LILA

It had been a little over a week since my mother had told me the identity of my father. A whole week before I came to the decision that I had to meet him, let him know that he was a dad; my dad.

I wasn't as angry with my mom. I guess I overreacted a little bit when she first told me, but hey, at least she told me, right?

Pop was still angry with her though. I think it was because of who my father was. From what I had learned, Sheriff Lamb had been Pop's biggest adversary for many, many years and he had just learned that his favourite granddaughter belonged half to him.

I hadn't told anyone else that Lamb was my father; the only people who knew were myself, Pop, mom and JD. I had told Alex that we certainly weren't related, but that was all I had given away.

From the tensions between Pop and the Sheriff, I figured that it would probably be big news about my paternity. Big news that I certainly didn't want the whole town to know before even he did. And from what I'd heard, even the Sheriff and my mother didn't get along too well when she lived in Neptune, but I hadn't heard much about that.

"I can't do it," I said as I stood on the steps of the courthouse, which doubled as the sheriff's department.

"Don't be stupid. Of course you can," JD said as he overtook me and opened the massive door. I trudged slowly after him.

"I can't…JD, I'm not ready," I argued as I stopped in the wide hallway. I felt strong hands on my shoulders as JD pushed me closer to our destination; the dreaded sheriff's department.

"I remember you telling me once upon a time that you wanted to meet your father. Here's your chance."

"Yeah but…but…"

"But?" he questioned amusedly.

"I've already met him once and I didn't like him then, what's going to change now?"

"Give him a chance. He might surprise you," he answered with a grin. I took a seat on one of the nearby benches and banged my head lightly against the wall. "I'm not going to be able to say anything; he'll think I'm retarded or something."

"No he won't," JD said, beginning to walk down the hall.

"Where are you going?" I asked loudly. He turned around, "I'm going to inform the sheriff that he has a daughter he's never even met," he replied casually.

"JD NO!" I yelled.

"Okay, take like ten chill pills, I was kidding, Lila," he said, putting his hands up in a surrender gesture.

"Just…wait, okay," I said, taking a deep breath, gathering up my bag and walking towards him.

"Good morning, Inga," JD said brightly when we entered the Sheriff's Department. The elderly woman at the front desk looked up from her computer.

"Jack! How nice of you to drop by. My, you've grown. Look at you," said the woman with a heavy German accent. JD nodded in agreement. "Are you here to see your father?"

"No actually, I was wondering if we could get a minute to see the sheriff?" he asked. I bit my bottom lip in anticipation.

"He's very busy…" Inga said, glancing nervously at a door in the back and to the right of the office.

"I can't do it JD," I whispered suddenly into his ear, before I left the department.

He joined me on the steps in front of the building within a minute.

"I'm not ready. Not yet, okay?" I said. "Let's just go."

"I know a place," he said as he caught up to me. "Come on…you know Amy's?"

"What?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes. "You're so new," he joked.

"Mmmm…this is good," I said as I took another spoonful of cotton candy ice-cream into my mouth.

The front door of the shop opened, making the chimes jingle and I looked back, only to see Taylor entering. When she saw me, her face cracked into a wide grin.

"Hey Lils," she said with a smile as she sidled up next to me in the booth. "J…..Ja…..Jason, right?" she asked JD.

"Yeah that's right," he said, which made me laugh and Taylor frown.

"JD," I said in between laughter.

"That's right. Sorry 'bout that," she said.

"What are you doing here?" I asked after a moment.

"Well I came to get some ice-cream. I just had to get out of the house. I'm grounded no thanks to your mother, Lila."

"What? What happened?" I asked with a grin on my face.

"Well last Friday night dad said that I wasn't allowed out, right? But there was this thing on over at the beach, so I was halfway through my window when my dad storms in wanting to know if I had any idea where you were 'cos apparently you'd run away…and then he realized that I was halfway through the window…"

"Busted," JD said simply.

Taylor nodded. "Yeah. So you ran away?" she asked interestedly.

"I didn't run away, per se. I was chilling at JD's," I said quietly.

"Oh I see," Taylor said with raised eyebrows.

I glared at her as I swore JD blushed from the opposite side of the table.

"Doesn't 'grounded' mean you have to stay at home?" I asked, changing the awkward subject.

"Wha..? Yeah but I mean, it's Saturday morning…what kind of mischief am I going to get into? Watching the naughty cartoons?!" she said, causing all three of us to laugh. "I'm glad I ran into you though, I didn't get a chance to say 'happy holidays' and all that crap yesterday."

"Oh yeah. Have you got anything planned?" I asked.

Taylor shook her head vigorously. "Absolutely nothing. My life is so boring."

"You over-exaggerator, you," I said with a grin.

At that moment, the chime on the door rang again as someone entered the shop. "Taylor Fennel," the voice said loudly. I looked towards the door as I noticed Taylor's mom.

Next to me, Taylor procured a truckers cap from her bag and slipped it on, sliding further down into her seat.

JD's lips were tightened, like he was trying to hold back a burst of laughter.

"Way to be inconspicuous," I said quietly, still looking over at the door where Mrs Fennel was looking around the store, creating a scene for the other group of people who were eating their ice-cream in peace.

"I know you're in here, Taylor. I saw you," Mrs Fennel said loudly as she crossed her arms over her chest, still looking around the store. Suddenly, her eyes found Taylor, who was looking down at the floor hoping not to be seen, and Mrs Fennel marched angrily over towards the three of us.

"You are skating on very thin ice, missy," she stated loudly and angrily.

"Who, me?" Taylor asked innocently as she lifted her head, realizing that she was busted.

"What do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be grounded."

"I was just going to buy some ice-cream and then be on my way, alright mom. Take a pill or something. It's not as if I'm setting things on fire or anything," Taylor argued. "Can you just let me be a teenager for like five seconds?!"

"Most teenagers don't go sneaking out of their rooms at midnight just to go riding on the back of their bad influence boyfriend's bikes wrecking havoc all over Neptune!" Mrs Fennel countered. "Get your ass in the car right now or I'm calling your father."

"All right, all right," Taylor said, rolling her eyes as she got up slowly. "Lils, JD. Later."

"Bye," we both said in unison.

"Sorry about that," Mrs Fennel apologized, "It wasn't your fault. Um, say hi to your mom for me, Lila."

"Will do," I answered.

"Wow," JD said simply as soon as the bell chimed, signalling the Fennels departure.

"Wow indeed," I agreed. "And I'm totally ready to leave now, what about you?" JD nodded as he stood up from the booth.

VERONICA

There were many things about Christmas that I enjoyed. How could you not enjoy the best holiday of the year?! The only thing I disliked about Christmas was Christmas shopping. Buying gifts for friends and family was distressing; what to buy for them in the first place? Were they good enough friends for anything other than a card and a candy cane? And what if they didn't like the gift? See, Christmas shopping was hard and frustrating.

As I continued to walk past shops in the mall, I was pleased to see a familiar face looking as stressed as I felt, looking at a window display. The woman was holding several shopping bags already, but looked confused about something.

"Can I help you with anything today, miss?" I asked as I walked up close to my old friend, who didn't turn around.

"Actually, yeah, I was wondering how much…?" she began, but stopped asking the question when she realized that it wasn't a shop assistant talking to her. A grin crossed her face. "Oh you're a sneaky one, Veronica Mars."

"That I am," I said. "What are you doing here, Mac?"

"Just enduring my yearly torture," Mac replied, holding up her shopping bags and emphasising her point.

"Just think, if we lived somewhere colder, we could just buy mittens and sleds for everyone and get it over with," I joked, eliciting a laugh from Mac.

"That's true. I need a break from shopping. Wanna grab some coffee?" she asked.

"I'd love to," I replied.

"There's a Starbucks around here somewhere…" Mac muttered as we walked further down the mall. "So I see you haven't been very productive yet," Mac observed, taking in my lack of bags.

"I just got here," I replied.

"Ahhh, I see."

"And who might you be buying for?" I asked.

"The downside of having so many freaking god kids…you feel obliged to buy them presents….everyone. I'm buying for everyone," she replied. I laughed.

"And by yourself as well, you're a brave one, Mackenzie."

"Dick offered to come with…actually, he was quite adamant but I have to get him a present too, so I decided to come solo. I'm glad I ran into you, though. Now we can be tortured together."

"Yay!" I replied sarcastically.

Twenty minutes later, Mac and I were browsing through a department store, laughing casually at some of the horrible Christmas themed knitted sweaters that were on sale at this time of year.

"But seriously…" I said, holding up a large orange coloured one with a picture of Santa on it, the red clashing atrociously against the orange. "This is totally you."

"Oh yeah. I think I'll buy that one right away," Mac agreed with a smile. Her eyes caught glimpse of something to her left and she disappeared for a second before returning with a pair of antlers which flashed different colours. "This," she said, feigning serious-ness. "All you, Veronica."

"Give that to me," I said, moving forwards and picking up the antlers, placing them on top of my head. Mac began to laugh.

"I have to go and check out the cosmetics…I'm thinking about getting some perfume for Cass," Mac said after we had both recovered from our moment of immaturity.

"Good idea. And I'll head over to the electronic gadgetry by myself because I do not need your opinion on which is the best mp3 player in the world."

"Ouch, Veronica. That hurt," Mac joked as she walked in the direction of cosmetics. "I'll come and meet you when I'm done."

"Have fun amongst all of those cosmetics," I joked.

"Always," Mac replied.

So I browsed all of the electronic music emitters the store had to offer before I was interrupted. I was kneeling on the floor, trying to get a better look at one that looked alright for Lila when I heard the familiar drawl from above me, making my skin crawl.

"Veronica Mars. Long time, no see," it said. I looked up and came face to face with one of the people I had stayed out of Neptune to avoid, and one I hoped would continue to be avoided. But, no.

"Lamb," I said quietly. He looked…older. He had wrinkles on his face and grey hair growing at his temples, but other than that, this man was definitely Don Lamb.

I stood up from my ridiculous position on the floor. "What are you doing back in Neptune? Never thought I'd see you back here," he said in a tone that was almost friendly, or amused. I couldn't tell.

"I'm spending Christmas with my dad," I said, remembering to say 'dad' instead of 'family.'

"Mm," he said with a nod. "It's been a while."

"It has," I replied.

"Veronica, you'll never believe what I found!" came a voice from my left. Mac joined the group, a funny expression crossing her face as she noticed that the Sheriff was my company.

"Oh. Hello," she greeted, looking at Lamb funnily. He nodded in greeting. Mac looked over at me. "Are you okay, Veronica? You look all pale."

"Uh," I said, rubbing my head, "yeah, I'm okay."

After a moment of awkwardness, Lamb broke the silence, "I'd better be on my way…citizens to protect and serve…all that jazz. Later," he said as he left. Neither I nor Mac said anything as he left. Mac looked at me with a concerned look on her face.

"Sure you're okay? …Did that asshole say anything?" she asked.

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "Don't even worry about it. What'd you find?" I asked, changing the subject.

LAMB

Well Veronica Mars hadn't changed that significantly, I thought to myself later on that night as I took another drag on my beer. Sure, she looked older, but like I could talk (it's sad when the little chest hair that you have turns grey.)

She didn't look happy to see me; I mean, it wasn't like I was expecting an invite to her 'welcome home' party but that reaction wasn't what I was expecting. At all.

A snappy, sarcastic comment like "Lamb…insert something about losing muscle tone and going grey – as previously mentioned"? I whole-heartedly expected it, but, alas, no…instead you get a – was it shock? – look on her face and eventual answers to polite questions, but nothing else.

Age changes people, I knew that firsthand. But what the hell was she looking so uncomfortable about? And it wasn't just awkward uncomfortable, it was "please god, let the floor swallow me up right now," kind of uncomfortable. Sure, we'd had a one-nighter, but that was years and years ago. You'd of thought she'd gotten over it by now…or perhaps I was just that good, or scarred her for life; take your pick.

Our track record was…well, it was our track record. Leave the past in the past, wasn't that my new-found philosophy? After winning something like the fifth consecutive election over Keith Mars, things had changed. On the off chance that the department was getting bad press or whatever, Keith would sometimes voluntarily help get the department back together.

Sure, it wasn't as if we went to the bar after work together, or he invited me around for Sunday barbeques, but it was something. A tad beyond acquaintances, yet a fraction far to be called "friends." So why was Veronica fucking Mars standing in front of me looking like I was the ghost of Lilly Kane, popping up to say hello?

I liked to think that I had changed. "It's nice to see that your finally doing your job properly, Don," Keith had actually said those words one night as I locked up the station before walking away. I had been stoked. I would never, ever, ever let anyone know, but I had admired that man once-upon-a-time, a loooooong time ago. It was practically the biggest compliment anyone had ever paid me.

And sure, he still thought that I was cocky, that I was an ass. I'd sure left a lasting impression on a few people in this town and I knew I had been a goddamned bastard on more than one occasion, and usually towards Veronica Mars – and mostly when she hadn't even been eighteen years old.

If I would ever gain the guts to apologize, I would. I feel guilty about it now, more than ever. Believe it or not, as a man gets older, different things come into perception. Veronica Mars had been coming more into perception as time went on. The incredible feeling of guilt seemed to be coming over stronger as I got older.

I knew I had no right to be forgiven, Veronica was definitely one person I didn't deserve forgiveness from. Ok, so now that bizarre unreadable look suddenly seemed more explainable. I decided that I would at least try to show Veronica that I had changed; that I wasn't that guy anymore.

MAC

"Is something wrong, Veronica?" I asked gently as I looked at my friend from the corner of my eye. We were making our way through the mall and something was definitely up.

Veronica's eyes came out of their glassed-over state and focused towards me. She was still slightly pale and hadn't said a word since we'd exited the last department store. "Nope. Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine…and dandy," she added, nodding a little too enthusiastically to be entirely believable.

I nodded back, playing the supportive friend role, "If something was wrong though, you know you could tell me, right?"

Veronica quickly sat on the nearest unoccupied bench to where we were and placed her shopping bags around her. "Okay, something is wrong…damn your sleuth prowess. What gave it away, the pale face? My unusual silence orrrrrr…sweaty palms?"

"How would I even know you have sweaty palms, we're not holding hands," I said as I took a seat next to her. "So I'll answer all of the above; bars the last one."

"It's about Lamb," she said quietly, chewing her bottom lip.

"He's a tool," I said, shaking my head. When I realized that she was having trouble talking about whatever was wrong I said, "hey, do you want to talk about this somewhere more…private?" When Veronica nodded we continued walking to find a little coffee shop with a secluded little booth so that we could talk.

"So…?" I asked when Veronica's cappuccino and my soy latte had arrived.

Veronica sighed loudly before answering, "okay, so I haven't been completely open, or honest about everything since I got back into town."

"What are you talking about?"

"Perhaps I should have rephrased," Veronica said with a small smile, "I haven't told you about what happened after Logan and I broke up, when you left for Europe."

"Like 17 years ago?" I asked sarcastically. Veronica nodded.

"This is really, really hard to say but um…I guess it's gonna come out sooner or later, and I'd rather you heard it from me," Veronica paused for a moment, wearing a look of completely embarrassment. "You know that I was upset after Logan and I broke up…"

"Well, like always, you did well to hide it," I said with a smile. Veronica grinned back.

"Yeah, well, I didn't take the news of Logan and Asher so well, so I went to a bar, and got drunk…when I woke up the next morning I was with Lamb," Veronica relayed slowly. "Nine months later and then Lila came."

"Wait," I said, in complete and utter disbelief at what Veronica had just told me. "Sheriff Lamb is Lila's father?!"

I was about to laugh hysterically at the prank Veronica had just pulled but then I remembered; Veronica had no reason to joke about that…and she wouldn't have used the issue of Lila's father to do it, surely.

"You're telling the truth?" I asked quietly, more like a statement rather than a question.

"Everyone keeps asking me that…yeah, it's true, Mac."

"Oh my god," I said simply, cupping my hands over my mouth. "I just…I…wow."

Veronica gave another sad nod before she turned to me fully, "You can't tell anyone, Mac. Please, noone can know about this."

"Veronica," I shushed her by placing my hands over hers, which were frantically flying around in panic. "I wouldn't tell a soul, I swear."

"Pinky swear?" Veronica joked.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," I laughed.

VERONICA

After that day at the mall, I mentally crossed Mac off of my list of people to tell about Lila's father. Funny that the actual man himself wasn't near the top of that hypothetical list…

So I freaked out at the mall, perhaps I should have rethought telling Mac about the whole situation, but I think that that was part of why keeping that secret was killing me – I needed to tell someone.

When I had come across Don Lamb that day in the mall, the only thing I had really seen when I looked at him were my daughter's eyes and that was why I had frozen up. One of the only two things I could see Don Lamb in our daughter was his eyes and his stupid smirk, the same that I had grown to detest. But I had lived with those eyes for 16 years, and grown to love them and dislike them at the same time.

When I looked at Don – I guess I'd have to start acting like a mature adult soon and start calling him by his first name – all I could see was Lila.

On the bright side of my chance encounter with him I had learned that Lila certainly hadn't told him yet – which side of that was bright, I'm not sure but it gave her, and I some time.

"Oh, mom, seriously?" Lila asked me in disbelief as she took out yet another ugly handmade ornament for the Christmas tree. "Unlucky you didn't have any siblings, then at least you'd be able to pin these-" she held up a series of badly painted baubles, "on someone besides yourself."

"Ha. Ha, very funny. I personally think that my shoddy Christmas decorations kick yours in the bauble ass any day," I replied. Lila held her hand over her heart as she faked an overdramatic gasp.

"Oh you did not!"

We both laughed. Finally things were getting as close to normalcy between us as they had been before the whole "father" revelations had come to light. I had missed it.

"JD's parents invited me to go up to San Francisco with them for New Years Eve," Lila said casually, as if she was building up to ask me this question all along – which she probably was.

"Really? That was nice of them," I said, putting my hands on my hips as I considered it.

"So, would I be able to go?" Lila asked.

I opened my mouth to give her my answer, when I remembered that I had already made plans for New Years Eve, and the week surrounding it.

"You would…but we already have plans for New Years."

"We do?" Lila asked uncertainly.

"We're going to Aspen with the Echolls," I reminded her in a 'duh' voice that would have made Lilly proud. When Lila gave me a look that clearly said 'I have no idea what you're talking about,' while still looking a little agitated, I continued sheepishly, running a hand over the back of my head, "or did I forget to mention that?"

A/N Remember many centuries ago when I revealed Lila's father and Veronica was on the phone to Logan...(tumbleweed rolls past)...well that's what the phone call was about. Hehe this should be fun...the Echolls', Mars' and Casablancas' clans cooped up in the same place for a week...

Anyway, thanks a million to everyone who has reviewed in the past, it really does mean a lot. You know I love to hear from you, so keep on doing it!

Thanks for reading once again!

Peace.