After suffering a car accident in 1995, Veronica is given a chance to change things for the better. Waking up in 1989 the night after that fateful party at Heather Chandler's house, she has a golden opportunity to save JD from himself... or rather, make him want to be saved.
So I Can See My Baby When I Leave This World
is a Heathers fic incorporating elements of both the movie and the musical. It's the longest installment of a series of fics set in the same continuity called "Making Right What Once Went Wrong".
Tropes
- Actually Pretty Funny:
- Vice Principal Keene can't help but chuckle to himself at JD getting in trouble with Mr. Jennings for telling him "sieg heil".
- When Jeff semi-jokingly suggests that JD should kill himself after hearing he has issues of his own beneath his cool exterior, JD finds it hard to be offended and laughs out loud.
- An Aesop: Though emotional support is certainly appreciated, most people aren't qualified to help others work through their issues. That should be left to professionals.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance:
- The more prevalent homophobia of the late 1980s is touched upon; Jeff was deeply afraid of what would happen if people found out he was gay, to the point where he attempted suicide.
- It turns out to be fairly difficult to get Kurt and Ram punished for drugging Veronica and taking pictures of her naked; while this wasn't exactly approved of even back then, it wasn't seen in quite as serious a light as it would be in the 21st century. Though it's suggested that the response they (initially) get was meant to be seen as underwhelming even by the standards of the day.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After all the trials and sorrows they experience, JD and Veronica are able to build a happy life for themselves with good jobs and a loving family.
- Former Teen Rebel: JD goes from a troubled, edgy and even dangerous teenager to a respected civil engineer.
- Formerly Fit: Downplayed; in the last chapter, it's noted that JD and Veronica have both gained weight in middle age, but neither is exactly what one would call fat.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: JD and Dr. Beckett agree that while Bud's experiences in the Vietnam War and after it were certainly things that would weigh down on just about anyone, it doesn't justify the things he does; Beckett points out that he himself fought in 'Nam, as did many of his friends, and none of them turned out like Bud did despite their trauma and other negative experiences.
- Heel–Face Turn: Over the course of the story, JD becomes a better person, reigning in his violent streak and growing more genuinely caring.
- I Can Change My Beloved: Downplayed. Veronica understands that it's up to JD to change himself at the end of the day and that she's not qualified to give him therapy, but she can give him emotional support and make him want to change.
- In-Universe Factoid Failure:
- Heather Chandler is not a history buff, as shown by this quote:“I am the goddamn Mussolini of Westerberg and Veronica is going to roll over like the French in 1932.”
- Later on, Heather Heather McNamera mixes up the story of Medusa with that of Orpheus.
- Heather Chandler is not a history buff, as shown by this quote:
- Jerkass Has a Point: While Vice Principal Keene doesn't approve of JD snarking in class about the shortcomings of American public education in general and Westerberg High in particular, he privately agrees with some of his criticisms.
- Like Father, Like Son: JD and Veronica's son Dylan takes after his mother in terms of studiousness, even succeeding where his mom failed by getting into Harvard. Meanwhile, their daughter Veronica shows signs of taking after her father in terms of rebelliousness; thankfully, she's significantly more well-adjusted than he was at her age, which is at least partly because she lacks the troubled background he had.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Vice Principal Keene tries his best to be a fair administrator at the school; unfortunately, the rules and his superiors sometimes hamstring him from being as good as he could be.
- Rule of Symbolism: When he grows up, JD gets a job building things, showing how he's become a better and more constructive person. It also helps underscore how he's turned out to be an improvement over his father, who had a career in demolition and could only destroy.
- Secret-Keeper: JD agrees to not tell anybody, even Veronica, that Jeff is gay unless and until he's ready to tell them himself.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: The fundamental premise of the fic. Veronica gets sent back in time to try and prevent things from spiraling out of control the way they did in the original timeline.
- Silver Fox: Veronica thinks JD's graying hair in the last chapter just makes him look more distinguished, and is sure he'll end up like this when he's old.
- Straight Gay: Jeff turns out to be gay, but he's not at all stereotypical, largely coming off as more dorky than anything.
- Talking Down the Suicidal: While he initially just tells Jeff that he's trying to hang himself with a rope that's too long ending in a noose that's not tight enough, JD ends up convincing him that he shouldn't try to kill himself. However, JD recognizes that he's not good enough to help him work through his issues, and recommends he see a therapist.
- Took a Level in Kindness: JD becomes a much nicer and less disturbed person over the course of the story, though there are several points where he's in danger of sliding back into his old bad habits.
- Trauma Button: Anything that reminds Veronica of what she and JD did in the original timeline is enough to give her the willies. These incidents vary in intensity depending on the trigger: watching a Drano commercial makes her distinctly uncomfortable, while seeing JD fool around with guns is enough to cause flashbacks and a Freak Out.
- Unintentional Period Piece: In-universe; some of the textbooks the students use were published in the early 1970s, a fact betrayed by the pictures of people with afros and bell-bottoms.
- The Vietnam Vet: JD's father Bud fought in the Vietnam War, which is used to explain why he's so screwed up. However, his experiences are never used to justify his behavior.
- Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: When Kurt and Ram tell JD they didn't do anything worse to Veronica than drug her, strip her naked, and take pictures of her, a livid JD sarcastically compliments them on their restraint.
