No Wizard Necessary (A Veronica Mars One Shot)
Title: No Wizard Necessary
Author: Bex81385
Rating: PG/PG13
Paring: Veronica/Lamb friendship
Word Count: about 1443
Summary: Standing in front of him wasn't the girl he'd known for years, wasn't the girl who's soccer games he coached, but a broken and battered version of the worst thing he'd ever imagined for her. Whoever had done this to her would pay, no matter what their zip code happened to be.
Spoilers: Episode 1x01 The Extended Pilot
Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with the owner, creators, or producers of Veronica Mars. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Written for VM_Redux (Episode 1x01) using the prompt “What would have happened if Lamb had taken Veronica seriously and investigated her rape?”
A/N2: I think, that maybe I hate my title...
No Wizard Necessary
A tattered Veronica Mars standing in the middle of the Sheriff's Department was the last thing Lamb had expected to see when he wandered in late that morning. The left strap of her white dress dangling broken; the make-up smudged on her face; the scared, vulnerable look in her eyes, all made his blood run cold. Standing in front of him wasn't the girl he'd known for years, wasn't the girl who's soccer games he'd coached, but a broken and battered version of the worst thing he'd ever imagined for her. Whoever had done this to her would pay, no matter what their zip code happened to be.
He wanted to say something, anything, but found that couldn't find the words. He'd heard Veronica loud and clear when she'd spoken to Inga, and from Veronica's state there was no question in his mind just what crime Veronica wanted to report.
He sighed sadly before walking towards her. He reached out to put his hand on her shoulder, still unable to find the word of comfort he wanted to express. He hadn't been expecting her to shrink away from his touch, even though clearly he should have. He shrugged off his jacket and draped it across her shoulders in an attempt to stop her near violent shivering.
Veronica looked up at the newly appointed Sheriff questioningly. She hadn't been expecting this kind of kindness from him. They'd been friends once, close friends even. She'd trusted him, and confided in him, but that was before; before her best friend was murdered, and her father had lost his job. After that everything changed.
Lamb had been promoted from deputy to Sheriff and made it clear that despite his close relationship with Keith, he thought her father was an idiot for pursuing Jake Kane so doggedly. In fact he had no problem expressing his opinion to any media outlet who would listen. Keith was quickly turned into media fodder and Veronica hadn't been able to look at Lamb the same way again.
She wasn't able to merge the person he'd become with the person he was trying to retreat back to.
His jacket felt heavy on her body and she sighed. She was disappointed in herself that despite all the damage he'd done his jacket still brought her a sense of security and safeness. She tried not to flinch when he placed a hand on the small of her back and led her into his office.
Lamb watched her sit in front of his desk before popping his head out into the lobby once more. He noticed for the first time that everyone had stopped what they were doing and were simply frozen in shock. “Back to work.” he barked loudly, breaking everyone out of their stupor. Once everyone had resumed working he returned to his office.
He turned his attention back to Veronica who was putting her arms through the sleeves of his jacket and shut the door softly. He watched as she pulled the rest of the jacket tight across her chest, and resisted the urge to pull her to him. He wasn't allowed to do that anymore, he reminded himself.
He didn't know what to say, how to start the interview process with her so he simply sat down behind his desk and waited for her to speak. He watched a tear roll down her cheek, and noticed that even with his jacket she was still shivering.
Veronica heard the chair drag across the floor and looked up to see Lamb stand up again and stride out the office. Her eyes widened and for a moment she wondered if she was supposed to follow him, but he was back within seconds with a cup in his hand. She accepted the cup he offered hesitantly but was instantly grateful for the warm presence in her hands. “Thank you.” she muttered nearly inaudibly
Lamb nodded. “You're welcome.” he replied softly. He sat on the edge of his desk directly in front of her instead of reclaiming his office chair. Silence engulfed the room once more and he realized he couldn't let it go on any longer. “Why don't you tell me what you're doing here.” he prodded gently.
Veronica sucked in a deep breath, trying to muster up the courage to say what she'd been thinking, out loud. She looked down at the coffee cup in her hands awkwardly. “I...” she started nervously, “I was raped last night.” she rushed out before she could lose her nerve.
He'd known it was coming. He'd known from the moment he laid eyes on her why she was here. Still, Lamb wasn't prepared for the instant rush of anger he felt the moment she said it. Knowing it intellectually and hearing her say it point blank like that was an entirely different thing. “By who?” he asked through gritted teeth
Veronica refused to look up from her cup, refused to let him see the tears running down her face. “I don't know.” she admitted shamefully
Lamb wasn't happy with that response. If she didn't know, then he couldn't lock up the son of a bitch who'd done it. And he certainly wasn't pleased with the hint of shame and embarrassment he heard in her tone. “What do you mean you don't know?” he demanded
“I was drugged.”
Lamb grimaced outwardly and grinned inwardly. While drugging her had made raping Veronica easier, it was simply another charge to nail the rapist with. “Where?”
Veronica reached up and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of his jacket that covered the back of her hand. “Shelley Pomroy's.”
“You got...” he trailed off unable to utter the word raped , “at Shelly Pomroy's?” he asked
Veronica nodded solemnly. “There was a party there last night.”
Lamb shook his head. “Why would you go to a party there, Veronica? You're not exactly on the guest list anymore.” Not that he believed she was to blame for her attack, not even a little bit. But he couldn't believe, that as smart as she was, she had put herself in that position.
Veronica looked up and made eye contact with him for the first time. “Because I wanted to show them I had nothing to be ashamed of, that their taunts weren't going to get to me. I didn't know I'd have to worry about date rape drug laced rum and cokes.” she snapped bitterly.
Lamb understood her anger. These people were supposed to be her friends, and now it was obvious that someone had set her up to be raped. “So basically, what you're saying is that I'm supposed to call in the son's of all the most important families in town?” he questioned unable to stop the snideness that leaked out in his voice. He wasn't looking forward to this investigation one bit.
Veronica glared angrily. “I'm sorry deputy, next time I get raped I'll try to do it in a more urban area.”
Lamb sighed and dragged his palm across his face tiredly. “That's not what I meant.” he said, knowing she didn't believe him.
“Sure it wasn't.” she muttered angrily. “You're supposed to be the sheriff now, you're support to protect and serve all of Neptune, not just the 90909 zip code.”
Lamb shook his head at her for a moment, wondering if she honestly thought he was just going to let this go. Did she really think he'd let someone get away with raping her? Just because he had publicly shunned the Mars family didn't mean any of the 09'er boys could assault her.
He reached behind him on his desk and grabbed at the phone, pushing the call button. “Find Deputy Sacks and send him in here.” he said when Inga's voice sounded on the other end.
Sacks knocked on the door almost instantly. “Yeah.” Lamb called out before turning his gaze back to Veronica. She locked eyes with him and he didn't like what he saw reflecting in hers. She didn't trust him. She wasn't sure he even believed her. That didn't sit right with him, not one bit.
“You needed me?” Sacks asked
“Yeah, I need you to locate and bring in Shelly Pomroy.” he said never letting his eyes leave Veronica's. He could tell he'd gained back a snippet of her trust, and he'd gain back the rest the moment he nailed the bastard who'd hurt her. “I going to need to ask her some questions.”
Fini