In My Arms
When the Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe
In my Arms.
'In my Arms'
Plumb
He concealed a knowing grin as he caught sight of blonde hair behind the desk. The girl was adorable but she was evidently no good at hide 'n' seek. Not good enough for the master anyway.
He crept closer towards Keith's desk, his hands unconsciously scaling into tickle mode as her wispy giggles became clearer. She really was too sweet.
Ever since they first met, Don Lamb had made a habit of making his boss' daughter his favorite distraction whenever she stepped into the station.
She was small, adorable and adored him in every possible way. That alone was a great excuse to part from work. That, and the fact his boss, Keith Mars, could never be angry for Don excusing himself from work to accompany his only child.
No-one could ever resist her chalky blue eyes.
Even his best friend and young workaholic in the making, Jerry Sacks wasn't immune to the orbs of little miss Mars. She may only be eight years old, but she wasn't a force to reckoned with.
"Ready or not, here I come!" He cried melodramatically, reaching for the corners of Keith's desk and unveiling...
"Huh?"
In Veronica's supposed place, there was a blonde wig, held proudly in place with his marine trophy and one of her little bows tied around her father's spare walkie-talkie.
The two ornaments sat triumphantly in Keith's second draw complete with his cherished memoirs from Veronica's childhood.
It was that day Donald Lamb realized just how slippery Veronica Mars could be. He sighed as her giggles met the receiving end, her voice crippling with joy.
"You'll have to find me first!" That day, Don realized one inevitable possibility. Veronica Mars may be smarter than him.
"Veronica Mars is... smarter than me."
Even though his back was facing him, he was confident Sacks was failing to conceal a public grin, and if that wasn't consolation for what had just been tricked out of his mouth, the stars in her eyes were worth so much more.
"Oh you stop it!" she exclaimed playfully. He would rue ever falling for that for weeks. Whether the statement played true or false.
"So this is Rick's locker Deputy Sacks put the envelope in this morning?"
Don made sure to clearly note Sacks title, degraded from his. Even though they were old companions, he and Jerry were still the authority figures. And she was still the petite and powerless, Veronica Mars.
She pursed her lips sweetly at the annoyance radiating from the former deputy. "Not exactly."
He listened regardless of her lack of title. Ever the storyteller, he noted. But he wouldn't dare remark. It was moments like this that reminded Don of the days of old.
And with remnants replaying in his head like the broken record they were, he knew he it owed to her to listen whenever she entered the station again.
-----
One Year Later
-----
She was so wonderfully beautiful, exquisite, sexy. But she could never compare. No-one ever could. Not with her. Not with the irreplaceable Veronica Mars.
Their frames were almost exact yet this one lacked so much. Her hair was long and fair yet Veronica's was always calling to him regardless of length.
The smell of her exotic shampoo enticed him like no others'. And he always wondered whether that was due to the choice, or the woman herself.
Her body was much fuller, her breasts of rounder shape and her hips more matured. Yet it was Veronica's subtle form he craved.
The milky skin of natural form so perilously rare it was beautiful. For no knife nor marker had yet indented her flaws and it never would.
That's what made her beautiful.
Lastly, she had a heart of black and gold, to which any other, no Madison Sinclair could ever possibly compare. Her dark side was rarely penetrated yet bonded strongly to the gold.
She was committed to the greater good and if that meant intruding into the dark side, into the world that was slowly swallowing him, she wouldn't blink twice. That's why he loved her. That's why he ever started. That's why he would never stop.
"Sheriff?"
He blinked twice before looking at the source of the voice. For if Don Lamb still believed in anything of goodness anymore, he believed in her.
He sighed drastically and ran a hand through his hair. Admiration for a nineteen year old. What was wrong with the world?
"What is it, Sacks?"
Jerry twiddled his belt anxiously with the follow of his thumb. "There's been a call about a disturbance at Hearst College. Another victim in the rape case."
Lamb leant back in his chair in frustration.
"You've been here as long as I have, Jerry. You know the drill. Send Collier and Noel." But in response, Sacks only stepped closer to his desk. "Sheriff, the call was made by Veronica Mars."
That got his attention.
Don instantly leaned forward, swallowing all memories of the petite blonde in a pastel white dress; a nightmare that haunted him forevermore.
Sending a short glance towards Sacks, he leapt from his desk and grabbed his jacket from behind the door. "Sacks, you're in charge 'til I get back. Normal procedures."
He concurred without hesitation. Lamb wasn't the only one who remembered the days before it all. "You got it, Don."
They didn't need to say anything else before the Sheriff of Balboa County stormed out the door, with strong intentions to do the one thing he should've done a long time ago.
He couldn't say he wasn't fearing the situation that withheld their past, as he shuffled into his patrol car. His worst memory of them together a momentary failure to restore their once friendship. For unlike how he always implied, he was not a man of no fears.
He was not invincible.
And to be faced with the sight of Veronica Mars in a soft white dress, mascara smudged, her eyes glassy with tears and her lips trembling as his cruel words attacked her with no remorse, his heart couldn't beat from its disturbing sting.
The pain of seeing her each time and remembering that day, it was unbearable. For both of them. And needless to say, Inga never did look at him the same ever again.
But as he raced to Hearst College, regardless of situation, he couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope that the one form of matter that tore them apart completely, could return them to the bond they once were. He was never very good at his job but the one thing he was good at, was being her protector.
Don stepped towards the door as Parker's yelling began to subside. He would try and question her further later. But now, he needed to know just how much Veronica Mars had witnessed. He couldn't say he wasn't dreading that at all.
He allowed her to take a moment to compose herself, before calling her name with the utmost of patience he could muster, and a hint of something else.
Veronica always knew but it depressed him to realize he never did. She was always the brightest bulb of the two, he noted, as beckoned her silently with his index finger.
Lamb shuttered his eyes for a moment as he realized what he had just done, as Veronica followed her calling with hesitation. Always would he be a walking oxymoron.
"I have to take you, and your friend back down to the station. You know that." he murmured. Rape, since the incident had always been a weak case for him.
She only nodded guiltily, unresponsive. A quiet Veronica Mars. That certainly made a change. "I know. I wasn't complaining."
Now that was just immense.
Don sighed. He couldn't deal with a normal Veronica Mars, let alone a guilty one. He wasn't getting paid enough for this. "You wanna get her, or shall I?"
Veronica looked towards the door in shame. "You go. I doubt she would wanna see me after last night, let alone listen to me." She murmured, her posture falling to lean weakly against the door frame.
He was weak. He knew he was. She knew he was, more than anyone.
He could've not done what he did next, yet he would've felt completely unfulfilled, guilty for her guilt if you will. But those boundaries always stopped him before.
Yet this time, he couldn't resist.
Don embraced her silently in comfort. His 6" frame towered over hers completely but his arms still wrapped around her body in plead.
And then he realized the situation must have been worse than he recalled, for moments later, he felt a tugging against the material shielding his back and he recognized it slowly.
She had accepted.
The soft whisper of her breathing was momentary as she relaxed into his hold. Her hair tickled his chest yet he denied the possibility of pulling away. Not yet. Not ever.
This was the Don Lamb she wanted. And this was the Don Lamb he so badly wanted to be. But only for her.
Always for her.
He broke the silence with an opinion and a fact. So unsure, but somehow he was. Because he may not know a lot about this situation, or the victim, Parker Lee. But he knew Veronica Mars all too well. They were too alike for him not to know.
"This isn't your fault, Veronica. Even I know that."
Veronica was almost ashamed to say that made her smile. But not enough. For even though she recognized the soul in that voice, she knew this was just the beginning. There was still so much unsolved. So much she didn't know.
But one thing she did, was that she was hugging the very first Don Lamb. The Don Lamb she fell in love with. And for once, she had hope. That this, the safety of being wrapped in his arms isn't just a phase, a memory. But of what is yet to come.
But of course, she was Veronica Mars, and he was Donald Lamb. And it was never that sunny in Neptune.