Okay so this is going back to before Lamb kissed Veronica. This may or may not be multiple chapters. This chapter takes place a few months before the kiss.

Chapter Six: The Beginning

Veronica was sitting in her car outside the Camelot, waiting for the money shot. Josh Coleman had hired her to find out if his wife was having an affair. She had been sitting outside the Camelot for an hour. Kelsey Coleman had entered a room, but who was with her had yet to show their face. So, naturally, Veronica was bored. It was about midnight. She already called her father to tell him she would be late. She thought about dragging one of her friends there to keep her company, but decided against it. For some odd reason, Veronica felt like being alone. Maybe it was because all her friends had a boyfriend/girlfriend, even her father. She had brought them all together and now she was the odd one out.

The light turned off in the room. Veronica sighed and rubbed her eyes. All she needed was sleep. She didn't want to be left alone with her thoughts, but she let her mind wander anyway. She thought about how she had been at the FBI for the internship, and how they thought she had a career there. But for some reason, Veronica couldn't bring herself to leave Neptune. She knew it wasn't because of her father. Sure she would've missed him, but he would never even think about standing in her way of becoming an agent.

Logan? No it couldn't be. Even though they had patched things up between them, Logan had moved on to Parker, and Veronica was happy for them. Honestly, truly, genuinely happy for the couple.

Piz? Maybe. She had broken things off when Piz tried to get her to stay in Neptune. She knew he was still pining after her.

Then what was it? Mac and Wallace had already told her that they would be by her side in whatever her choice she made. Veronica didn't even know if what was holding her back was a something or someone. So Veronica sat back in her seat, trying to sort out her confused feelings. She was so absorbed in watching the dark room that she didn't see anyone approaching her car until there was a knock on the passenger side. Veronica jumped. She turned to see a smiling Lamb. Rolling her eyes, she unlocked the doors and gestured for him to get in.

"What do you want?" she asked after he shut the door. He straightened his jacket before meeting her eyes.

"I was heading home when I saw your car," he replied. "You didn't see or hear me pull up, so I figured something was up."

When Lamb had been in the hospital after getting hit by the baseball bat, Veronica had only gone to the hospital because her dad wanted to see the man. She planned on not stepping foot there again.

Veronica was sitting in a chair by Lamb's bed while her dad was sitting beside her. Neither said a word until Keith stood up and laid a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"I'm going to get some coffee," he said. "Want some?"

Veronica shook her head. Keith nodded and silently slipped out of the room. As soon as the door was closed, Lamb groaned. Veronica froze as he opened his eyes. She watched as his blue eyes adjusted to the lights in the room. She didn't say anything, and when he finally saw her, he was surprised, but didn't say anything for a while.

"You're the last person I expected to see here," he said.

She shrugged. "My dad wanted to see you," she snapped. "I didn't want to come."

Lamb sighed. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Veronica hid her confusion. Sorry for what? She wondered. If he was apologizing for being an ass over the years, he still had a long way to go before she forgave him. He had made the Mars family a laughingstock. He had been a complete ass to her. He had suspected her or her friends for almost every crime that happened in Neptune. He had arrested her more than once…and enjoyed every second of it.

She crossed her arms. "For what?"

His eyes hesitantly met hers. "Everything." His eyes drifted to the ceiling. "For laughing at you when you claimed you were raped, for turning on you and Keith, for everything."

"Why are you apologizing now?" She still had no intention of forgiving him so easily.

"When I blacked out, my first thought was I was dead. When I woke up after surgery, I had a lot of time to think. I realized I wasn't the same man I was when I first came to Neptune. I realized I was an ass. I realized I needed to change. Apologizing to you and Keith was the first thing I thought of." He refused to meet her eyes.

Veronica's arms fell to her sides. She knew there was no way he thought of that right off the bat. He really had been thinking. "You really want to be a better man?"

He finally met her eyes, his gaze worried and hesitant. "Yeah, I do."

"Then here's what you can do."

Veronica had made Lamb apologize to each and every person he disrespected, treated like dirt, or suspected of a crime (that was mostly to Logan). After that, she wanted him to take her out to a movie with any snacks she wanted, like they used to do when he was Keith's deputy and he was in charge of her. But since he was still recovering, they sat in his apartment eating pizza, watching the South Park movie, and pigging out on ice cream. That became routine for every Wednesday night. It took a while, but Lamb had become a better man. The town of Neptune had taken a while to accept this change, but eventually they did. Since then, Lamb and Veronica had grown close again. It scared the crap out of Keith, but he trusted Lamb to take care and protect Veronica.

"Just working," Veronica replied.

"Bored?"

"Very."

Lamb chuckled as he shifted in his seat. "Thought so," he told her. "That's why I brought you this." He took something out of his pocket and laid it on Veronica's thigh. It was a rectangular item wrapped in tin foil. Veronica unwrapped the object. Underneath the tin foil was a candy bar. A Mars bar.

"Oh ha ha." She balled up the tin foil and threw it at his head, which he easily dodged. More seriously, she said, "But thanks for the thought."

He smiled. "So what's the job?"

"The usual," she replied with a shrug. "Cheating wife."

"No money shot?"

"Not yet." She glanced at the dark room. "But I'll get it. Just wait and see."

He nodded and grinned as he leaned back in the chair, turning his head to look at her. "Want some company?"

"From you?" she snorted.

"Who else?"

She smiled as she split the candy bar in half and handed him one half. He took it and they both bit into their half simultaneously.