A/N: Alright everyone, this is the final chapter. This is finito. If I do a follow-up chapter/epilogue, it will probably be as a separate one-shot or I might, maybe, do a sequel. Not sure yet. Whether or not either of those things is written, this story is done with chapter fifteen. I hope you all enjoyed the story. Without further ado, I present you with chapter fifteen. Enjoy! Vote in the poll! R&R! Thanks! –Mac

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Chapter Fifteen

Setting the Change in Motion

After stalling their return to the very last second, Logan and Veronica finally drove the final stretch into Neptune. It was late when Logan parked in front of the Mars residence, but Veronica quickly shushed all of Logan's plans to head back to his own house and ushered him to her door. Before she could get her key in the lock, the door was pulled open and they came face to face with Keith Mars. Veronica offered her Dad a sheepish smile as Logan swallowed nervously. Without a word, Keith gestured them both inside the house and into the living room.

Keith sat down in the arm chair and Veronica and Logan took their own seats on the couch. The three sat there silently for a few minutes. Keith was watching the two teens intently, Veronica was meeting his eyes without hesitation and Logan focused his attention on the ground. Logan had always felt slightly intimidated by the Sheriff, despite Keith's genuinely friendly personality, but in the wake of their runaway escape that intimidation had evolved into full fledged fear at what the man was capable of if he misinterpreted the intentions of the trip.

"Daddy," Veronica finally broke the silence, "I know I have a lot of explaining to do—we have a lot of explaining to do. There are some really important things I need to tell you," she glanced at Logan beside her before adding, "and I think there are some things Logan would like to talk to you about, but it's late. Can it wait until morning? And please don't send Logan home, I think he should—"

Her Dad put up a hand to stop her from rambling on further. "Logan, the guest room is made up and ready for you. You two are probably exhausted from your drive. Get some sleep and we'll talk in the morning."

Veronica smiled and got up to hug her Dad, "Thank you Dad, I'm about ready to fall asleep standing up. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight Logan."

As she passed him on her way to her room, Veronica pressed a chaste kiss to Logan's cheek and continued on her way as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She was halfway down the hallway to her room when she heard her Dad ask Logan to wait a minute, so she hung back. She leaned against the wall to carefully listen in.

"Logan, I just wanted to let you know that the guest bedroom is not just yours for tonight. It's yours whenever and for however long you need it. I don't know your reasons for needing to leave—I'm hoping you'll share them with me when we talk tomorrow—but either way, I understand the significance they must hold. So if there's anything you need or if you want to talk, I'm here. I don't want you or my daughter to have to run off again."

"Thank you, sir," Logan responded, "but I assure you, it won't happen again."

"Call me Keith," her Dad said. "We might as well be on a first name basis. I imagine I'm going to be seeing a lot more of you."

"I hope so," Logan laughed lightly, "but, while I appreciate the gesture, I think I'll stick with Mr. Mars for now."

"Whatever makes you comfortable."

Veronica was smiling from the overheard exchange. She didn't register the sound of approaching footsteps until the person was already rounding the corner into the hallway. Without enough time to make it the distance to her room, she was caught. It was a first—she was generally so good at being stealthy since her small stature and genetics were in her favor—but at least it was Logan and not her Dad coming toward her with a knowing smirk on his face.

"Eavesdropping Miss Mars?" Logan raised an eyebrow.

"Shh," Veronica put a finger to her lips. "You wouldn't want someone overhearing our conversation."

She took Logan's hand and led him down the hallway to the guest bedroom. Once they were inside, she quietly shut the door behind them. Veronica leaned back against the door as she studied Logan's face. He stood a couple feet away from her, taking up space in the empty part of the room at the foot of the guest bed.

"Does it feel different yet?" Veronica suddenly asked. "We're actually back in Neptune. It feels strange to think I'll actually be sleeping in my own bed tonight."

"I don't know how it feels just yet," Logan answered. "I'm still kind of thrown by how your Dad was acting. I'm not exactly sure what I expected his reaction to be, but that was not it."

Veronica nodded, "I expected louder and more hostile. Some angry grunts to punctuate each elaborate argument about how much of a stupid mistake running off was. Maybe a few disappointed glares for flavor."

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"He did say he understood," Veronica said, looking down at her hands as she intertwined her fingers, "When he left me that message when we first left. But I still thought he would be mad about us leaving without warning. Maybe I just didn't believe him, but I guess I underestimated him a little in that department."

"I guess we'll find out for sure tomorrow. He might want to save all the yelling for when we're alert enough to appreciate it," Logan shrugged. He covered his mouth with one hand as a yawn threatened to escape.

"I'm happy you're here tonight," Veronica sighed. "I would have been worried sick if you had gone home."

"I'm happy to be here too," Logan agreed. He closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. He dropped his mouth to her lips when she tilted her face up to him.

"Mmm," Veronica murmured when Logan broke the kiss. "I should get to my room before my Dad comes to check on us."

"This trip spoiled me," Logan admitted as he rested his forehead against hers. "I don't want you to leave. I got used to falling asleep with you in the same room as me."

"I won't be too far away," Veronica whispered. "Just across the hall. I'll be there if you need anything. I'll never be too far away. Don't worry."

Logan smiled as he stepped back a few steps, allowing her the distance for her to make her exit. "Sweet dreams, Ronnie."

"You too," Veronica reciprocated before she stepped out into the hall and closed the door between them.

Once she was in her own room and in her own bed, Veronica figured sleep would come without any kind of struggle. Instead she found herself wide awake and staring at the ceiling over her bed, musing over the days that had preceded that moment and all the things that had happened. Although there was a part of her that was scared that she would wake up in the morning and it would be like the trip never happened, Veronica could somehow already feel the changes that had been set in motion. Something, which at first was indefinable, nagged at her and kept her awake as minutes and hours ticked by. She imagined Logan sleeping soundly in the room across from hers and that soothed some of the unease that was building in her stomach, but did not eradicate it completely. Finally, unable to keep struggling in vain to grasp at the tendrils of much needed sleep, Veronica left her bed before the sky outside her window had even began to lighten, illuminated by the first rays of the rising sun.

As Veronica stepped out into the hall, she expected to find all the bedroom doors closed tightly, enclosing all the slumbering occupants away from any disturbance. While the guest bedroom door was still shut—separating her from the sleeping Logan—the door to her parents' room was sitting ajar. Veronica frowned as she approached the master bedroom. At first she assumed the open door had been a precaution, meant to allow her Dad to catch his daughter or his houseguest should they attempt any nighttime visitations, but when she peeked around the door, she found the room empty. Her Dad's side of the bed was unmade, but unoccupied. Her mother's side was still pristine, with the edges of the blankets tucked in smoothly at the corners. Her curiosity peaked, Veronica ventured further into the room and was almost keenly aware of the many things that were missing besides her parents—a bare dresser top, an empty drawer still propped open and a glimpse at the naked hangers in one half of the closet told the story.

Veronica's head was spinning when she walked into the kitchen in search of a glass of water and perhaps some aspirin for the dull ache growing at her temple. It wasn't until she opened the door to the refrigerator and its light illuminated the room that she realized the room was already occupied. She closed the refrigerator and reached over and flipped the switch for the overhead light. The room brightened to the point that she had to shield her eyes slightly until they adjusted to the lighting. She sighed as she focused on the figure sitting at the table and facing her.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Keith asked.

"Daddy," Veronica responded, her voice barely over a whisper. "Where's Mom?"

"Veronica, honey," Keith started. "Why don't you sit down?"

"I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about how easy it was when we came home. All the messages Mom left were so angry, that if she had been here she would never have let me hear the end of it," Veronica said. "And now I was just in your room and all of her things, they're just gone. Where is she?"

"Honey, after you and Logan left, I was forced to really look at why you felt like you had no other options," Keith stood and crossed the room to stand in front of Veronica. "I realized that there were things I had never said and things I had never done, that I should have said and done. Maybe if I had, you wouldn't have had to run.

"I confronted Lianne about her drinking and she was furious. I tried to reason with her about everything and she claimed I was blaming her for your choices. I told her I took responsibility for my part in all of this and that she had to take hers, because I wasn't going to let her hurt you anymore. I was forced to give your mother an ultimatum. I told her she need to get help, or get out. She chose the latter. I'm so sorry, Veronica."

By the time her Dad had finished talking, Veronica was wiping away her tears as they fell. She had already known deep insider of her the answer to her question, but it still hurt. It hurt her even more to know that her Dad had to endure her mother walking out all alone. Although it had been her absence that had provoked the situation that led to her mother's flight, Veronica still regretted not being there. Her Dad did not deserve to have his daughter run away and his wife abandon him in the same week.

"No, I'm sorry," Veronica cried. "I'm so, so sorry for leaving. We just had to. I needed to and Logan needed to—we just needed to escape for awhile. And I'm so sorry that I disappeared on you."

The words spilled out in time with her tears and she soon found herself wrapped tightly in her Dad's arms. Keith ran a hand over her hair. "It's okay Veronica. I understand. Maybe not fully, but hopefully in time you can help me to. All that matters now is that you are safe and you're home. Just promise me that next time you need something, talk to me about it before you have to resort to leaving."

"It won't ever happen again," Veronica shook her head as she pulled back from her Dad. She looked up at him and then glanced in the direction of the hallway to the bedrooms, "I have everything I need right here now."

"You should get some sleep," Keith said after a moment. "It's going to be a long day for you and Logan tomorrow. There are a lot of people that are going to want answers."

"And you'll get them, I promise," Veronica responded. "Why we left and what we did."

"While I know it is important to you that Logan talks to me about why he needed to leave and I would like those answers, you forgot one thing, Veronica," Keith said, "where you were for all that time."

Veronica nodded, "I could tell you that—"

"—but you don't have to," Keith finished for her. "I knew exactly where you were the entire time. You left your phone on. I was able to track your trip through the GPS in your cellphone."

"I knew that," Veronica admitted. "I left it on, on purpose. I wasn't trying to hide from you. I trusted that you wouldn't use it to drag us home."

Keith smiled, "That's my girl."

Veronica hugged her Dad one more time, "I am your girl. No doubt about that. Goodnight Dad."

As Veronica returned to her room, she felt content to look into the future for the first time in years. In the morning she and Logan would sit down with her Dad and have the talk that needed to be had. She knew her Dad would do whatever it took to help Logan once he knew the whole story. Everything would fall into place. Her mother's departure had yet to fully hit her and perhaps in the morning she would find herself more upset. She wanted to care that her mother had left, but she couldn't help but think that it was probably for the best. Veronica had to believe that it would all work out. She didn't know what the future would bring, but with her Dad and Logan by her side, she could face it head on.

It had taken the fulfillment of an old promise made by two desperate thirteen year olds to let her see that, but it was worth it in the end. The last few days with Logan would provide the catalyst for changes that had been a long time coming, and they were the days she would always remember as some of the best of her life. When Veronica crawled into bed this time, sleep came easily. She was happy to dream of the possibilities the future held, unaware but hoping that across the hall Logan was doing the same.

-fin-