A/N - just a quick scene I wanted to include ahead of the next chapter.

By no means was Cliff McCormick a good attorney. By most accounts he barely passed muster as an adequate attorney. He might not have passed criminal law on the first try and his bar exam fiasco involved blackmail that he would take to his grave. But he was meticulous about document security. He'd been fooled once by a non-gynecologist, escort who'd taken him for his briefcase and his dignity (well, there wasn't much dignity left for her to take) and since then he'd taken the utmost care in securing his case files. He rarely removed anything from his office or the courthouse and he always double locked his office door.

So on that Monday afternoon when he entered his office after lunch, he was shocked to find the door unlocked and ajar. Even more so, he was not expecting to discover Balboa County's finest sitting in his office's visitor chair.

"How long have you known?" Sheriff Lamb didn't bother to start with pleasantries.

"Sheriff, lovely of you to drop by." Cliff dropped his briefcase on his desk and took off his jacket before settling into his own chair behind his desk, "Good to see you've made yourself at home."

"Cut the shit, Cliff." Lamb leaned forward putting his elbows on his knees to repeat his question, "How long have you known Anna was mine?"

"Aside from violating attorney-client privilege by answering that question, I'm afraid of Veronica so I need to keep my mouth shut. Plus, this sounds like a conversation that you should have with her. Or totally forget about the past and move forward."

Cliff was eager to end this conversation and get on with his day. Over the past few years Don had become something of a friend to him and it was hard keeping knowledge of Anna from him at times. But he prioritized Veronica's wishes and didn't want to upset her by bringing him up or lose her trust by mentioning anything about her to his new friend the sheriff.

"I just don't understand why she would tell you about me if she had no intention of ever telling me."

Cliff sighed and realized he wouldn't get Lamb off his back by saying nothing, "Without divulging anything privileged, I will say that we both know Veronica is meticulous and concern for Anna's wellbeing is her top priority. Additionally, given the level of risk inherent in her profession it would be logical to assume that she has detailed a plan of action for what would happen to Anna should something happen to Veronica. And as Veronica has no close living relatives, logic would suggest that she might divulge certain paternity information to the executor of her will so that in the unlikely event someone needs to care for Anna, her father would be brought into the conversation." Cliff realized this roundabout explanation was going to satiate the sheriff for the time being but added, "Again, this is all hypothetical. I would never disclose the private conversations that I've had with my clients."

Lamb nodded, understanding that if he and Veronica discussed any of the possibilities Cliff mentioned that he should leave the fine attorney out of it.

"There is something else I wanted to talk to you about." Lamb produced a manilla folder that Cliff had yet to notice. "It is probably time that I make some updates to my own will. Any chance you've got some time to make everything official?"

Cliff was a little surprised with the turn that conversation took, it had been a long time since he'd dealt with anyone's estate plans, aside from the Mars family, nobody really trusted him with that kind of thing.

"I don't want anyone to ask a bunch of questions about the changes," Lamb continued, sensing he should probably explain his sudden need for the attorney's professional help, "I've been with my finance guy since Veronica and Anna left this morning. Everything should be listed here," He produced a document, "There's a trust in Anna's name that's separate and should be enough for college, but otherwise if something happens to me can you make sure they get it all? I guess it would need to go to Veronica until Anna's old enough."

"Don, this is a big deal." Cliff said then looked more closely at the documents, "Holy shit, where did all of this money come from?" Cliff caught himself quickly and rephrased his question, "I mean, and I'm asking for purely professional reasons, there's nothing illegal about this money, right? And by illegal, I mean nothing anyone can trace as illegal, right?"

Don shrugged, not really wanting to get into it, "You've played poker with me, you know I'm not that good of a gambler. My mom's parents left it to me. They died when I was little but at some point they set up a trust fund, I didn't know about it until I was 30 and an attorney from back home reached out about accessing my funds. I guess my grandparents had enough forethought to make sure I couldn't access the money until I'd moved on from my dad."

Cliff knew Don's parents were a touchy subject, touchy enough that he didn't push the topic. "I'll draw something up by the end of this week. It should be pretty standard."

"Thanks." Don got up and turned to leave but Cliff stopped him.

"I'm impressed, Don. You're handling everything with Anna really well." Cliff hesitated before divulging, "I think Veronica's impressed too."

Lamb just accepted the complement and left the office. He wouldn't admit it but Cliff's approval of his handling of the situation meant a lot.

A/N2 - more to come soon!