The Choices We Make
By Misha

Disclaimer and Notes in Part One.

Part Two- Decisions

Jake sat alone in his study after Duncan and Veronica had left.

So Veronica had decided to side with her Duncan and her friends over her father, that was a little surprising. Blood was supposed to be thicker than water.

Maybe it is, maybe that's the point.A little voice in his head told him. Maybe that's true, even when you don't know the blood is there.

It was an interesting thought, after all they didn't know for sure that Keith Mars was Veronica's father. Which lead to another problem. If she was his daughter, then her relationship with Duncan, which looked serious, needed to end.

Jake sighed, Celeste was right, they needed a DNA test and they needed it now. He'd make sure that was taken care of quickly, but first things first.

Jake picked up the phone and dialled Lianne's cell phone.

"Hello?" She answered, sounding wary.

"Lianne, it's Jake." He said, though he knew he didn't have to introduce himself to her. At least he shouldn't have to, not after all these years.

"Jake, this is not..."

"It's about Veronica." Jake told her quietly.

He knew that she didn't really want to talk to him, they'd made the decision months ago to end their affair and they'd been avoiding one another.

Not that that had worked any of the other times they'd tried to end things, in fact if Celeste hadn't shown up at the Neptune Grand the day that Lilly had died, Jake was sure that he and Lianne would have ended up in bed together. They just weren't very good at resisting their feelings.

But now with everything going on with him and Keith... He could understand Lianne's reluctance to talk to him.

"What about her?" Lianne demanded.

"She's here, Lianne." Jake informed her. "She told me that she thinks Keith's wrong and that she wants me to know that she knows I didn't kill Lilly. She said that you want to leave Neptune, but that she wants to stay, she's just not sure if she wants to live with Keith."

"She said that?" Lianne asked, sounding shocked.

"Yes." Jake confirmed. "Lianne, is it true that you're leaving?"

"It's for the best, Jake." Lianne told him. "I can't stay in this town. I don't want to stay in this town and I think Veronica would be better off somewhere else."

"Away from Duncan and her friends?" Jake challenged. "She needs stability Lianne."

"It's so complicated, Jake, you know that." Lianne said wearily. "I'm not even sure she should be with Duncan, neither of us are."

"I know and we need to clear that up, to find out for sure one way or another." Jake said. "But first, I want to do what's best for Veronica and I have an idea..."
---

"What!" Celeste exclaimed later that night, glaring at him. "Please, tell me you're kidding."

"It makes sense, Celeste." Jake said calmly.

"No, it does not make sense." Celeste said angrily. "You want me to invite Lianne Mars' daughter into my home?"

"Yes." Jake told her. "She stood up for this family against her own father. Her mother wants to leave Neptune, something that should make you happy, and she can't bear to go and because she's siding with us, she can't stay with her father."

"Who might not really be her father." Celeste pointed out. "What then?"

"Then, she's my daughter." Jake said quietly. "I'll have DNA tests done, but it doesn't change things. If they're negative, then everything goes on as before and we welcome her into this home as a guest. If it's positive, then she's my daughter and we'll treat her as such."

"Lianne's really leaving?" Celeste asked him, as if she was unable to believe what she was hearing.

"She doesn't want to stay, Celeste." Jake said quietly.

Nothing he could say to Lianne could persuade her differently and part of him wondered if she wasn't right to go and he certainly had no right to make her stay. No matter how much he might want to.

"I don't really have a say in this, do I?" Celeste asked bitterly.

"No." Jake told her. "I've made up my mind, this is for the best."
---

Saturday, November 15th, 2005

"Veronica, I talked to your mother." Jake told her. He, Duncan, Veronica, and Celeste were in the Kane family room.

Veronica looked hopeful. "Will she stay?"

"No." Jake told her. "She wants to leave Neptune, but she did say you could stay."

"But where?" Duncan asked for Veronica.

"Here." Celeste answered coldly. She was still furious at the idea, but had reluctantly consented.

"Here?" Duncan and Veronica had said in unison.

"You'd live here for at least the next year and come next summer, we would reevaluate." Jake told her. "There would be some conditions, of course, but we think it could work."

"What conditions?" Duncan asked.

"No sex in this house, preferably no sex anywhere, but none in this house." Jake told them.

"Dad, we're not..." Duncan protested, blushing furiously.

Jake fought a sigh of relief. That was good to know, considering everything.

"Good." He answered. "Keep it that way. I'd also rather you stay out of one another's bedrooms. If you can't do that, then at least keep the door open. That's non-negotiable."

Duncan made a face, but neither he nor Veronica protested.

"Secondly, Veronica your mother wants you to visit her every other weekend and call her every day."

"Of course." Veronica answered.

"Your mother also wants you to still visit your father." Jake told her. That actually depended on the results of the DNA test. If Keith wasn't Veronica's father, then there was no need for them to keep in contact, but otherwise, it was necessary.

"Are you okay with that?" Veronica asked quietly.

Jake nodded. "He is your father. You need to keep a relationship with him."

"Okay." Veronica agreed. "Is that it?"

"Those are the major ones." Jake told her. "You'll follow the same rules as Duncan regarding curfew and other restrictions, of course, all right?"

Veronica nodded. "Thank you so much." She told him. "You too, Mrs. Kane. I really appreciate this."
---