vanessagalore | FIC: The Year of Living Dangerously, Part II (Veronica/Logan, Ensemble) (24/?) (WIP) (NC-17)

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FIC: The Year of Living Dangerously, Part II (Veronica/Logan, Ensemble) (24/?) (WIP) (NC-17)

Previous chapters: Ch.1-3 | Ch.4-7 | Ch.8-10 | Ch.11-13 | Ch.14-17 | Ch.18-20

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VERONICA MARS
10:00PM SHO ch: 340 60min 2009 TV-MA
Sleazy Does It
Mac upgrades the Pi Sig computer security;
Veronica bumps into Keith, learns some
disturbing information and has a revelation.
Veronica: Kristen Bell. Keith: Enrico
Colantoni. Mac: Tina Majorino. Dick: Ryan
Hansen. Dr. Frazier: Chris Sarandon.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: "SLEAZY DOES IT"

Wed. 2/4/09: Hearst College, Neptune, CA

Dick opens the door to the Pi Sig frat house. When he sees Mac, he calls out to Chip Diller, "It's just another chick who can't stay away from me."

"Hilarious," Mac comments, brushing past Dick into the foyer. "How are your computers behaving?"

"Well, you know, I can't really say I've put my laptop through a full workout, but I've been making up for lost time downloading porn. It's like Christmas all over again."

Mac looks at him quizzically.

"You know...ho, ho, ho," he explains, making a lecherous face.

Despite herself, she laughs.

"You do miss me, admit it," he prods her. "I always made you laugh, Mac."

"Except for that one time, when you made me cry," she replies drily. "Take me to your computer, earthling."

Dick shuts up for once and escorts Mac to his room. She seats herself at his desk and opens the laptop to be assaulted by a picture of three generously-endowed models servicing a man. "It burns!" she cries sarcastically, pretending to cover her eyes.

"Whoops, my bad, let me get rid of that," Dick says. He taps a few keys, then tells her, "Okay, it's safe for impressionable children now."

Mac looks at the screen which is refreshingly blank, showing only a few icons. She performs a system profile and searches the computer drive for any malicious intrusions. "So far, so good." She takes a cd out of her bag and installs an application.

"I thought you said it was fixed before," Dick comments, pulling his chair closer to try to rub against Mac's leg.

She moves her chair slightly, frowning at him, and replies, "That was just a temporary fix to get you guys up and running, you know, just in case one of you wanted to do some schoolwork–"

"Not likely," Dick interrupts.

"Well, this is a more powerful security protocol. It uses a rotating encrypted password scheme that kicks in whenever a remote server asks permission to download a program, no matter how innocuous it seems. You're going to have to start up the password generator before you run your browser; now when a flirt-bot tries to initiate itself, the browser will ask for the correct password in order to continue, and the flirt-bot will not initiate. For now. This is only going to work until the flirt-bot programmers figure out a way around it. You will have to set a master password, and you'll still have to watch for any unusual behavior and let me know right away if anything seems weird."

"You are Mackalicious! Master password, huh? I'm thinking...TrouserSnake."

Mac chuckles. "All right. Look, here's how to change it." She goes through the steps slowly several times. "You should probably change it every day, if you're going to continue engaging in such risky behavior. Think of it as a condom for your computer."

"How d'you come up with this anyways?" Dick asks, impressed.

"I had a couple consultants helping me," Mac explains. "I'm actually glad you brought this to my attention; it had infected our website as well."

"Always happy to serve you, mistress," he replies. As he escorts her out of the frat house, he surprises her by suddenly grabbing her in a hug and whispering in her ear, "I really do miss you, babe."

~ • ~

Wed. 2/4/09: Neptune Medical Associates, Neptune, CA

Veronica waits in her car as the psychiatrist enters the medical building. She is considering her disguise options in case the shrink remembers her from the restaurant when she suddenly sees her father exiting the building. Dad? What are you doing here? Could this be your secret project? Her dad had said that he wanted her to take the lead on the trust attorney case for now. She scooches down in her seat, hoping that her Saturn is a common enough vehicle that her dad won't notice her. I'm being ridiculous! He knows I'm working on this case. Still she stays concealed until Keith's car is out of the parking lot. He looked upset about something, she thinks.

She makes up her mind. In her back seat, she finds a brown wig, glasses, and a colorful sweater, and puts them on. She walks into the lobby of the medical center and looks at the directory of offices. There is a physical therapist taking up the entire first floor; a general practitioner and Gordon Wilks, M.D., the psychiatrist, on the third floor; and on the second floor, a gynecologist and Robert Frazier, M.F.C.C. Uncertain what M.F.C.C. stands for, she pulls out her iPhone and runs a search on the initials, learning it's a social worker qualification: 'Marriage, Family and Child Counselor'.

She climbs the stairs to the second floor and enters a door marked 'Robert Frazier, M.F.C.C. Family Therapy and Educational Consultant'. There is no one in the waiting room, but Veronica sees some brochures in a display on the wall. She peruses them quickly, stopping short when she sees a brochure for Briar Hill Academy. Recognizing the name as the school where Hannah was sent, she skims the pamphlet. Her skin crawls; something about the brochure seems totally off to her. The quotes of the successful graduates are a little too perfect.

"May I help you?" a man says.

Veronica jumps in surprise. "Um, I was just looking at this information."

"Would you like to come and talk for a moment? Is something bothering you?" the man says. "I'm Dr. Frazier."

Veronica thinks, according to my google search, you're not really a doctor at all. "Okay," she replies. She follows the 'doctor' into his office and sits across from him in a comfortable chair.

"Let's start with your name," Frazier suggests.

"Vicky Warshawski," Veronica says.

"Vicky, tell me what's going on in your life." Frazier leans forward in his chair, appearing attentive and concerned.

"Well, uh, Dr. Frazier," Veronica says, stalling while she thinks about the phrases she just read on the brochure, "I'm not getting along too well with my parents. I'm thinking I need a change."

"Give me an example, Vicky," the counselor says. He stands up and moves to a chair next to Veronica and leans in, effectively closing off her personal space.

"Well, they found some pot in my room, and, like, they grounded me for a month. Then I snuck out to see my boyfriend, and my mom got totally hyper and said I was going to get pregnant if I didn't watch out. I said I wanted to get pregnant, and she went ballistic." Veronica starts to get into her role a little. "I don't really want to get pregnant. I just, I don't know, I act out because they're so ridiculous. It's just a little weed. They don't remember what it's like to be a teenager. Then there's the internet thing. They checked my browser history and went nuts because I was reading some blogs on livejournal. Shit, it's just stories about TV shows. Ooh, sorry, I mean, 'shoot'. What's the BFD?"

"Let's see, Vicky. The big deal is that your parents are very worried about you, and rightly so. It's a different world today. And the rules are changing every day, and your parents are having a hard time keeping up and trying to keep you safe. You might be right about needing a change. The school you have there" he motions to the brochure in Veronica's hand "is a very strict school. But students come to appreciate the rigorous discipline. And at the beginning, there's no contact with the family while you work on your program."

"That sounds great; they're making me crazy," Veronica says.

"There's intensive group therapy, and the school itself is very good. Once you get away from your friends who are doing drugs and putting pressure on you to have sex, you might find that you enjoy your school work more and will apply yourself to your studies in a new way."

"Discipline sounds tough, though. I'm not good at following the rules."

"Well, Vicky, I hate to tell you, but you sound like the perfect candidate for this school. It's the rules in life that ultimately give you freedom. When you are confronted with the craziness of an unregulated world, you have too many choices, and you end up struggling. In a disciplined environment, you actually have the freedom to explore your inner self and discover the real you."

What a load of crap, Veronica thinks. Is this guy an educational consultant or a reeducation mind-control consultant? "You might be right," she says, pretending to be rueful. "What if I decide I don't like the school? Can I quit?"

"No, Vicky. We ask our students and their parents to sign a contract committing to a six-month residency. Without a commitment, there's no possibility of improvement and achievement," Frazier responds.

"That sounds scary. And what about the security guards? That doesn't sound good."

"The security guards are just for the students' own protection," Frazier answers smoothly. "Some students have trouble with the transition at first, but you'd be surprised how many students actually end up applying for positions as counselors after graduation. And of the students who graduate Briar Hill successfully, over 90% go on to college. Most say that they wouldn't have made it through high school without the support system at Briar Hill. It's really quite a successful program."

For your bank account, she thinks sarcastically. "Is it expensive? It sounds good, but my parents don't have a lot of money."

"How expensive would a criminal defense attorney be if you got into serious trouble? How much is your parents' peace of mind worth? I bet they'd be willing to spend a lot of money to ensure your happiness and safety," Frazier replies. "Vicky, here's an inquiry form. I'd like you to fill it out, and someone will contact your parents. How did you hear about me, by the way?"

Veronica thinks fast. "Oh, I was across the hall at the gyno, and they're running really behind, and when I saw 'educational consultant' on your door, I just thought, 'I wonder what that's about.'" She reaches for the inquiry form and fills it out 'Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Warshawski, 23 Emperor Court, Neptune, CA 90909' "Thanks for talking to me today; I feel better just knowing there's another option." She waggles her fingers and gets out fast, feeling sick to her stomach that Hannah had to go to a school like that. Hannah wasn't my friend, but she didn't deserve to go to some gulag like that. No wonder she ran away.

When Veronica gets down to the lobby, she sees a therapist working with a patient learning to use a cane through the large window of the physical therapy offices. She flashes on Logan, learning to use his cane after he got his cast off. The last day I saw him happy, she thinks. She watches for a second, ruefully thinking that Logan should be concentrating on rehab instead of running away and blotting out the pain of Hannah's death with drinking and carousing.

Suddenly, she realizes what's wrong with the Madeira video. In the video, Logan's not using the cane the way the therapist taught him. I remember the therapist said, 'Don't use it on the same side as the injury.' Logan joked back, 'What about "House"? That's how he does it.' The therapist replied, 'TV shows get it wrong all the time. Use it on the opposite side; it'll take the weight off your bad leg.' She realizes she barely saw him use the cane before he took off, but still she berates herself harshly for not noticing the discrepancy before now.

It's not Logan in Madeira. It's not Logan in Madeira. Veronica can't breathe. She leans against the wall in the lobby until someone stops and asks her if she's okay. She nods and pushes herself off the wall. After retrieving her bug from the restaurant, she plans to head back to Mars Investigations. There's no way I'm going back to classes at Hearst today; I'm going to investigate Logan's disappearance again, now that I know he's not really in Madeira. Shit, Madeira. I can't believe I didn't know it was a ruse right away.

Chapter Twenty-Five

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Before you flame me about why didn't Veronica notice the cane right away: remember that in my timeline, it's only been three days, and she was understandably upset about seeing 'Logan' acting out her worst nightmare. The video is supposed to be good–it fools everyone; remember Logan has vast financial resources. Okay, now you can flame me.

Don't worry, I won't. I'm quite excited about the developments 8-). Can't wait for more!

Thank goodness! Now of course Veronica has a new lead to figure out where Logan's hiding, so that will move the story along a bit. And we are also getting closer to Veronica's undercover op (**spoiler**). How 'bout that Keith? Veronica's a lucky girl to have a dad like that.

yay for updates, it excites me so. However I do admit I am starting to really miss the LoVe interaction. of course i still adore this story!

I know what you mean!! I love writing twisty plots but I have to admit: I sometimes read other people's stories where they're just snarking at each other, and I sigh to myself, wishing I had gone there. I do think if they're going to make it for the long run, some of the issues I'm having them suffer through have to be worked out. And I hope the payoff will be worth it.

I really love this story. I'm so happy Veronica figured out that Logan isn't in Madeira! Logan should stop blaming himself and Veronica for everything that goes wrong in life. It's not their fault. I really hope Duncan gets custody of little Lilly. Poor Veronica in the flashforward.

Well, that's ONE reader who doesn't hate Duncan with a blinding passion!! And this update had a lot of important developments so that the story can move along. Thanks for reading and commenting; I really appreciate it!

I won’t complain about the cane thing. I was assuming the Logan “actor” misstepped or forgot to lean on the cane at a critical point or something. Love the livejournal shoutout (I guess my addiction to fanfic is really a treatable addiction?! Who knew?) I don’t know how Katherine Hiegl fits into this but the less the better IMHO. Can’t stand KH in any role. I’m glad Candice wasn’t into something really really bad. I don’t think Wallace could take that after Jackie. Once again my head is spinning from the many storylines going on but love the story. How can Veronica keep all of her cases straight at this point? I wish Logan would get his @ss in gear and get home already. On second thought, is Logan in Neptune now? He never mentioned the ocean before. Oh and that would be a great turn of events if he’s hiding out right in V’s backyard. She will be so pissed when she finds out because she’s going to find out where he is now that she realized the tape shows a fake Logan. Great job. Can’t wait to see where this goes...

Be careful, reading smutty fanfic is a symptom of teenage oppositional defiant disorder, and might get you sent to a tough-love boarding school!!

And you have my permission, in fact I encourage you, to yell at your computer screen during every Katherine Heigl scene. C'mon, even she said how much she hated 'Gizzie'. Maybe I can rehabilitate her career with a compelling story arc.

Hope your head stops spinning soon! Thanks for the comments, I really appreciate it.

I would never flame you :) I'm just glad Veronica finally realized it wasn't Logan in the video. Like others have mentioned, I'm really missing their interactions. But I agree with you that they need to work through all of these issues, especially Logan. It makes me sad that he can still think that way about Veronica after everything they've been through. But he's still all messed up about Hannah, so I guess his internal battle is completely natural at this point. I just hope he gets it figured out soon so he can get back to Veronica. They need each other so badly.

Poor Meg, being molested by her dad and having to come up with that plan. I feel a little sorry for Duncan now ;) I hope he gets custody of Lilly.

That school really is horrible, and even though I never liked Hannah, she didn't deserve to have to suffer through that only to end up dead.

Excellent job, once again, Vanessa. And kudos on having so many plots going at once and keeping them straight!

"I feel a little sorry for Duncan now"

"even though I never liked Hannah, she didn't deserve to have to suffer through that"

No way!! I don't believe it. You are just trying to get me to write faster to get to the LoVe (it's working, BTW). Thanks again for commenting, I promise to hurry up and get to the good stuff as soon as possible.

I don't hate Duncan, but I still don't entirely trust him. He dropped the L-bomb with V.

I HAVE to ask, is this definitely where Meg's storyline is going, or could there be a further twist with her baby daddy?

"In an interview with Michael Ausiello, Vanessa Galore refused to confirm or deny that Meg's baby was in fact fathered by Stewart Manning. She did disclose that we can look forward to guest stars including Michael Trucco, Scott Grimes, Kenny Johnson, Lupe Ontiveros, and Lauren Ambrose. And she also stated that she's recently renogiated Francis Capra's contract so that he can appear in more of the so-called 'back-nine' episodes."

[Fake casting sides to follow.]

C'mon, you knew Duncan was going to say that. I wuv you so beary much, Veronica. All her boys are still panting after her, Troy, Leo, Piz, etc....

Gah! I knew you were going to say that. Oh, I forgot to give you props on the whole "glazing the donut" phrase. It made me chuckle.

I have to tell you, I just now got up with this story and the first one. AMAZING! I'm so addicted! lol Great story, great writing! Can't wait for the rest!

That should say I got caught up, lol

Thank you so much for commenting! Your compliments are appreciated. It really makes my day when I learn that a new reader has been reading my fic and enjoying it.

I just stumbled across part one two days ago. I just now finished reading ch 24 for part 2. Once I started I couldn't stop. You are a great writer. I miss VM and all of the fan fictions I have found are always more in the fantasy storyline area. You know, if the writer gets the characters personalities, then the storyline is just too unbelievable. I always find myself saying "That would never happen on VM." Either that our I wish there was more story to it and not just smut or too innocent mush. But you have a good Logan/Veronica storyline going, but it is also well rounded. I feel like I am reading the novelization of season four instead of just the over the top "never gonna happen" scenes of LoVe. It is very hard to find good fan fiction. And your story is by far the best I have read. You got all the dialog and personalities down, and actually included all the characters in believable and entertaining ways. Along with providing intrigue when it comes to the plots. Also included some good smut, along with humor, angst, and mystery. I seriously cannot wait for your next chapter. Which by the way, when will the next update be? Not too too long I hope. Thanks, Sarah rose Serena

What a lovely review to get!! I have to admit that I get discouraged at times, and a review like this really props me up. I so admired the writing on the show, and I've tried to do a little homage with these two big fics. And of course, as you say, I've included a little porno for the fans, which we really deserve after the trauma of season 3!!

I am trying very hard to update once per week. This week has been extremely tough for me in real life, but I'm hoping I'm ahead enough that it won't bite me on the ass if I go ahead and post (I like to be about 4 weeks ahead). Yes, that means there's another ~35,000 words already written. And quite a bit to go beyond that.

My betas deserve a lot of credit too. They have devoted hours to this fic (ok, we sometimes just bs for hours, but seriously, they have really given their all). Thanks for such a great comment, and I hope I can live up to your compliments.

I was in a fic mood and started reading the first one the other day and wasn't able to stop. I love how you developed LV's relationship and threw some angst in there. I'm glad she realized that it's not Logan in the videos!

I also like how Wallace and Mac are prominent characters. Wallace working with Keith is a great idea! Mac and Veronica rooming together would have been awesome in cannon so I'm enjoying reading about it.

Whoa, what a twist with Meg and Duncan! I feel so bad for Duncan, but he needs to stay away from Veronica ;)

I'm so glad you were in a fic mood and found my story!! And I'm also happy you approve of my choices to get more Mac and Wallace into the story; I really mourned the lack of Wallace in season 3, and the Mac-Veronica interaction is great too.

The Donut twist (otherwise known as the 'cruller')-well, I have to admit that all that plot is due to me being particularly unsatisfied with the problems in the episode "Donut Run". So rather than bash the writers for their failures, I decided to retconn the whole thing and give Meg a reason for being manipulative and Duncan a compelling reason why he couldn't just stay and fight for custody. I hope everyone approves.

As far as Veronica and Duncan, aren't you curious what VERONICA is going to do? So far in canon, whenever she has had a choice between Logan and Duncan, she has always chosen Duncan. She has only chosen Logan when Duncan was not available (because he was possibly her half-brother or on the run). Perhaps that fact is making everyone quake in their boots. It's certainly making Logan very upset.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

So far I've really been enjoying this story, though the Harmony thing threw me for a loop at the beginning. I like that Duncan's undergone facial reconstructive surgery (which displays both his financial means and how far he's willing to go for his--"his"--daughter) and I hope he gets custody of Lilly, too. I don't really hate him to be honest, I just think he isn't that great for Veronica.
My teeny nitpick (which I suppose is directed at the physical therapist, and not you) is that House deliberately walks with his cane on the wrong side. There's at least one episode where one of the nurses is getting on his case for it and has to stretch out his shoulder because he's messed it up doing that. House, being House, refuses to change.

Glad you're enjoying it generally, although it is PART TWO, conspicuously noted on every chapter, so if you're confused that might be why.

I'm pretty sure I read in TV guide that when a lot of fans wrote bitching about House's cane use that they fanwanked themselves by making it House's character purposely doing it. Which is a very elegant solution to my mind rather than just having him suddenly switch to doing it the right way. Doesn't matter, I was just using it to illustrate something for my plot. And I find it really shocking the way people feel the need to let me know that I've supposedly screwed up on something that's intended purely to be fun; I guess I can relate to the writing staff at House in that way. Perhaps I'll find an equally elegant way of fanwanking all the TEENY NITPICKS that I've gotten.

"Vicky Warshawski"--nice. I'm sure there are a lot of other little fun things with character names that I'm not getting, but I'm pleased with myself when I do get them. :)

All will revealed at the end. Did you read my author's notes on part one? I've been making little notes as I go; the author's notes on part two are so far three posts worth. Lots of Easter eggs for the careful reader. Plus...I will admit to all the mistakes I've noticed (there are a lot, mostly name things).

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FIC: The Year of Living Dangerously, Part II (Veronica/Logan, Ensemble) (24/?) (WIP) (NC-17)

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