V. Head First
Summary: Our foursome does some thinking about what these new revelations mean to their lives…
Categories: Veronica, Logan
Genre: Angst, Drama, General, Mystery, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Logan, Veronica
Author's Notes: Big thanks to![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
pegm81484for beta-ing this chapter. I can’t believe I haven’t updated since September! I hope you don’t hate me too much. Don’t know when the next chapter will be done. My thesis is due in July. Whether that means I’ll be too busy to work on this or that I’ll be doing more fic writing as a means of avoidance remains to be seen…
Disclaimer: Most of the characters and locations don't belong to me (although they did give birth to mine!)
( Chapter 14 - Redefining )
The tension between the four occupants in the room was palpable.
*****
Angelica wasn’t thinking very clearly. Thoughts were running wild through her head, going off on tangents until she thought she might possibly go insane.
(I have a dad.)
Well, she had always had a dad – she’d just never known who he was.
But now she did.
Logan Echolls. Her mother’s savior. The hero of her childhood fantasies.
Her mother hadn’t been lying when she’d told her he was her father. That was good to know. Plus, now Angelica could understand why her mother had been so vehement about staying away from the Echolls men.
Ew. It was possible that she had just been making out with her brother.
But, if what everyone else was saying was true, it would seem he wasn’t really Logan’s son after all. Angelica replayed the night’s events over in her mind, skipping over the uncomfortable discovery of her mother and father in a rather compromising situation. That, as far as she was concerned, was better off forgotten.
Focusing instead on the bits of information she had gathered throughout the night, Angelica managed to piece together the important points that had influenced all their lives.
Unbeknownst to everyone else, her mom and Logan Echolls had reunited for a brief time.
They had broken up because Logan believed Parker, Stephen’s mom, was pregnant with his child and he had wanted to do the right thing.
After Logan and Parker were married, Veronica found out that she too was pregnant. Angelica was certain her mother would have been torn between ruining Logan’s marriage and depriving her own child of a father.
She must have run into Eli at that point and confided her problem to him. And he had offered her a solution. Barring one fatal motorcycle accident, Angelica’s story could have ended there. Sure, she would have been the daughter of two of Neptune’s social outcasts, but she suspected she would have been happy none-the-less. Not for the first time, Angelica wished she could have met her supposed father.
The life her mother and she had ended up with hadn’t been so bad, though. She might not have had an official father, but she’d had Grandpa Keith and Casey and a whole slew of ‘honorary’ uncles to look out for them. She shouldn’t complain.
Steven on the other hand…
Angelica stole a sideways glance at Stephen. She had never seen him looking so lost. Not that day in Clemmons’ office. Not at the party on the beach, when she’d teased him about his shoes and he’d blushed, just a little bit, in the most adorable way. Her heart went out to him.
What could his mother have been thinking? Did she have any clue how many lives she had screwed up with her little secret? Life without a father hadn’t been perfect, but at least Angelica hadn’t had the perfect one only to find out he was never really hers in the first place. She wondered how long Stephen had lived with that secret, just to keep his parents from being hurt…
Although it seemed like Logan had known for awhile now and he didn’t seem to be going anywhere. She watched her father as he dragged his fingers through his hair in a gesture of frustration that Angelica had become accustomed to seeing from Stephen. Now that she had a chance to study them together she noticed quite a number of similar behaviors.
(Like father, like son.)
Angelica smiled at the irony of her thoughts, reaching over to take Stephen’s hand in a show of support.
*****
Stephen sat, shoulders hunched, on the edge of the couch cushion. His mind was having trouble processing what he had overheard. He knew. His dad knew. All these months, years even, of trying to protect him, to keep him from finding out that he wasn’t his biological father, and he had already known. That little bit of information was mind-boggling enough. Add in the fact that he had been on the phone with his mother when she died? Well, no wonder his father had been acting so strange lately. Stephen wasn’t sure how to act himself.
Logan Echolls had never been the perfect father, but Stephen didn’t have any complaints. He’d had a great childhood, and though he’d known his parents hadn’t been the happily married couple they pretended to be, they’d never had a negative word to say about each other in front of him. And they’d treated him like the most important thing in their world.
Stephen could feel the tears threatening; tears for his lost mother, tears for his hurting father, and tears of self-pity. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. The feel of fingers wrapping around his own brought his gaze up to meet Angelica’s worried face. She offered him a reassuring smile, but he just shrugged unable to respond in kind. He’d put off these emotions for too long; try as he might he couldn’t shove them back down again.
He just wished someone would say something already…
*****
Veronica sat stiffly in the over-stuffed chair, studying the other occupants of the room warily. Angelica was curled up on the sofa, close to, but not quite touching, Stephen. She seemed to be handling the news of her paternity well, but then you couldn’t always tell what might be going through Angelica’s head. She was studiously avoiding meeting her mother’s eyes. Instead her attention was focused primarily on the boy next to her, although she spared an occasional, curious glance at her father as he paced nervously around the room.
(Angelica’s father. How weird is that?)
Veronica turned her observations to Logan as the path he was wearing into the carpet brought him nearer and then away from her again. Her heart warmed as she took in his wrinkled shirt and bed-tousled hair. She couldn’t believe they were getting another chance. She had never even allowed herself to hope that this could happen. And now just a few hours ago…
The lost little boy look on Logan’s face brought her back to the matters at hand. She caught his eye, sending him a tiny, reassuring smile. He returned it half-heartedly before turning and pacing off in the other direction, his fingers running through his already displaced hair.
A movement across the room brought Veronica’s attention back to the boy seated next to her daughter. She watched as he unconsciously mimicked his father’s actions, causing his hair to stand up in a similar manner. Veronica studied him for a moment and was surprised to see that that was where the similarities ended. She realized that she had never looked closely at Stephen before. She must have been avoiding him, she reasoned, as a form of self-preservation. She hadn’t wanted to see any traces of Logan in him; no physical reminders of Logan and Parker’s relationship.
Now she scrutinized his face, looking for clues like the private investigator that she was. His hair seemed lighter now than when she had first seen him; the light brown that had once matched his father’s shade now bleached to a sandy blond. Blue eyes. Presumably inherited from his mother, but now who really knew?
(Not Logan. That’s for sure.)
Veronica was startled to realize that as she studied the boy his resemblance to his mother became more pronounced. The ghost of her old friend was there in his face. The feelings of resentment and jealousy she had been harboring for Parker began to fade, replaced with a sense of sadness and loss.
“She helped save me from a rapist,” she heard herself blurting out. All eyes turned to her, but Veronica directed her words towards the distraught boy sitting across from her. “Your mother. In college. I didn’t know if you knew, but I guess I thought you should…”
Stephen shot a startled look at his father before replying, “No. I didn’t know that.”
“It wasn’t really something she liked to talk about…” Logan mumbled defensively.
Veronica nodded, understanding her reluctance perfectly. Logan came to sit on the arm of her chair, slipping his hand into hers in a show of support. She squeezed it gratefully before continuing. “She was really brave, your mom…and fun, so much fun.”
“You were almost raped?” Veronica winced at her daughter’s startled question. Parker hadn’t been the only one who hadn’t liked to talk about it. She shot Angelica a look, silently pleading with her to save this topic for another time. Her daughter frowned unhappily, but held her tongue.
Veronica let go of Logan’s hand, pushing herself up to her feet. She crossed the room to offer her hand to Stephen. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” she explained with a smile as he stared blankly at it. “I’m Veronica, Angelica’s mother.”
*****
Logan watched as Stephen slowly reached out to take Veronica’s hand.
“Stephen.” His son’s voice was rough as he introduced himself. With a glance at the girl next to him he added, “Angelica’s boyfriend.”
“That might be a problem.” Logan’s declaration brought three pairs of eyes to him. He went to stand next to Veronica, facing Angelica with a self-conscious grin. “I don’t know if I can have my son dating my daughter.”
Angelica turned to look at Veronica questioningly. “So it’s true, then? He really is my father?” At her mother’s nod the girl turned back to Logan. “So…Dad?”
A series of emotions played across Angelica’s face. Logan struggled to recognize some of them: curiosity, relief, happiness…but mostly he saw confusion. He could completely relate to that feeling right now.
“I guess I don’t really know what to do with that.” Angelica laughed nervously. “I’ve never really had a father before…I mean there was Piz, but I don’t really remember him. And there was Casey, but he never actually lived with us. And he’s gone now anyway…” She bit her lip as her voice trailed off nervously.
“That’s okay,” Logan offered helpfully, “I’ve never actually had a daughter before.” He grinned encouragingly. “And I’m not going anywhere, so I guess we’ll have time to figure it out together.”
“All four of us.” Veronica’s words held a tone of warning, bringing Logan’s attention to the other people in the room. His son’s expression, full of anguish, tugged at his heart.
“Right. All four of us. I don’t care what anyone says,” he told Stephen forcefully, kneeling in front of him. “You are my son. Nothing can change that. You know that right?”
Stephen’s shrug shot a stab of pain through Logan’s chest.
“I mean it,” his tone commanded his son’s attention. “I’ve already talked to my lawyers. I just can’t believe that your mother…” Logan’s voice trailed off, still unwilling to bad-mouth Parker in front of her son.
“I don’t think she knew.” Stephen’s admission took Logan by surprise. “Not at first, anyway.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She seemed as surprised as you.” Stephen attempted to explain. “It was after we did our blood-typing in Biology, back during freshman year. She made me ask Dr. Calvin to redo the test. She said it had to be a mistake. But the results were the same. She was pretty freaked out. She made me promise not to tell you about it…” His voice trailed off nervously.
“Not to tell me?!” It was just too much. Logan felt like his head was going to explode. He squeezed his eyes closed, his hands knotting into fists as he fought the urge to punch something, anything.
He felt a light touch on his arm and he opened his eyes to find Veronica staring at him with concern.
“You’re scaring the children,” she quipped, but Logan could see the concern in her eyes. Beyond her he could see two pairs of wide eyes staring at him in shock. With a deep breath he attempted to reign in his temper.
“You know what?” Veronica announced brightly. “I think we could all use a break.”
Three pairs of eyes swung to her skeptically, and she sighed loudly. “Come on, isn’t anyone else hungry?” She smiled, encouraged by their half-hearted assents. “How ‘bout a change of scenery? We’ll stop and pick up a couple pizzas and reconvene at our place, okay?”
As the teens headed out, Logan grabbed Veronica, giving her a quick kiss. “Thanks.”
She smiled up at him affectionately. “No problem. I just thought we should save the break downs for later. Like, when the kiddies are in bed.”
Logan perked up visibly. “Speaking of beds…”
Veronica shook her head as she moved to follow Stephen and Angelica. “Down boy! We’ll discuss sleeping arrangements after you’ve fed me.”
Logan followed, allowing himself, at least for the moment, to be distracted from his late wife’s indiscretions by the possibility of a night spent once again in Veronica’s arms.
Previous Chapters
Summary: Our foursome does some thinking about what these new revelations mean to their lives…
Categories: Veronica, Logan
Genre: Angst, Drama, General, Mystery, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Logan, Veronica
Author's Notes: Big thanks to
pegm81484for beta-ing this chapter. I can’t believe I haven’t updated since September! I hope you don’t hate me too much. Don’t know when the next chapter will be done. My thesis is due in July. Whether that means I’ll be too busy to work on this or that I’ll be doing more fic writing as a means of avoidance remains to be seen… Disclaimer: Most of the characters and locations don't belong to me (although they did give birth to mine!)
( Chapter 14 - Redefining )
The tension between the four occupants in the room was palpable.
*****
Angelica wasn’t thinking very clearly. Thoughts were running wild through her head, going off on tangents until she thought she might possibly go insane.
(I have a dad.)
Well, she had always had a dad – she’d just never known who he was.
But now she did.
Logan Echolls. Her mother’s savior. The hero of her childhood fantasies.
Her mother hadn’t been lying when she’d told her he was her father. That was good to know. Plus, now Angelica could understand why her mother had been so vehement about staying away from the Echolls men.
Ew. It was possible that she had just been making out with her brother.
But, if what everyone else was saying was true, it would seem he wasn’t really Logan’s son after all. Angelica replayed the night’s events over in her mind, skipping over the uncomfortable discovery of her mother and father in a rather compromising situation. That, as far as she was concerned, was better off forgotten.
Focusing instead on the bits of information she had gathered throughout the night, Angelica managed to piece together the important points that had influenced all their lives.
Unbeknownst to everyone else, her mom and Logan Echolls had reunited for a brief time.
They had broken up because Logan believed Parker, Stephen’s mom, was pregnant with his child and he had wanted to do the right thing.
After Logan and Parker were married, Veronica found out that she too was pregnant. Angelica was certain her mother would have been torn between ruining Logan’s marriage and depriving her own child of a father.
She must have run into Eli at that point and confided her problem to him. And he had offered her a solution. Barring one fatal motorcycle accident, Angelica’s story could have ended there. Sure, she would have been the daughter of two of Neptune’s social outcasts, but she suspected she would have been happy none-the-less. Not for the first time, Angelica wished she could have met her supposed father.
The life her mother and she had ended up with hadn’t been so bad, though. She might not have had an official father, but she’d had Grandpa Keith and Casey and a whole slew of ‘honorary’ uncles to look out for them. She shouldn’t complain.
Steven on the other hand…
Angelica stole a sideways glance at Stephen. She had never seen him looking so lost. Not that day in Clemmons’ office. Not at the party on the beach, when she’d teased him about his shoes and he’d blushed, just a little bit, in the most adorable way. Her heart went out to him.
What could his mother have been thinking? Did she have any clue how many lives she had screwed up with her little secret? Life without a father hadn’t been perfect, but at least Angelica hadn’t had the perfect one only to find out he was never really hers in the first place. She wondered how long Stephen had lived with that secret, just to keep his parents from being hurt…
Although it seemed like Logan had known for awhile now and he didn’t seem to be going anywhere. She watched her father as he dragged his fingers through his hair in a gesture of frustration that Angelica had become accustomed to seeing from Stephen. Now that she had a chance to study them together she noticed quite a number of similar behaviors.
(Like father, like son.)
Angelica smiled at the irony of her thoughts, reaching over to take Stephen’s hand in a show of support.
*****
Stephen sat, shoulders hunched, on the edge of the couch cushion. His mind was having trouble processing what he had overheard. He knew. His dad knew. All these months, years even, of trying to protect him, to keep him from finding out that he wasn’t his biological father, and he had already known. That little bit of information was mind-boggling enough. Add in the fact that he had been on the phone with his mother when she died? Well, no wonder his father had been acting so strange lately. Stephen wasn’t sure how to act himself.
Logan Echolls had never been the perfect father, but Stephen didn’t have any complaints. He’d had a great childhood, and though he’d known his parents hadn’t been the happily married couple they pretended to be, they’d never had a negative word to say about each other in front of him. And they’d treated him like the most important thing in their world.
Stephen could feel the tears threatening; tears for his lost mother, tears for his hurting father, and tears of self-pity. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. The feel of fingers wrapping around his own brought his gaze up to meet Angelica’s worried face. She offered him a reassuring smile, but he just shrugged unable to respond in kind. He’d put off these emotions for too long; try as he might he couldn’t shove them back down again.
He just wished someone would say something already…
*****
Veronica sat stiffly in the over-stuffed chair, studying the other occupants of the room warily. Angelica was curled up on the sofa, close to, but not quite touching, Stephen. She seemed to be handling the news of her paternity well, but then you couldn’t always tell what might be going through Angelica’s head. She was studiously avoiding meeting her mother’s eyes. Instead her attention was focused primarily on the boy next to her, although she spared an occasional, curious glance at her father as he paced nervously around the room.
(Angelica’s father. How weird is that?)
Veronica turned her observations to Logan as the path he was wearing into the carpet brought him nearer and then away from her again. Her heart warmed as she took in his wrinkled shirt and bed-tousled hair. She couldn’t believe they were getting another chance. She had never even allowed herself to hope that this could happen. And now just a few hours ago…
The lost little boy look on Logan’s face brought her back to the matters at hand. She caught his eye, sending him a tiny, reassuring smile. He returned it half-heartedly before turning and pacing off in the other direction, his fingers running through his already displaced hair.
A movement across the room brought Veronica’s attention back to the boy seated next to her daughter. She watched as he unconsciously mimicked his father’s actions, causing his hair to stand up in a similar manner. Veronica studied him for a moment and was surprised to see that that was where the similarities ended. She realized that she had never looked closely at Stephen before. She must have been avoiding him, she reasoned, as a form of self-preservation. She hadn’t wanted to see any traces of Logan in him; no physical reminders of Logan and Parker’s relationship.
Now she scrutinized his face, looking for clues like the private investigator that she was. His hair seemed lighter now than when she had first seen him; the light brown that had once matched his father’s shade now bleached to a sandy blond. Blue eyes. Presumably inherited from his mother, but now who really knew?
(Not Logan. That’s for sure.)
Veronica was startled to realize that as she studied the boy his resemblance to his mother became more pronounced. The ghost of her old friend was there in his face. The feelings of resentment and jealousy she had been harboring for Parker began to fade, replaced with a sense of sadness and loss.
“She helped save me from a rapist,” she heard herself blurting out. All eyes turned to her, but Veronica directed her words towards the distraught boy sitting across from her. “Your mother. In college. I didn’t know if you knew, but I guess I thought you should…”
Stephen shot a startled look at his father before replying, “No. I didn’t know that.”
“It wasn’t really something she liked to talk about…” Logan mumbled defensively.
Veronica nodded, understanding her reluctance perfectly. Logan came to sit on the arm of her chair, slipping his hand into hers in a show of support. She squeezed it gratefully before continuing. “She was really brave, your mom…and fun, so much fun.”
“You were almost raped?” Veronica winced at her daughter’s startled question. Parker hadn’t been the only one who hadn’t liked to talk about it. She shot Angelica a look, silently pleading with her to save this topic for another time. Her daughter frowned unhappily, but held her tongue.
Veronica let go of Logan’s hand, pushing herself up to her feet. She crossed the room to offer her hand to Stephen. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” she explained with a smile as he stared blankly at it. “I’m Veronica, Angelica’s mother.”
*****
Logan watched as Stephen slowly reached out to take Veronica’s hand.
“Stephen.” His son’s voice was rough as he introduced himself. With a glance at the girl next to him he added, “Angelica’s boyfriend.”
“That might be a problem.” Logan’s declaration brought three pairs of eyes to him. He went to stand next to Veronica, facing Angelica with a self-conscious grin. “I don’t know if I can have my son dating my daughter.”
Angelica turned to look at Veronica questioningly. “So it’s true, then? He really is my father?” At her mother’s nod the girl turned back to Logan. “So…Dad?”
A series of emotions played across Angelica’s face. Logan struggled to recognize some of them: curiosity, relief, happiness…but mostly he saw confusion. He could completely relate to that feeling right now.
“I guess I don’t really know what to do with that.” Angelica laughed nervously. “I’ve never really had a father before…I mean there was Piz, but I don’t really remember him. And there was Casey, but he never actually lived with us. And he’s gone now anyway…” She bit her lip as her voice trailed off nervously.
“That’s okay,” Logan offered helpfully, “I’ve never actually had a daughter before.” He grinned encouragingly. “And I’m not going anywhere, so I guess we’ll have time to figure it out together.”
“All four of us.” Veronica’s words held a tone of warning, bringing Logan’s attention to the other people in the room. His son’s expression, full of anguish, tugged at his heart.
“Right. All four of us. I don’t care what anyone says,” he told Stephen forcefully, kneeling in front of him. “You are my son. Nothing can change that. You know that right?”
Stephen’s shrug shot a stab of pain through Logan’s chest.
“I mean it,” his tone commanded his son’s attention. “I’ve already talked to my lawyers. I just can’t believe that your mother…” Logan’s voice trailed off, still unwilling to bad-mouth Parker in front of her son.
“I don’t think she knew.” Stephen’s admission took Logan by surprise. “Not at first, anyway.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She seemed as surprised as you.” Stephen attempted to explain. “It was after we did our blood-typing in Biology, back during freshman year. She made me ask Dr. Calvin to redo the test. She said it had to be a mistake. But the results were the same. She was pretty freaked out. She made me promise not to tell you about it…” His voice trailed off nervously.
“Not to tell me?!” It was just too much. Logan felt like his head was going to explode. He squeezed his eyes closed, his hands knotting into fists as he fought the urge to punch something, anything.
He felt a light touch on his arm and he opened his eyes to find Veronica staring at him with concern.
“You’re scaring the children,” she quipped, but Logan could see the concern in her eyes. Beyond her he could see two pairs of wide eyes staring at him in shock. With a deep breath he attempted to reign in his temper.
“You know what?” Veronica announced brightly. “I think we could all use a break.”
Three pairs of eyes swung to her skeptically, and she sighed loudly. “Come on, isn’t anyone else hungry?” She smiled, encouraged by their half-hearted assents. “How ‘bout a change of scenery? We’ll stop and pick up a couple pizzas and reconvene at our place, okay?”
As the teens headed out, Logan grabbed Veronica, giving her a quick kiss. “Thanks.”
She smiled up at him affectionately. “No problem. I just thought we should save the break downs for later. Like, when the kiddies are in bed.”
Logan perked up visibly. “Speaking of beds…”
Veronica shook her head as she moved to follow Stephen and Angelica. “Down boy! We’ll discuss sleeping arrangements after you’ve fed me.”
Logan followed, allowing himself, at least for the moment, to be distracted from his late wife’s indiscretions by the possibility of a night spent once again in Veronica’s arms.
Previous Chapters
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