VM Fic: What’s So Great About Living, Pt. 3/3 (Logan, Dick, Veronica, and many others) NC-17
Title: What’s So Great About Living, Pt. 3/3
Pairing/Character: Logan, Dick, Veronica, other past and present Neptune residents
Word Count: ~11,500 total
Rating: NC-17 (sex, violence, language, this one’s got it all, baby!)
Summary: Logan’s past haunts him, but his present may be better than he realizes…
Spoilers: Season 3
Disclaimer: If Rob Thomas lets me borrow them, they will be returned in their current pristine condition.
Notes: This fic starts just after the food court fight in 3.20: The Bitch is Back. Many thanks to angst_driven and clevermonikerr for beta-ing, and confirming my thoughts about the lameness of my original ending :). Feedback is always appreciated!
Click here for Part 1 and Part 2.
More happy birthday-ness to love_is_epic! I hope your day is wonderful.
“Hello, lover.”
Logan cringed at Lilly’s use of the pet name she had also used for his father.
“Hi, Lill.”
“‘Hi, Lill’? That’s all you’ve got?” She sashayed up to him and pressed her hands to his chest. “Are you still mad at me?” she pouted.
Logan thought for a moment. “No, I’m not. I was for a long time, but I’m not mad at you anymore.”
She stroked her nails down the side of his face. “Aw, do you miss me?”
“I do miss you, Lilly,” Logan said sincerely, wrapping his arms around her to hug her.
“Of course you do. I’m fabulous!” She took a step back and tossed her long blonde hair. “How could you stay mad at me? Everyone loves me.”
Logan snorted. “So I’ve heard.”
“Come on, baby-you haven’t seen me in all this time and you’re going to be like that?” She rubbed her body against his and he pushed her shoulders back gently to make space between them.
“It’s OK,” he said. “I was really angry for a long time, but I’ve made my peace with you. Your parents treated you like a second-class citizen, so you acted out to try and piss them off. I get that. No one gets that more than me. And I know that Weevil and my dad and God knows who else were all a part of that. You still loved me in your own way.”
She threw her head back with a harsh, throaty laugh, not the bubbly giggle he was used to hearing from her.
“Oh my God, you’re such a girl!” she cackled. “Did you write about us in your journal? ‘Dear Diary, I had my first kiss today. It was so perfect. I just know she’s the one!’ Please.”
“What we had was far from perfect,” Logan said, “but it was still special. You were my first love.”
“Well, you were one of many, lover.”
“I don’t believe that,” he replied. “The things you said…”
She walked around behind him and ran her hands up his arms. “You mean the things I said to every other guy?” Lilly sneered. “‘Oh baby, you’re the best.’ ‘You’re the only one.’ ‘I need you.’ Sound familiar?”
He tried to pull out of her grasp, but she held him too tightly.
“Do you ever wonder why no one ever found that letter you left in my car?” she purred in his ear. “Because I threw it out onto the sidewalk before I even left the car wash. I never kept any of that girly romantic shit you gave me.”
“How can you say that? Lilly, I loved you!”
“I know you loved me,” she said. “Of course you would. But you weren’t that important to me.”
Although Logan tried to pull away from her, he was immobilized.
“I just didn’t care,” Lilly intoned…
Logan awoke and found that he still couldn’t move. Before he could panic, he saw a blonde head of hair resting on his chest. Veronica was breathing slowly and softly, and even though he couldn’t see her face, he knew from experience that it meant she was asleep.
He inhaled deeply, trying to catch the scent of her hair. Her tiny fingers wrapped around his ribs, and Logan wished that his arm wasn’t in a sling so he could reach down and hold her hand in his. Holding as still as possible, he adjusted his breathing to hers and closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth of her pressed up against him.
Despite the painkillers, sleeping made his sprained shoulder stiff and achy, and after a few minutes, Logan had to readjust it. Veronica had tucked herself under his good arm, so he tried to use his feet to push himself up a little bit and shift his weight. However, his legs were weakened from more than two weeks in bed, and he bumped his already sore shoulder into the bed rail.
He gasped involuntarily and Veronica’s head popped up.
“Oh! I hurt you! Sorry! I’m sorry.” She scrambled out of the bed before Logan could stop her. The spot on his chest where her head had been was still warm, but it quickly started to cool.
“No, you didn’t hurt me,” Logan replied. “I hurt myself a little though.” He tried again to move his sore shoulder, and Veronica hurried to that side of the bed to help. She held his elbow and wrist as though they were made of glass, and delicately shifted his arm for him.
“Are you OK? Should I get the nurse?”
“I’m fine. I’m just kind of a klutz at the moment.” He saw her bite her lip worriedly, so he opened his eyes as wide as he could. “Hey, guess what-I’m awake!”
That got the laugh he was hoping for. “Yeah, you are,” she said with a smile. “We missed you.”
“Sorry I can’t say the same, but in my mind, I just saw you the day before yesterday. So-whatcha been doin’ the last couple of weeks?” he teased. “Relaxing? Getting caught up on your book club reading? Did you and Dick take me on vacation with you, Weekend at Bernie’s-style? That would have been bitchin’.”
“I talked to your accountant right after your surgery, and he talked to the billing department and gave them your insurance information and told them to send him the invoices.” She rattled off the information, not noticing his joke. “And yesterday I went to Hearst and met with the dean, and your professors are all going to let you take your finals later this summer.”
“That’s good,” Logan interjected, “because I was woefully unprepared to take them last week. Hey-a silver lining!”
Veronica barely seemed to hear him. “I wrote down all of their e-mail addresses so you can contact them when you’re feeling better. That should be pretty soon, because your labs have been improving every day. I wrote them down!” Logan watched Veronica as she flitted about the room like a hyper-organized hummingbird. She dug a notebook out of her messenger bag and started flipping through the pages. “Your hemoglobin and oxygen saturation are good, your blood urea nitrogen was a little high at first but it came back down to normal a few days later, and your output-”
“Please don’t talk about that.”
“Logan! This is important. You need to eat some real food, too. You’re getting too thin.”
“So I’ve heard,” he said, watching her with amusement. “I had some lunch earlier when Dick was here.”
“Good, good,” she continued. “Then I looked up some stuff on Medline about kidney function, and-”
“Did you remember to Tivo my favorite shows too?”
She briefly looked panic-stricken. “No, I-wait. What?” When she saw his mischievous grin, she furrowed her brow. “Logan…”
“Veronica,” he said kindly, “the doctor already told me everything I need to know. It’s OK-you don’t have to do this anymore. You don’t have to do everything, babe.” He was surprised to hear the endearment roll off his tongue. “It’s going to be OK now.”
Her arms dropped to her sides helplessly and the pages of her notebook flapped against her leg. “I just needed to feel like I was doing something,” she said, looking away from him and blinking hard.
“I get it.”
“I couldn’t stand feeling so helpless. I had to keep going because I couldn’t just sit here and watch you-” She choked on the last word as she started to cry.
“I’m not going to die, Veronica.”
“I didn’t know that!” she yelled hoarsely. “If I sat still too long, all I could think about was that you might…die…and it would be all my fault!”
Logan shook his head. “This was not your fault. I’m the jackass who went after that guy-you told me not to and I didn’t listen. And if we’re getting technical about it, this is really the fault of the guy with the knife…”
“Stop joking about this!” Veronica slammed her notebook down and it hit the floor with a slap. “You could be gone now! You could be gone, and you wouldn’t have known that I-” She covered her face with her hands, unable to speak anymore through her sobs.
“Veronica, come here.” Logan held his hand out to her. His eyes grew watery as he watched the strongest person he knew falling apart. “Babe, you have to come to me. I can’t get out of bed because there’s still too much stuff connected to me. If one of these tubes comes out, I might deflate.” He made a little whooshing noise.
He heard her give a half-giggle as she uncovered her face and took his hand. As he pulled her to him, he scooted over as best as he could. “Come on, get back in here with me.”
After hesitating for a moment, Veronica carefully climbed up onto the bed and nestled under his arm. The fabric on his shoulder grew wet as she continued to cry. He pressed his lips to the top of her head and she squeezed him softly.
“I really don’t know what I would have done if I lost you, Logan,” she said, her voice muffled by his hospital gown. “I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I need you. I need to know you’re here, even though we’re not…you know…” She trailed off.
“We’re not?” She tilted her face up to look at him. “Oh, I think we are.” He kissed her softly. “There’s no one else I’d rather have taking care of me when I can’t take care of myself. I love you, Veronica. You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.”
She kissed him back, reaching up to caress his face as she did. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what?”
“For every time I ran off into a dangerous situation without asking for help,” she said, kissing him again. “For not taking your feelings seriously when you were worried about my safety. Because if you felt anything like I felt when I saw them loading you into the ambulance…Logan, there was so much blood!” Logan stroked her arm as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. “I thought the ground dropped out from under my feet.”
“I know the feeling well,” he said, planting a kiss on her forehead.
“I’m so sorry for ever making you feel that way. It’s horrible.” Veronica pulled up a corner of the sheet and dabbed her eyes with it, leaving little black mascara marks.
“Are you going to hire me a bodyguard now?”
“Hire someone? Pfft. That’s for wusses.” She karate-chopped an imaginary opponent. “I’ll save the money and guard you myself.”
Logan smiled and rested his cheek on her head. “I like your idea better.”
*~*~*~*
The next day, after much pleading from Logan, the nurses removed the morphine drip. Since his wound had been healing for more than two weeks, it didn’t really hurt much anymore. His sprained shoulder was still pretty sore, but he decided that the pain was preferable to the nightmares brought on by the strong narcotics, so he could brave it with Advil from this point on.
Each day, another tube or wire was removed and, before long, Logan became a difficult patient, complaining about the food and telling every nurse, physician, and housekeeper that he wanted to leave. His friends and his sister came by every day to visit, but the days were still long. Daytime TV was even worse than late-night TV, much to his dismay, and doing nothing gave him too much time to worry about the state of his relationship with Veronica.
She came to see him every day, some days more than once, but she was often with her father or Mac or Wallace. It was fun to have new people to talk to, but he really wanted some time to talk to her alone. Since she’d slept in his arms a week earlier-until the night nurse made her move to the couch so she wouldn’t accidentally dislodge an IV-Veronica had been acting like they were together again. She kissed him hello and goodbye at each visit, called frequently in between, and brought him cookies she baked herself.
It was wonderful-but Logan still couldn’t rid himself of the nagging feeling that it was all about guilt. Despite his reassurances, he knew she still felt like the attack was her fault, and he worried that her attentions had more to do with her guilt than with her feelings about him.
Every time they’d gotten together in the past, he had hoped that she would come to love him as much as he loved her, and every time they broke up without that happening, it hurt more than the last. He worried that once he no longer needed to be taken care of, at least physically, what she was feeling for him right now would fade and he’d be left alone again.
He decided to bring it up that evening, since Veronica was on her way over and she was coming by herself. Logan hadn’t allowed Veronica or Dick to spend their nights on that uncomfortable couch now that he was coma-free, but he was being discharged in the morning and Veronica said she wanted to spend the last night there with him.
As he glanced at the clock, he realized she wouldn’t be there for at least another half-hour. He needed something to take his mind off the conversation he was about to have, but he wasn’t going to turn on the TV and he couldn’t stand the idea of reading another magazine. So he threw his arm over his eyes and closed his them for a few minutes while he waited for Veronica.
*~*~*~*
“Are you being a good little patient?”
“Veronica?”
“That’s Nurse Veronica to you,” she said with a leer as she entered his hospital room, closing the door behind her.
“You are a very naughty nurse,” he replied. She wore a white nurse’s cap, fishnet stockings, and a short nurse’s uniform that barely covered her ass. Her lips and nails were blood red, and she had a wicked smile on her face. Logan thought he should like this look more than he actually did. “What are you doing?” he said as he tried to sit up.
She strode toward him, her stiletto heels clicking on the tile, and pushed him back down. “Let Nurse Veronica take care of you.”
“Veronica, I think we need to talk first.”
“Talk? Man up, Logan!” she said with a harsh cackle. “Do you really want to talk about feelings again?” She climbed onto the bed and crawled up his body. “Can’t we just have some fun together?”
“No, I mean, yes,” he stammered as she dragged her long, sharp fingernails down the back of his neck. “Ow, that hurts!” He grabbed her hands in his. “But first, I want to…Veronica, I love you, but I can’t do this unless I know how you feel about me.”
“Oh, I know how I can make you feel,” she said as she straddled him. She ground her hips hard against him. “We’ve always been able to make each other feel good…”
He held her waist to keep her still. “That’s not what I mean. The sex has always been great, but…”
“Isn’t that enough? We don’t need love to have sex,” she whispered in his ear. Her tongue slid down his neck and his cock reacted, stiffening underneath her. She felt it and smiled slyly at him. “That’s what I wanted. Come on, Logan, give me what I need from you.”
Veronica grabbed his face in both hands and crushed her lips against his, forcing her tongue into his mouth. He tried to pull away and she bit down on his lower lip. The taste of her was overpowered by the taste of his own blood…
Logan woke to the feel of soft, dry, warm lips grazing his temple. “Hi,” he said, his eyes fluttering open.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty.”
He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “Huh?”
“You know, I woke you up with a kiss. Sleeping Beauty, magic spell…” Veronica explained. “Should I have let you sleep?”
“No, it’s good that you woke me.”
She looked at him worriedly. “You’re not still having those nightmares, are you? I thought those stopped when you got off the morphine.”
“They did-it wasn’t like that,” Logan said. “It was just…weird. And why am I always the princess in these fairy tale analogies?”
“Because the princess just has to sit there and look pretty,” Veronica said with a smirk. “Plus, the prince gets to ride a pony.”
Logan sighed quietly in response.
“OK, so it’s not my A material,” she added as she took a step backward and sat in the chair. “Give a girl a few minutes to warm up. But on that topic, you do look good today.”
He brightened a little. “Yeah, check me out,” he said, waving a hand to indicate his t-shirt and flannel pants. “No more hospital fashions. The last line came out this morning, so I can wear what I want.”
“And what you want is a t-shirt from the Amethyst Gentlemen’s Club?”
“Dick brought me my clothes,” Logan said with a shrug. Veronica nodded knowingly. “But since I’m no longer covered in needles and electrodes, I got to take a real shower this morning. And they’re letting me use the bathroom by myself, completely unsupervised.”
“You’re like a rock star!” Veronica stuck her tongue out through her teeth and made the devil horns with her fingers.
“How about it! It was a big day for me. I will never take a warm shower for granted again.” Logan’s head fell back against his pillow and he looked at the ceiling. “God, I’m so fucking bored that washing my hair qualifies as entertainment. I can’t wait to get out of here.”
“Not so fast, princess,” Veronica said, standing up.
Logan looked up in alarm. “What? I’m not going home tomorrow?”
“You are,” she said, “but you’re going to have to come back here a lot over the next few weeks.” She pulled her notebook out of her bag. “I made all of your follow-up appointments for you: On Monday at 10, I’m taking you to the neurologist, and on Wednesday at 3, Trina’s taking you to your appointment with the nephrologist. Then next Monday afternoon, you have an appointment with ortho about your shoulder, and Dick said he would drive you, but I don’t trust him to understand anything the doctor says so I’m going to see if I can trade shifts at the Hut.”
“I can understand what the doctor says, Veronica,” Logan said with some annoyance.
“It’s always a good idea to have someone else with you to take notes and ask questions. That’s what all the patient safety studies say,” she stated. “Besides, you need someone to drive you anyway.”
Logan scowled. “You’re all going to cart me around like I’m Miss Daisy?”
“Until you get the OK from neurologist,” Veronica said resolutely. “And the orthopedist.”
“I do have two hands, you know.” He gave her an exaggerated wave with the fingers of his uninjured hand.
“You can’t even brush your teeth with your left hand and you want to drive with it? Quit acting like a petulant child and just let us help you, Logan.” Veronica began flipping through the pages of the notebook. “Then after the ortho appointment, we need to set up some physical therapy…”
Logan’s throat ached as he was reminded of a similar scene a few days earlier. “Veronica,” he interrupted. “You don’t have to do this. I’m going to be OK. You don’t have to feel guilty anymore.”
“I don’t feel guilty…well, I do, but that’s not…” Veronica stammered, confused. “Is that why you think I’m doing all of this?”
“Aren’t you?” Logan said snippily.
“No, I’m trying to take care of you because I love you, you jackass.” She dropped her notebook on the couch and folded her arms. “That’s how these things work.”
Logan took a ragged breath and Veronica’s expression softened. “Logan? What’s going on?”
He swallowed hard before he could speak. “That’s the first time you’ve said that to me.”
“I call you jackass all the time,” she said, watching him quizzically. “It’s almost like a pet name.”
The corner of his mouth twitched upward. “Veronica, that’s the first time you’ve said that you love me.”
She froze with her mouth open, as if she had something to say but the words wouldn’t come out. Her eyes began to fill with tears as she realized he was right. “Oh my God. I’ve never said it before. Logan, did you think…” She paused for a moment until her chin stopped trembling. “Did you think I didn’t love you?” she whispered.
He shrugged. “Sometimes I thought you did. But most of the time, I didn’t know. There were so many times that it seemed like you didn’t even like me, so I always wondered…”
Veronica hurried toward him and quieted him with a kiss. She held his face softly in her hands, pressing her lips to his as her tears dampened his cheeks. Sitting on the bed, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. “I love you,” she said quietly. “I knew I wasn’t very good at being vocal about my feelings, but I thought you knew.”
He ran his fingers gently through her hair, feeling the silky strands glide across his skin. “I love you too,” he said plainly.
She sat up and looked into his eyes. “I know. I always knew.” With a brief glance at his mouth, she moved in for another kiss, deeper this time. He moaned as her tongue slipped between his lips. His hand slid down to her waist, and she sighed as he stroked the small area of bare skin he found there. When he moved his fingers under her shirt, she shivered with desire and moved her tongue more forcefully.
Loud voices at the nurses’ station outside the door reminded them where they were and they separated, breathing hard.
“I have an idea,” Veronica said suddenly, leaping off the bed. She took the newspaper off the nightstand and then closed the door to his room. Folding a section of the paper, she fashioned a wedge, put it on the floor, and kicked it firmly under the door. She jiggled the handle to ensure that the door wouldn’t move, then raised her arms in triumph.
“You are as smart as you are beautiful, Veronica Mars,” Logan said with an appreciative grin.
She bit her thumbnail as she thought, then turned to dig in her bag. “A-ha,” she said, holding up a foil packet. “Look at how smart I am.”
“Get over here,” Logan rasped, suddenly hoarse.
“First things first,” she said, sliding her hands up her skirt. With a few shimmies, she wiggled out of her underwear. Logan’s breath caught in his throat and his cock stiffened at the sight of Veronica tossing her white panties into her overnight bag.
Veronica crawled back onto the bed and straddled him, pressing herself against his erection. Cupping his face in her hands again, she looked into his eyes. “I missed you so much,” she murmured. “Please don’t get hurt again.”
“I’ll do my best.” Logan slipped his left hand up the back of her shirt and fumbled with the clasp of her bra, cursing the fact that he couldn’t use his other hand.
She reached her arms behind her, pushing his fingers away and unhooking the clasp herself. “You are an injured man,” she said, pushing him gently back onto his pillow. “We don’t want you to get hurt, so just let me do all the work.”
He stroked a thumb across her hardened nipple and she gasped. “I can’t let you do everything,” he said. They kissed wildly as Logan caressed her breasts under her shirt; it felt like they were in high school again, making out in the back of his car with Veronica in his lap, grinding her hips into his.
“Are you up to this?” she breathed.
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I’m up.”
She traced her fingers along the bulge in his pants. “Clearly,” she said with a smile. “But I don’t want to hurt you, so we’re going to take it easy.” She brushed her lips against his neck. “We’ll have plenty of time for more…vigorous…activity once you’re 100%.” Her teeth nipped at his earlobe and she purred softly in his ear. “But for now, I’m going to be very, very gentle with you.”
“Not too gentle.” He felt her fingers working to untie the drawstring on his pants, and he lifted his hips to help her slide them off. She took the foil packet from the side table and ripped it open with her teeth; his hips bucked at her touch when she rolled the condom onto him.
Veronica sat up straight on her knees and took his cock in her hand. They both shuddered in pleasure as she lowered herself onto him. “Oh God, that’s so good,” she said as she rocked her hips gently. Logan could only groan in reply.
Grasping the back of his head with both hands, she rested her forehead against his. Logan relished the sensation of her short nails clutching at his hair as her breathing quickened. His breath began to match hers as they found a rhythm.
“Logan…” she sighed, lifting her head up.
“What, Veronica? Tell me…”
“Open your eyes,” she said quietly. When he did, he found her staring back into them. “I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner, but it’s always been true. I love you so much, Logan.”
“God, I love you too,” he whispered.
“Now kiss me before I scream.”
He fisted the hair at the back of her head and their mouths clashed together as he muffled her voice with his tongue. Soft cries came from the back of her throat as her muscles began to clench and she thrust powerfully against him. The sounds sent him over the edge, and he drove into her hard as they both rode out their orgasms.
As their movements slowed, she touched her forehead to his again. Their fingers remained tangled in each other’s hair as they listened to their breathing return to normal.
After they’d both come down, Veronica laid on top of Logan, her cheek on his chest. “Hey, you got my good t-shirt all sweaty,” he said, placing a kiss on her forehead.
“Sorry, you’ll just have to bust out the cheap one from the Seventh Veil,” she shot back, although he could hear the smile in her voice. “When we’ve got a little more time and privacy, we’ll get that sling and your t-shirt off you and do this properly.”
“True, there was nothing proper about that.” She smacked him lightly and he squeezed her close.
A knock at the door interrupted the afterglow. “Logan? It’s Joanne. Are you OK? Your door won’t open.”
“Um, yeah, everything’s fine,” he called out quickly. “Just give me a minute.”
Veronica rolled out of the bed and deftly put all of her clothes back on, taking a moment to remember where she put her panties. Logan had removed the condom and was struggling to get out of bed with no free hands.
“Let me take that-you lie back down,” she said, pushing his chest. “It’s your last night as a patient. Let Nurse Veronica take care of you.” She returned from the bathroom with a warm washcloth and cleaned him gently.
“Keep that up and I’ll be ready to go again,” Logan said with a leer as she helped him pull up his pants and tie them again. “You are a very naughty nurse. Joanne never took care of me like that.”
“I didn’t realize you had a kink for 60-year-olds. I’ll keep that in mind.” Veronica smirked over her shoulder as she kicked out her makeshift doorstop and opened the door for the nurse. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
“You’re supposed to be taking it easy,” Joanne said, noting their flushed faces. She wagged a finger at Logan before taking out the cuff to check his blood pressure.
“What can I say? She couldn’t resist the t-shirt. The ladies love it.”
Joanne just shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Your pressure is a little high, but I think I’ll be back in a few to get a more accurate reading.” She cleared her throat loudly. “And no more blocking the door,” she added on her way out.
“You’re going to miss me after tomorrow!” Logan called after her.
Veronica giggled and crawled back in bed with him. “You think they’ll let me sleep here tonight?”
He wrapped his arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder. “You’re not going anywhere.”
*~*~*~*
The next morning was a flurry of activity. Dick, Trina, and Keith all showed up early, even though Logan wasn’t due to be discharged until 11. While Veronica talked to Logan’s doctors and nurses and confirmed his follow-up appointments, Dick threw all of his things into a duffel bag, folding nothing, and Trina fussed over him worriedly. Keith just tried to stay out of the way.
Veronica helped him put his jacket on, against his will. “It’s cool out today, and that crappy t-shirt isn’t warm enough,” she said, shooting a glare at Dick. “Here, just put the one sleeve on and I’ll zip it for you.” She cradled his injured arm softly as she wrapped the jacket around him, and he gave her a quick kiss when her father wasn’t looking.
Finally, the discharge orders were signed and an orderly showed up with a wheelchair to take Logan to the car.
“I am not riding in that thing,” he protested. “I’m not an invalid.”
“It’s hospital policy, sir,” the orderly said wearily.
“Logan,” Keith said sternly. “Sit.”
“Yes, sir,” Logan sighed as he dropped into the chair with a huff.
Keith turned to the orderly. “I’ll take him from here. Don’t worry-he will stay in the chair until we get to the car.”
The group finally headed toward the elevator bay, arguing goodnaturedly about where to go for lunch.
“Anywhere but the Grand,” Logan voted. “I’m going to be eating a lot of room service in the next few weeks until the boss-” he reached up to take Veronica’s hand “-says I’m allowed out on my own.”
“Are you sure you’re going to be OK at home alone?” Trina asked. “Maybe we should hire a nurse.”
“No more nurses.” Logan shook his head. “And I’m not going to be alone-Dick will be there.”
Dick threw his arm around Trina. “He’ll be fine, honey. Don’t you trust me to take care of my own brother-in-law?”
“We’re out of earshot now,” she replied as she ducked out of his embrace. “You don’t have to keep that up anymore.”
Dick shrugged. “Eh, when your real family sucks, you’ve gotta make your own, right?”
They arrived at Veronica’s SUV and Keith kicked down the wheelchair’s brakes while Dick and Trina put Logan’s things in the back. Veronica squeezed Logan’s hand tightly.
“Here, let me help you up,” she said. “Don’t let go.”
He kissed the back of her hand and smiled. “I won’t.”
~ FIN ~