pushed her to take a vacation. She finally relented and he thought going back home to spend some time with her loved ones would be good for her.
Veronica moved away from the window, grabbing the TV remote off the entertainment center before stretching out on the couch. She laid there for a minute enjoying the gentle night breeze that wafted in through the window hitting her exposed skin. The blistering summer heat had not arrived yet but it was still warm enough to lounge around comfortably in a t-shirt and shorts. She leaned over and picked up the Chinese take out she bought for dinner and had dropped on the coffee table before changing out of her work clothes.
She continued to eat her dinner while mindlessly flipping through channels on the TV trying to procrastinate on packing her suitcase for as long as possible. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her dad and her friends, she did, she had missed them a lot. She talked regularly with Wallace and Mac and her dad called a few times a week too, it was going to be nice seeing them in person. This trip would mark the fourth time she will have been back to Neptune in the last nine years. She typically would pop in for a long weekend and hope she could get out without running into a certain tall, brown-eyed millionaire. So far she had been successful.
When she left Neptune, Logan and her were not in a good place, which made leaving easier at the time. Wallace, Mac and her dad tried to keep her updated on the happenings in Neptune but she shut the topic down, she left Neptune for a reason she didn’t want to hear about it. Eventually they learned not to bring up anything Neptune related and she was glad. Over the years her anger at Logan had left and she thought about him everyday. She wondered if he was even still in Neptune. Did he have a wife? Kids? Was he happy? Did he still think about her or had he moved on?
She tried to move on and forget him but she couldn’t and really didn’t even want to. There were a few guys she dated over the years but they hadn’t been serious relationships lasting only a few months each time. She realized a few years ago that the real reason none of her relationships worked out were because none of them were with Logan. She only wanted to be with him. She often caught herself daydreaming about what kind of life they could have had together if they could get past all of their issues. She still had the resources to look him up but she never did. She was too afraid she would find that he already had a family and was happy without her, so she lived a life of avoidance.
Her cell phone ringing broke her daydreaming trance and she reached over to the end table to grab it before it went to voicemail. She looked at the caller ID and smiled before answering. “Hey, dad.”
“Hi, kiddo. What are you doing?”
She sat up on the couch and muted the TV, just now noticing she had stopped on a channel playing Easy Rider. “I just finished eating dinner.”
“Hopefully something with more nutritional value than ice cream.”
She could hear the teasing in his voice and smiled again. “Hey, you would be proud, I haven’t had ice cream for dinner in weeks! That’s a new personal best!”
“Are you done packing?”
“Um…” She hesitated briefly not wanting to lie to him, but he didn’t give her time to respond further.
“Veronica…”
“I’m not backing out, I promise. It has just been a busy week at work and I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I still have time my flight isn’t until tomorrow, I was going to start packing after dinner but then you called.”
“Okay, good. I haven’t seen you in a long time and I am looking forward to all the daddy-daughter time we are going to have.”
“I’m looking forward to it too, that is why I am giving you fourteen days of work free Veronica time. You will be so sick of my face by the end of my trip you probably won’t even stop the car when you take me back to the airport, you’ll just make me jump out.”
She could hear him laughing on the other end of the phone. “You know I will never get tired of spending time with you. What time does your flight get in?”
She got off the couch and moved over to her bed where her suitcase laid open and empty. She started grabbing clothes out of her dressers to pack as she continued talking to her dad. “Around 3pm assuming the flight isn’t delayed or I sleep through my alarm.”
“I will be at the airport waiting for you regardless. Maybe I’ll make a flashy sign in case you have forgotten what I look like.”
She knew he was joking so she chuckled along with him. “Don’t you dare!” Veronica walked over to her closet and pulled out a mix of clothes, unsure of what she would need. Just to play it safe she pulled out a few shirts, jeans, shorts and dresses and threw them in her suitcase. “How is Alicia?”
Keith and Alicia’s wedding was the last time she had been back to Neptune, nearly four years ago now. They had a small ceremony on the beach with just Wallace, Darrell and herself in attendance.
“She’s clearing out the guest bedroom right now so it will be ready when you get here. She’s also very excited to see you and is cooking a special dinner tomorrow; of course Wallace will be joining us as well. Darrell however will not; he has decided to stay at UCLA this summer. He said it’s so he doesn’t lose his great apartment but I think it’s because he wants to have unsupervised time with his new girlfriend.”
“Ah, I remember those days fondly. You would be out on a late night stakeout and Duncan, Logan or whoever would come over and keep me company for the night.”
“Veronica, that is not funny.”
She couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her face; it was too easy messing with him. “Oh, come on, dad. You know they only came over when you went out of town to chase down a bail jumper. Then I didn’t have to worry about you walking in on us.”
“You are ruining the bubble of denial I live in when it comes to you and your gentlemen callers.”
She was full on laughing now at her dad’s obvious discomfort. “What happened to honey, you know you can tell me anything, I’m your dad?”
“Honey, you can tell me anything…except for details about your sex life, which I know you don’t have because you are my innocent little girl. Any gentlemen caller you might have that disagrees with that idea will spend the afternoon with me and my gun collection.”
She smiled and rolled her eyes at his idle threat he has continued to spew since she first started dating Duncan back in high school. “Whatever helps you sleep better at night, pops.”
“Have you finished packing yet?”
Veronica laughed at his need to change the topic. “I am just about done. A few more outfits and toiletries that I will pack up in the morning before I leave and I am all set.”
“I am really glad you are coming home to visit, kiddo.”
“Me too.”
“Well I will let you go so you can finish packing. Get a good nights rest and be ready for some daddy-daughter time tomorrow!”
“Goodnight, dad.”
“Goodnight, Veronica.”
She hung up the phone and finished packing up the rest of her things she would need for her vacation in Neptune. Exhausted by the long work week she got ready for bed a little earlier than normal. Hoping to catch a few extra hours of sleep in case she couldn’t fall asleep on the plane. She crawled into bed after brushing her teeth and fell asleep with the end of Easy Rider playing on TV.
Veronica woke the next morning to the chirping of her alarm clock. Even though she went to bed early last night she didn’t feel well rested. She spent most of the night tossing and turning, nervousness and anxiety about returning home after four years keeping her awake. She rolled out of bed and headed for the shower.
After pulling on a pair of blue jean shorts and a t-shirt she packed the rest of her toiletries and placed them in her suitcase. She was surprisingly ahead of schedule so she decided to just grab a cab to the airport and snag something for breakfast before boarding the plane.
Getting through the security check point had taken twice as long as she planned, so much for leaving home early. She was sliding her feet back into her Converse shoes as quickly as possible. If she hurried she could still grab a breakfast sandwich on her way to the terminal.
After shoving her sandwich in her mouth she lightly jogged to her loading terminal where they had just finished boarding first class and group A passengers. She pulled out her group B ticket from her jacket pocket and stood in line waiting to board the plane. After scanning her ticket she made her way down the ramp toward the plane.
Veronica entered the plane keeping her head down to avoid getting hit by flying elbows of people trying to cram their overstuffed carry on bags in the overhead compartments. She heard her name being called by a familiar voice and lifted her head to find out who was calling her name only to lock eyes with Logan Echolls. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened slightly as she continued to stare at him unable to move. This was the last place she ever expected to run into him. The person behind her tapped her on the shoulder telling her to continue moving down the aisle. She tore her gaze away from Logan and moved to find her seat in coach. She quickly stowed away her bag and claimed a seat next to the window.
All passengers were seated and their luggage was stored. The pilot came on the loud speaker to make his pre-flight announcement as the plane made its way to the runaway for takeoff. Veronica was not listening to the pilot, lost in her own world as she tried to grasp the event of running into Logan on a plane from New York to Neptune.
She had not seen him in nine years and her first thought was that time had been good to him. He no longer had frosted tips or wore puka shell necklaces to accessorize his love of brown and orange long sleeve shirts. Now he chose to wear dark fitted clothing that pressed tightly against his body. She could tell that his body had changed over the years; his baby face had matured and was slimmer than she remembered. His chest, arms and shoulders carried more muscle than ever before, probably from a combination of lifting weights and early morning surf sessions. Her mouth started watering just from thinking about his new mature look. Seeing him again was going to be harder than she thought.
As soon as her eyes locked with his she felt the electricity shoot through her body, she still had feelings for him. This was not new information; she had always had feelings for him since they were twelve. The only difference now is that she finally knew what she wanted. With the plane inching closer to the sky she sat in her seat thinking about the emotions that seeing Logan again stirred inside her. She suddenly felt a small pain in her chest after realizing that Logan was not alone up in first class. When she saw him he was holding the hand of a beautiful brown-eyed brunette woman. They looked cozy and comfortable with each other. Veronica couldn’t remember seeing a ring on the woman’s finger because the shock of seeing Logan kind of captured all her attention. She didn’t want to think about the brunette woman being his wife but isn’t that what married couples do, they take long cross-country trips together.
Veronica had never been so relieved to have two strangers in between her and the center aisle. There was a good possibility that Logan would come looking for her when the seatbelt sign went off and right now she wanted to avoid him. She needed time to process his new lifestyle without her. From her restless night of sleep and her emotional run in with Logan she was exhausted. She decided to try and sleep on the plane; it would prevent Logan from attempting any confrontations and would make the flight go by faster. She put her hand under her head against the window and the gentle rocking of the plane put her to sleep.
Veronica woke up when the woman sitting next to her politely nudged her arm to let her know the plane was descending and would be landing in a few minutes. As the plane came to a stop after pulling up next to the terminal people started getting up from their seats to grab their bags and exit the plane. Veronica decided that it would be easier to avoid Logan and his wife if she exited the plane last, so she took her time collecting her things. She walked back up the ramp and took a deep breath before passing through the gate into the airport hoping Logan wouldn’t be waiting for her.
She stepped over the threshold and let out the breath she was holding when she didn’t see Logan anywhere in the vicinity. She only had her carry on so she didn’t have to worry about baggage claim and made her way out to the pick up lane to meet her dad. As she approached the airport exit she saw her dad next to the curb leaning against his black once-a-cop-always-a-cop Crown Vic. Veronica walked up to him and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before placing her suitcase in the trunk and climbing in the passenger seat.
Keith pulled away from the airport curb heading back to the Mars-Fennel household. “How was your flight?”
“It was good, went by fast and I slept through the entire flight.” She was not going to mention her little run in with Logan. Even if her dad might be able to answer some of her questions about his life she didn’t want to talk about it with him right now. “It is so good to see you, dad. I missed you. I’m sorry I don’t visit as often as I should.”
Keith glanced over at Veronica and smiled before returning his gaze to the road. “You don’t have to apologize, Veronica. Neptune has this tight hold on people; it breaks them down and prevents them from moving up in the world. You don’t know how proud I am of everything you have accomplished. You got out, kiddo. You got out and now you are this big hot shot ADA in New York. You have become everything a father dreams his daughter to be.” He glances over at her again and sees her blinking back tears in her eyes. He can’t help but smile at the emotion breaking through his badass action figure daughter’s walls. “And I missed you too, kiddo.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes allowing Veronica to compose herself again. “What happened to that guy you were dating? What was his name? Brian?”
She nervously chuckled, “Ryan. And we broke up about a month ago.”
“Why? I thought you liked him.”
Veronica turned her head to stare out the window, her voice lacking emotion, “he was nice, we just didn’t connect.”
Her body language told him she didn’t want to talk about it further, so he didn’t push her on the topic. They have a close relationship but discussing her love life has never been an area she confided in him about. He knows about all the sporadic boyfriends she has had over the years since she left home. And he had noticed that none of her more recent relationships made it past a six-month period and wonders if she can’t move on from someone in her past. When he first started dating after Lianne left he wasn’t able to fully commit to any relationships because he still loved her. Once he let her go he found happiness and love again with Alicia. If he had to guess he would say the one boy Veronica never got over is the one boy he didn’t want her to end up with. He is a little worried how she will react if and when she finds out that Logan is off the market.
Keith pulled into the driveway and grabbed Veronica’s suitcase from the trunk before entering the house. “Alicia, I picked up a hitchhiker and she’s going to stay with us for two weeks, isn’t that great, honey!”
Veronica laughed at her dad’s antics as Alicia walked in the room to greet them. She pulled Veronica into a tight hug, “it is so good to see you, Veronica! I just put dinner in the oven, it should be ready in about an hour and Wallace will be here shortly.”
Veronica’s eyes lit up at the mention of food. “What are we having for dinner?”
“The only meal truly acceptable to celebrate your visit home…”
Veronica cut in excitedly, “lasagna!?”
“Of course, what else would we have?”
Veronica smiled and rubbed her stomach, “I hope you made plenty. You have no idea how long it has been since I have had a home cooked meal made by someone other than myself. I plan on eating my weight in lasagna tonight!”
Keith smirked at his daughter, “And how is that any different from all the other times you have had lasagna?”
Veronica smacked his arm playfully. “And on that note I am going to go unpack while dinner is cooking.” She walked out of the kitchen and headed toward the guest bedroom with her suitcase in tow.
Veronica was just about done unpacking when there was a knock on the bedroom door. She turned around as the door opened up and flung herself at Wallace walking into the room. “Hey, Supafly!”
She pulled out of Wallace’s embrace and rubbed his head, “hey, little bro, I’ve missed you.”
Keith called down the hall from the kitchen, “dinner is ready, kids!”
Veronica jumped up and down clapping her hands at the mention of food and Wallace laughed at her childish behavior. She linked her arm through his and dragged him down the hallway toward the kitchen.
“Hey, Papabear, pass the rolls please.”
Wallace rolled his eyes at the mention of the nickname Veronica continues to use even though it drives him nuts and passed her the bread.
Keith and Alicia shared a look with each other, both smiling at their happy family. Alicia looked over at Veronica, “how is work going?”
Veronica’s face lit up, “really good. I am learning a lot from Joel and he has been letting me take on more and more individual cases recently. Which is great because it allows me to test the water and see if I will make it in this field one day on my own.”
“It sounds like you won’t have any trouble.”
Veronica smiled at Alicia’s compliment and can’t help but think how glad she is that her dad finally found someone that makes him happy. She can’t think of anyone else she would want as a stepmom. “Wallace how’s Hearst?”
“Great! I don’t have to teach any summer math courses this year so I can just focus on getting the boys ready for the upcoming season. I decided to run a summer boot camp for any of the basketball players that want to get in extra practices. Most of the players are sticking around Neptune so I think we will be able to strengthen the team enough for us to make playoffs this year!”
Veronica smiled at Wallace’s enthusiasm. “Well if any one can whip those boys in shape it's you, Coach Fennel.”
Conversation flowed around the dinner table through dessert before they moved to the living room to watch a movie. Veronica smiled as she looked around the living room at her family. Wallace was spread out on his back on the floor while Keith and Alicia were curled up together on the opposite side of the couch. She never had this growing up. When her mom was around she was usually passed out drunk in her room and Veronica had enjoyed the peaceful moments alone. Now she loved being surrounded by family and was sad that she didn’t have this in New York. Being on the opposite side of the country meant she wasn’t here to experience family dinners or family weekends at the zoo. She was absent on birthdays and holidays and she didn’t realize how lonely she was in New York until now. She didn’t feel as lonely when she was here in Neptune visiting Keith, Alicia, Wallace and Mac. Maybe she didn’t belong in New York anymore. Maybe it was time to come home.