this girl is taking bets; [for Jim]

[neptune_sleuth]

Veronica walked out of the Council meeting, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. It wasn't working as well as she might have hoped. They had a plan and that was good, that was something, she was going to focus on that

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[jim_halpert]

Jim was one of the last to leave the office, feeling worn out. There was so much to do and all he wanted to do was find someplace to sit and wait until it was all over.

He spotted Veronica as he left, and while he assumed she'd go to her room and then come out to do what he was going to do - council things - she instead was going an entirely different direction. The brief flash of the expression on her face, coupled with the fact she was going down the hallway towards where she could conceivably head toward the exit made him inexplicably nervous.

"Veronica," he called out, jogging to catch up with her.

[neptune_sleuth]

Veronica turned and looked at him over her shoulder, knowing that the two pigtails she'd pulled her hair into that morning before the meeting was called made her look about twelve years old. That wasn't going to help, but there wasn't much she could do for it right now. "Jim," she said, a hint too brightly.

[jim_halpert]

He raised a brow, watching the expression he had been sure he had seen disappear from her face. Something was off, and he wasn't sure why yet.

"So, what are you going to do now?" he asked.

[neptune_sleuth]

"I... thought I'd go sign up with Vimes," she said, smiling like nothing was wrong. "Maybe he'll put me and Sam on the same team. That'd be romantic, right? I was going to go see them with Nancy Drew, but she's just gonna have to wait. I don't think she can fight dinosaurs, she's kind of scrawny."

Right. The truth hadn't been what she'd meant to say, but she couldn't lie to Jim.

[jim_halpert]

No matter how sweet and cheerfully she spoke, what she was saying was insane. He stared at her in shock for a long moment.

"You're doing what?" he asked. "Are you nuts?! You could get killed out there."

[neptune_sleuth]

Veronica actually laughed - not because it was funny, but because he caught her off guard. She hadn't exactly expected Jim to tell her to go off and have fun, but she hadn't been expecting that either.

"A lot of people could get killed, Jim," she said, shaking her head. "They need all the help they can get. Arya's been training me for almost a year."

[jim_halpert]

"Yeah, and you're going to be one more body if you go out there," he said, his tone growing more serious when he realized she actually wasn't joking. "These aren't monkeys, Veronica. You have no real experience fighting something so large, and you're going to only get in the way if you go out there."

[neptune_sleuth]

"Oh, what," Veronica scoffed, head shaking, "because my dad has so much experience dealing with these things?" Eyebrows arching, she crossed her arms. "I won't get in the way." She wasn't even touching his first comment, refusing to think about the possibility that she might get hurt herself. If she thought about that, she had to think about the others getting killed and she couldn't deal with that, not right now.

[jim_halpert]

"Your dad has a hell of a lot more experience fighting things with weapons than you do," he pointed out, not budging from his position. "And how well do you think he'll do if he finds out you're out there running around?"

[neptune_sleuth]

"He knows I can take care of myself. I'm sure he wants me helping as much as I can," Veronica insisted. It was maybe the first time in a long time that lying had made her stomach twist like that, given her that sort of sick feeling like she ought to be taking it back. "Besides, if we're on different teams..."

[jim_halpert]

"Oh, come on, Veronica. You really think your dad is going to be absolutely fine you're outside with things that can eat you without a weapon you're comfortable with?" he asked, exasperated. "You're not going. Your job is here. Your duty is here. The Council needs to stay around here to give orders and keep everyone calm, and you'll be leaving your post if you go outside."

[neptune_sleuth]

"The Council -" she started, then broke off. "There are other -" But what he was saying was starting to sink in, whether or not she wanted it to. It was her duty and she knew it; she'd signed up for it when she'd accepted her nomination. That didn't keep her from looking at him with an anger that was almost desperate. "And I'm supposed to be fine with them being out there?"

[jim_halpert]

"No, you're not supposed to be fine with it," he said, and his tone softened, somewhat. He knew why she was upset, and he could understand it. "But you being there isn't going to help. If anything, it might make it worse. You can do more here than anywhere else you're thinking of going."

[neptune_sleuth]

Her breath caught in her throat as she tilted her head back a little, looking up and off to the side, blinking rapidly. "I wouldn't make it worse," she said, still sullen but much less insistent. Her shoulders had gone limp, the tension starting to take a different form.

[jim_halpert]

"Please, Veronica," he said, almost in a resigned way. "You have to stay here. Hell I need you here. You're the only one I'm comfortable talking to, now that Joe's gone to be one of the search people, and I don't think I can handle all this alone."

In there, somewhere, was his roundabout way of saying he not only needed her for dealing with the stress of what was going on, but just in general. He didn't know what he'd do if she got hurt, or even worse, if she died. It'd be almost as bad as losing Pam somehow.

[neptune_sleuth]

Veronica opened her mouth to point out that, if Joe was going, she didn't see why she couldn't, but she just shut it again and bit her lip. Ducking her head, she looked off to the side as she nodded, not meeting his eyes. "Okay," she said quietly.

Lifting her eyes again, she asked, "You're not going out there either?" She knew he'd said he was staying, but it didn't keep her from wanting to double-check. Having Jim out there with the rest of them would have been too much.