They'll say it was an accident; that no one could have prevented it. They'll tell her that it wouldn't have mattered if she had been driving, or if they'd gone a different route. They'll say that sometimes these things happen, cars aren't perfect, sometimes the brakes fail, and you lose control and flip over the side of the road, and the one person who means anything to you is trapped inside when the fire starts.

They'll say that it was amazing that she even got him out.

She knew that in reassuring voices they'd tell her she had done everything she could. But she sat there, and stared at the body. She saw his legs blackened from where they had caught on fire before she dragged him away from the car, and his right arm that was twisted at the entirely wrong angle for something that should have been alive…

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the flashing red and blue lights… good, the police were on their way… That's was good, she and a distant memory of thinking that she should call them but couldn't remember if she actually did. Not that she could focus on much of anything…everything sounded muted like she was listening to it underwater. She numbly realized she was probably in shock. She should focus, she told herself. On something, anything, anyone… anyone except the body lying next to her.

"Veronica, Veronica, Are you okay?! What happened?" He could barely look at her. She had her arms wrapped around her middle like she was literally trying to hold herself together. "Lamb?" her voice sounded small and pathetic even to her. "My dad's dead." She grabbed his shirt and started to sob harder, unaware that she had been crying in the first place.

Out of the haze of voices and noises she heard one thing perfectly clear "…asked the Wizard…" She stared daggers at him. This brought her back from the dead, this asshole in front of her. HER FATHER HAD JUST DIED and he's going to tell her to go see the Wizard? She laughed to herself. Had she really expected reassuring voices? This was Neptune and people telling her to get a backbone after traumatic events was par for the course...especially for Lamb. She tried to focus…

"What did you just say to me!" she managed to choke out.

He gave her a confused look before saying, "Did you hear me Veronica? He's not dead."

"He's…"

"You must have asked the Wizard for some luck, the EMTs got a pulse"

She gaped at him, not daring to believe him "but I checked for one…I couldn't…"

"What Mars, Did you graduate from Medical School since I last talked to you? He's alive, I promise. Now calm down and tell me what the hell happened."

She watched as the EMTs loaded her father into the back of the Ambulance and then looked back to Lamb. He looked... concerned? About her? That must be wrong... maybe she had a concussion.

She had his jacket wrapped around her shoulders. When had that happened?

"Come on Mars, let's get you checked out"

"Why Deputy, and here I thought you didn't care."

With that, Lamb bent down and lifted her into his arms. She knew she should protest, maybe make some quip about him trying to feel her up in her emotionally disturbed state. She'd cite that she would never be that emotionally disturbed... see, the comment was right there on the tip of her tongue! But instead of saying it, she leaned her head on Lamb's shoulder. Later she'd tell herself that she was too exhausted for a bickering match. It couldn't possibly be that she felt safe and that she was that if he put her down the whole situation would shatter again. She was just now feeling like she could take a deep breath. It wasn't that she didn't want him to put her down. No, no, that couldn't be it. She was just tired and if Deputy Don wanted to be civil, she was going to let him. That was obviously all that was happening.

TO BE CONTINUED...