Chapter Two: Telling Keith

By the time the couple arrived at the Mars apartment, Lamb was no longer nervous-on the outside that is. On the inside, he was praying Keith was in a good mood. If he wasn't, Lamb just hoped he wouldn't shoot him in front of Veronica.

Veronica was another story. She had expected to be calm as they got out of the car. Instead, she was panicking.

"What if he kicks me out?" she asked as they walked.

"Then you come live with me." At her horrified look, Lamb stopped and grabbed her arms. "Calm down V. He'll be mad at first, sure, but he loves you, okay? Your dad loves you. You're his whole world. After a while, he'll love the fact that he's going to be a grandpa."

Veronica smiled at him as she tilted her head up to kiss him. Just as Lamb wrapped his arms around her waist, they heard a bag drop. They broke apart and turned to look at the noise. When they saw who it was they jumped apart so fast Veronica almost tripped over her own feet.

"Hey Dad," Veronica said.

Keith Mars was standing with his arms held out, like he was still carrying the grocery bag that was by his feet. He was wide-eyed and his mouth was slightly agape.

"How much did you hear?"

"G-g-gr-gr-grand-grandpa?" Keith managed to stutter.

Lamb suddenly became interested in his feet.

Veronica slowly approached her father. She took his hands in hers. "Daddy, I'm pregnant."

"Is…" He didn't say anything else, just looked at Lamb.

"It's not what you think," Veronica told him, making him stare at her.

"What exactly do I think it is?"

"You think it was a one-night stand or something stupid like that, right?"

"Was it?"

"No." She looked back a Lamb, who managed a small smile. She looked back at her father as she said, "We've been together for eleven months, Dad. At first, I wanted to see where this was going before we told anyone. After a few months, I just didn't know what or how to tell you." Veronica noticed she was rambling. "Please say something."

"It's a lot to take in." Keith muttered.

She nodded. "Why don't you go into the apartment? You know, let it sink in. Don and I will pick this up. I'll even make dinner."

He nodded and moved around her. As they past, Keith glared at Lamb, who looked at his feet once again. The couple didn't notice when he stopped outside the door, watching the two. He watched as Veronica held the bag open while Lamb put everything back inside. When he stood up, he said something that made the small blonde laugh. While she was laughing, Lamb took the opportunity to snatch the bag. He smiled as Veronica tried to get it back.

Happy, Keith thought. She's finally happy. He sighed and unlocked the door. He left it ajar as he sat on the couch. When she had called earlier and said she was bringing a "friend" over, Keith knew she meant boyfriend. She was practically living at another house. She rarely came home, and when she did, she didn't stay long. Keith went into her room the other day and found half her closet missing. Now that he knew it was Lamb, he prayed they didn't sleep in the same bed.

"I think that went rather well," Lamb said quietly as the worked in the kitchen. Keith had the TV on, but was listening to the couple talk. When Veronica announced she was making dinner, Lamb had no clue what to do. He didn't want to be stuck in the living room with Keith, yet he didn't know how Keith would like him being so close to Veronica. In the end, he chose to help Veronica.

"Why?"

"Because I'm still living." Veronica laughed as Lamb smiled and popped a noodle in his mouth, making Veronica swat him on the arm. He just smiled and held up a noodle. She rolled her eyes, but slurped the noodle into her mouth. They both laughed as Veronica did the same thing to him.

Veronica pretended to be serious. "Do you want dinner or not?"

Lamb stared at her. "I'm not sure. I mean, don't we have cake for dessert?"

Veronica shook her head. Only Lamb would say something like that with her father a few feet away. "No," she replied. "We have ice cream."

"Even better."

"I know I'm going to regret asking this, but when'd you two…start," Keith waved his hand between them, "this?"

Veronica and Lamb looked at each other. Lamb shrugged. "After the Coleman Case, right?"

"Well, yes and no. It was the day I officially boycotted Valentine's Day, remember?"

"Explain please," Keith interrupted.

Veronica faced her father. "Well, you know when Josh Coleman hired us to find out if his wife was having an affair?" Keith nodded. "You know she was having an affair and shoplifting?" He nodded again. "After that case, I boycotted Valentine's Day…"

"Love sucks," Veronica mumbled. Her father was out on a date while she was staring out the window at the pouring rain. Typical.

"Come on Veronica," Parker said, standing next to her friend. "It's not that bad."

"Easy for you to say." Veronica turned to face her friend. "You have Logan. Wallace has Karen. Mac has Dick. Hell, my dad even has a date."

"Hey, we're here with you, aren't we?" Mac told her.

Before she could say anything, there was a knock at her door.

"It's open," she called. The trio watched as Logan and Dick appeared. The boys said hello to Veronica before kissing their girls.

"Eww!" Veronica cried, throwing a pillow at them.

Parker and Mac looked at her with sad puppy dog eyes.

"Go and have fun," Veronica smiled.

"Thank you!" Mac and Parker lunged forward and squeezed her before taking the boys by the hands and dragging them out of the apartment. As soon as the door shut Veronica groaned.

"I'm officially boycotting Valentine's Day," she grumbled to the air. With a sigh, she walked to her room and grabbed a hoodie. Raining or not, she could use some air. So she slipped the hoodie over her head, locked the door, and started walking down the street. She didn't care if she looked like an idiot or that there was a chance of her waking up tomorrow with a cold. As she walked, she saw couples everywhere. She sighed. It was the day before Valentine's Day, so stores were crowded with last minute shoppers and crowded restaurants with men hoping to get reservations. She didn't even realize she stopped walking until she heard a car stop behind her. She turned her head slightly just as the window was rolled down. She turned around fully as Lamb's face appeared.

"Need a ride?" he asked.

Veronica crossed her arms over her chest. "No." Then she added a little softer, "I chose to walk."

"The thing falling from the sky is rain, Mars." She glared at him. "Come on. Do you really want to be sick for Valentine's Day?"

Veronica swiftly shook her head. "I officially boycotted Valentine's Day."

Lamb snickered. "When?"

She shrugged. "Twenty minutes ago?"

"You've been out here for twenty minutes?"

"What can I say? I love the rain. Don't be surprised if I start doing a rain dance."

Lamb rolled his eyes. Before she knew what was happening, Lamb cut the engine and climbed out, zipping up his jacket as he locked the doors. Veronica noticed he was wearing a grey jacket and jeans. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him dressed casually, but it was the first time she thought he actually looked hot.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

It was Lamb's turn to shrug. "I can't let you walk all alone, can I?"

"Whatever." She looked around. "I was walking towards the…somewhere. I'm not sure."

"Well come on. We'll get lost together."

For some reason, Veronica's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't protest. She started walking again and Lamb followed. After a few minutes of walking, Veronica saw Lamb pull his hood up, blocking his face from her view. Before either of them knew it, they were outside of Neptune High.

"I always thought I'd end up back here eventually," Veronica said.

She couldn't see Lamb's face as he said, "Planning on breaking and entering?"

"With the sheriff as an accomplice? Do you think that would go over well?"

Lamb turned to face her. "You really hated it here, didn't you?"

"Before or after I was arrested by you?"

Lamb rolled his eyes. He didn't say anything. Even as Veronica stared at the school, she could feel Lamb's eyes on her. Before she knew what happened, his hands were on her cheeks and his lips were on hers. His lips were warm. He tasted like coffee and cinnamon. When she finally wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, and kissing him back, Lamb noticed how soft her lips were and how they tasted like sugar cookies and chocolate. When they broke apart, they rested their foreheads against each other.

"What the hell was that?" Veronica muttered.

Lamb chuckled. "I don't know, but I sure would like to do it again." With that, he pulled back to scan her face. Veronica noticed his hood was once again off his head.

"Me too," she mumbled before pulling him into another mind-blowing kiss.