Fic: King of Pain (Keith, Veronica) PG-13

[em2mb]

Title: “King of Pain”
Author: em2mb
Pairing/Character: Keith, Veronica.
Word Count: 4,165
Rating: PG-13
Summary: He fixes the bathroom door and paints Veronica’s bedroom, but deep down he knows a splash of color can’t mask the grey in their lives. The hero is the one who stays, but sometimes it’s natural to want to run.
Spoilers: Through 1x01, “Pilot

Comments

[hiddeneloise]

I just don't believe he could have missed something so major in Veronica's life.

See, I do. He was a loving, devoted, and caring father, but he wasn't exactly an astute one all of the time where his daughter was concerned. He has allowed her to pull fast ones on him a lot. Not that he was stupid about it, he just had blind spots that many parents do have with their kids. And the further the show went, the less attention Keith paid to what Veronica was actually doing. Once upon a time, this was the man who put surveillance on her when she dated. But in season 3, she could call him at 3 a.m. from some crappy gas station and he wouldn't blink. Or she could be attacked by a serial rapist at a parking lot, and in the next ep Keith would be asking if her boyfriend had a reason to worry. Even earlier, she would lie to him, he would find out, show disappointment, and then things return to the way they've been, with no repercussions.

Now, some of it, of course, is sloppy writing. But not all of it. Even in the beginning, what kind of concerned father lets his 16-year-old daughter sit all night in a car, near a seedy motel with a camera and just a dog for protection? The kind that's too overwhelmed with other things, like keeping the bills paid and chasing bail jumpers, too often out of town to know where she spends her nights. I am not saying he didn't pay attention all the time. I'm saying there's enough evidence for me to believe he missed a few key moments in Veronica's life, and not enough to believe otherwise. This is Keith Mars, the man who sacrifized his career to protect his daughter. The man who almost burned to death to save her. I cannot believe he would know or even suspect that she was raped and not do anything to find out by whom and punish the guilty. He might not ask her or talk to her about it, but this is the guy who went to see Aaron Echolls in to warn him off from possibly hurting Veronica when he just suspected the bus crash was orchestrated to kill her. Suspected, mind you, not knew for a fact. If he suspected something happened to her at that party, he would do something.

The guy who, when at home in season 1, stayed up to see her come home from dates? This guy would have said or done something if he knew she didn't come home from some 09ner party one night. My guess is, he wasn't at home when it happened. Out of town on a case.