Trust me...

[noteasytobepink]

Who: Clarice and some kids! And maaaaybe the sheriff's department.
When: Some time after the first year of being stuck on Bill's world, just after she joins the sheriff's department after her florist job.
What: Being a deputy does NOT mean that she can't lie about things a little!

"Hey, you gonna be alright out there rookie?" The snickering was definitely something she could do without. "Those streets get tough about this time of day!"

She glanced up mildly at the rest of the desks around her before leaning down to tighten the straps on her boots. They were tight and double knotted, good. Same for the slow check of her belt and gear, then the brush of fingers up her buttons as she straightened. All in order, picture perfect, and even better everyone's gaze was shying away from hers as she looked around. Better. It was always easier to make the 'senior' people in any business uncomfortable than to try to start shit. Better they avoid ogling the sheriff's girlfriend than have her toss one or two out a window.

No matter how tiresome their joking got. "I believe I can handle myself," she noted mildly as she checked the end of her braided hair. Yes, still secure. All was well with the world. And Jamie was even blushing. Wasn't that cute? "Stay out of trouble oldsters, I won't be here to save you." Okay, maybe a little tail tweaking? A tiny bit.

Yeah, they were totally going to steal her desk chair or something. Or throw pencils at her. Or any number of non-lethal things that tended to make her giggle. Giggling was easy in Wheelsy. She made it out the door while the rest of the crew were arguing over who was actually 'old'. Rather than dwell on the minor victory she glanced up at swore. Almost out of time! "Nice one Clarice..." she muttered, stretching out into a run.

She'd make it.

Barely.

The school bell was ringing as she hopped the last fence across from the bus lot, and she barely beat the munchkins to the cross walk.

She'd laughed when Bill told her it was a necessary job. Really. Cross walks were kinda self explanatory and everyone in town knew where the crosswalk was. They wouldn't mow down kids on purpose, right? This world just...wasn't like that. "Alright, line 'em up kiddos!" she darted across the street to make sure they sorted into lines (lines were easier to handle, right?).

...did they even KNOW what lines were?! "NOT SO FAST!" She snapped, snagging one kid by his hood as he tried to dart across. "Police lady says she WILL dangle you if you try to ditch her!" JUST SAYING!

"BILLY STOP PUSHING!"

"I'M NOT YOU'RE JUST A SLOWPOKE!"

"YOU'RE GONNA GET ARRESTED!"

"Hey, hey Clarice?" She looked down, bemused as one of the youngest stopped in the center of the street to tug on her arm. "Hey, my brother says you're not really pink! No people are really pink!"

...right. "We're in the road," she pointed out. "Tell me that again when we're on the sidewalk okay?" Anything to keep them moving? Besides, that had been...unintentionally stinging. Real people COULD BE PINK. Or Blue. Or Green. Or any other color. Mutants were people too after all, no matter what various realities claimed!

Sidewalk, blessed sidewalk.

"So why are you pink?!"

Right. She sighed and sank down on her heels so that she could be on eye level with the kindergartner. "Well, can you keep a secret?"

"Yes!"

That was good. "I'm only a cop during the day," she admitted.

"So what are you at night?"

"A fairy princess. I'm hiding from an evil king who took away my castle so it's important you don't tell anyone okay?"

"Not even my brother?"

"Not even him. The evil king has spies everywhere and you don't him to hear you telling your brother right?"

The little girl dug her sneaker at the sidewalk for a moment then nodded firmly, "I don't want that. Can you do magic tricks?"

"Only at night." Vampire fairy princess? Sure.

"Do you have wings?!"

"...no. I was hurt and lost my wings. That's why Sheriff Pardy had to take me to the hospital."

"Ohhhhhhh...did it hurt? Did you get a shot?"

"Yes and yes, but it's okay, I'm still alive and that's what matters right?"

"If I'm really good can you show me some magic? I can stay up until eight on Fridays and Saturdays!"

"We'll see kiddo. I may need to do other things to keep everyone safe okay? But we'll see." She spotted the munchkin's mom coming up the walk and grinned, "remember, it's a secret."

"Okay!" And off she went.

Well then. She was betting it was only going to be a few hours before the sheriff's office got calls about corrupting the children or something but it had been fun! Show her some magic tricks indeed...all the tricks she knew weren't good for kids in a world like this one.

It was barely past school letting out so she decided to hang around and escort EVERYONE who wanted to cross the street. Why not after all? It was a SERIOUS job and such.

Wheelsy. Had to love it huh?

Comments

[noteasytobepink]

"Best to stay in practice," she admitted with a shrug, "and I'm used to the freedom of limb movement. Wouldn't find decent fights in your sleepy town anyway." Sneaking off to the city though...

...or over the border...

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Don't call her sleepy," Bill asked, shaking his head. "Makes us all sound lazy."

Which okay, maybe he was sometimes, but not always!

[noteasytobepink]

"What, do you prefer rough and ready when the worst she has is some 'drug runners' who are guys who sneak clay pots of marijuana seedlings to the farmers market?"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

He made a face at her, then considered the options.

"'Quiet town' works. Or peaceful. And I consider ourselves lucky couple pot farmers are the biggest problem we've got. Lot of other small towns get tangled up in worse shit like oxy and meth. Those are things I do NOT want in my town."

Ever.

[noteasytobepink]

"And they won't make inroads as long as you have people keeping a look out." Violent people! IN SKIRTS! And a hero sheriff. Not in a skirt.

"But it's not quiet. The whole place buzzes with gossip! Like a beehive!"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Not on my watch," he said with a firm nod.

"So peaceful, then. Or down home if quiet isn't something you feel applies."

[noteasytobepink]

...hmmm, no, neither of those were really going to work for her. Damn. "I'll think of something," she promised easily. "We done picking at this meal babe?"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Alright." He trusted she'd share it with him whenever she came up with it.

Looking over the remains of their meal, he nodded.

"Yeah, I reckon we outta get back." They were pressing their time here, after all.

[noteasytobepink]

Probably, many years later, she'd decide on 'nostalgic' or something.

Money money money...check! Money on left on the table as she stood and stretched, "Alight Sheriff, let's get me back on shift and you back to not being on shift..." she chuckled, holding out a hand.

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Bill stood up, tucking in his chair and accepting her hand.

"Thank you for lunch, darlin'."

[noteasytobepink]

"Thank you for keeping me company, boss," she offered cheekily. "I'll make sure to tell the precinct it's not favoritism." Nope.

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Go on an' tell 'em it is. I don't mind make them jealous." He grinned at her.

[noteasytobepink]

"When they're grumbling at you I'm going to remind you you said to tell them!" she laughed. "Nothing like torturing your subordinates huh?"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"One of the perks of bein' the boss," he said with a grin as he got the door for them.

"Ain't like they don't bug the piss outta me some days." Turnabout was fair play!

[noteasytobepink]

"That's because you work with a bunch of siblings really instead of a cop team..." she teased. "None of the respect. None." But poke any of them wrong and they'd ALL cream the problem!

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"I will have you know me an' my team are a well oiled machine," he informed her.

Sure that 'machine' was probably a rambling tractor or maybe a carousel, but it was well oiled!

"Sure we ain't the Seal Team 6 you're used to runnin' with, but don't pretend you don't love us an' our easy goin' ways." It was true!

[noteasytobepink]

"Oiled with what?" She teased, pinching his ass before opening a new portal home for them. "And I know, they're adorable, they just behave a lot more like a family than a team is all. Pros and cons there. My core team was...family." Granted, her 'core' had been pared down to TJ and Morph, but they were a good family to have.

She missed them.

[wheelsy_sheriff]

He scrunched his nose at her, and stepped through the portal.

Yep, still weird. But no longer scary! Taking a glance around, he turned to face her.

"You miss 'em, don't you?"

[noteasytobepink]

"Hmmm?" The question caught her a little flat footed as she was coming through the portal, so he got a moment of unguarded sadness before she was back to grinning, "of course, that's what you do when you're apart. You'd miss your people here if you were separated from them right?"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

He saw that slip, and just managed to hold in a frown.

"Those bunch of jerks? Not even a little," he joked lamely.

He felt bad, because getting her back to her family was the one thing he couldn't do for her, no matter how much he knew she missed them.

Guessss who didn't get a notif? It's ME!

[noteasytobepink]

"For ten minutes," she laughed, tweaking his ear, "then you'd be looking around for Mark to joke with." Or somebody else. He was a social creature, her man!

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"I'd last at least an hour, longer if I managed t'find a place to nap," he countered with a laugh.

"I do hope us here make up for some of that loneliness, though," he said honestly, watching her. "I know I'll never be them that you're missin', but I'll keep tryin' to make this feel like home for you."

[noteasytobepink]

"I think for this exercise we only count periods you're awake," she chuckled, poking his nose gently.

"Everyone here is very nice," very nice. Sometimes it was very discomfiting even, everyone being nice, and laid back and so very unconcerned with the possibility of bad things to come. "And some of them remind me of my team, yeah, Morph in particular because he's a real joker sometimes...but you're right, it's not them. It's like living away from my family and I can't even call them up or visit you? It's nice, and it's safe here, but sometimes I miss them more than anything else can counter. I'm sorry." That she couldn't be happy a hundred percent of the time."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"You don't have to apologize, darlin'," he said, shaking his head. "I'm just sorry t'you that I can't do anything to bring 'em back for you."

Or return her to them. Although that, that would be hard. And heartbreaking.

[noteasytobepink]

"Yeah, well, things would change a lot if you could." And he wouldn't like that. Hell, the whole town probably wouldn't like what her team showing up meant. "I'll live. Always do. And I need to get back to work, boss."