Jared took a deep breath as the plane finally touched down at LAX. It slowed down and began to taxi to its gate. The flight attendant came on the intercom to welcome them to Los Angeles. Her crisp British accent clipped the words precisely as she announced the temperature and the weather. The bright southern California sunshine filtered through the cabin windows as passengers began the task of collecting their belongings.

He stretched and yawned, arching his back and twisting around. When the plane finally came to a stop in the international terminal, he unbuckled his seatbelt and stood to collect his carry on bag. The flight attendants allowed First Class off ahead of the rest of the plane and he got a good start before the rest of the crowd. The airport was crowded, as expected for this time of year. People were traveling for the holiday season and the entire international terminal was packed.

Jared wound his way though the airport, happy not to have his usual escort. He made good time to the baggage carousel and then to the Customs desks and made it through within twenty minutes. His Uber Black was waiting at the curb and he all but leapt into the car just as the paparazzi clocked him. He let out a sigh of relief as he relaxed into the back seat while the driver loaded his suitcases.

"Thanks for that, man," he told him.

"Not a problem, Mr. Leto. I'm here three times a week - I know how chaotic and insane this place can get," the driver explained. "Where did you come back from?" he asked.

"London. I was there at an event with a friend," Jared answered. He pulled out his phone to check his messages as the driver pulled into traffic. "Have you ever been to London?" he asked, trying to make polite conversation. He hated awkward car rides.

"No. I haven't been out of the country," the driver replied.

Jared tuned him out as he told a story of growing up in rural Mississippi. He texted Shayla to let her know he was back. Of course, she replied with a full list of tasks that needed his attention when he returned to the compound. As he looked through it, he noticed something about Kate.

Kate and Shannon got into a fight about him moving. He's worried about her - she's not talking to him at all.

Great. Just what he needed to greet him after being gone for months on end. A pissed off teenage daughter. Damn Shannon to the 7th circle of Hell, he thought.

He pulled his phone out and dialed Kate. She answered on the third ring.

"Dad - hey," she sounded less than enthused to hear his voice.

"Just landed, Gremlin. I'm on my way home," he replied. "What are you up to?" he asked.

"Studying," she answered. "Its finals week."

"Oh shit - right. I forgot, I'm sorry," he apologized. "Did I bother you?"

"Not really. I needed to take a break anyway," she sighed.

He could hear the frustration and stress in her voice. She needed more than a break; she needed a fucking vacation.

"Alright. I should be home in about half an hour," he told her, glancing at the clock on the dashboard. "I'm going to come in for a few minutes and then we're leaving."

"What for?" Kate asked.

"Distraction. Daddy-daughter time. Whatever you call it. Dress in comfortable clothes," he instructed. "See you in half an hour," he added before hanging up.

Thirty minutes later, his driver was pulling up to the gated driveway. Jared entered the code and the gates slid open with a metallic clang. The driver pulled through and circled around the large parking lot before coming to a stop outside the front door.

The palatial house was exactly as he remembered it, albeit slightly empty. He could only see Kate's car parked in the far corner of the lot under the shade of a tree. Despite the Christmas season being in full swing, his house was the only one without any lights up. Even Mr. Fredickson, the crotchity old man across the street, had a wreath up on his front door. It was slightly depressing. But the feeling disappeared when Kate opened the front door and Vedder came skidding out across the pavement, body-checking him with all hundred-plus pounds of his wriggling, excited body.

"Jesus," he moaned as the dog collided.

The driver hastily unloaded Jared's bags, keeping a wary eye on the Great Dane. "If that's all, Mr. Leto," he said, edging around the car to the driver's seat.

"Yeah, thanks!" Jared called, trying to get a hold of Vedder's collar to keep him from chasing the car.

Once the driver pulled off, Jared looked up and saw Kate. She wore her hair long these days, and it fell in soft waves over her shoulders. He pushed the dog down and strode across the pavement, pulling her to him and embracing her tightly. He felt her slight hesitation before she melted into him.

"Gremlin," he smiled into her hair. "Its so good to see you." He had forgotten what it felt like to hug her like this.

"You too," she said into his chest. After a second, she pulled away. "How was your flight?" she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. "And what the hell did you do to your hair?"

"Long as fuck," he sighed. "But if I sleep now, I'll be on London time forever. So," he rubbed his hands together. "I'm taking you climbing. Get you outts this house and give you a distraction. Help me with these bags and we'll head out after I change. Oh, and Alessandro chopped it," he said, pointing to his shortened hair style.

Kate took one of the suitcases and wheeled it after her as she followed him into the house. Vedder trotted along after them happily. Jared walked down the long hallway to his bedroom and almost cried when he saw his room. It was exactly as he'd left it, albeit slightly musty from being closed off for so long. She rolled his bag to the side of the room.

"I'm going to take Vedder out. I'll meet you in the kitchen when you're ready," she said before leaving and taking the dog with her.

Jared wanted to sit on his bed, but he knew he wouldn't get up again if he did. So he settled for flipping the light on in his closet and rummaging around until he found some clothes to go climbing in. After changing, he walked to the kitchen and found Kate reading.

"Hey! No more reading! You'll rot your brain," he said, shutting the book. "Come on," he grabbed his keys from a hook on the wall and went to the garage.

The Ford Bronco roared to life, coughing and sputtering like an old man woken from a deep sleep. Kate got in the passenger seat and Jared opened the garage door. He pulled out before she got her seatbelt on.

The sun felt good on Jared's face as he drove, sunglasses perched on his nose. After days of chilly and cloudy European weather, it felt good to have the southern California sun on his skin again. He always forgot how good it felt. He went the usual route to the climbing gym he frequented and parked in the lot behind the large warehouse.

"You know I hate climbing," Kate sighed. "Why did you bring me here?"

"An exercise in trust," Jared smiled as he bent down to fix his climbing shoes. "I want to see if you still trust me."

"I didn't really trust you that much before," she replied flatly.

"Too damn bad," replied, tossing her a climbing harness from the back of the SUV. "Come on."

He led her into the three-storey building. The lobby was mostly empty, save for a young receptionist watching something on her cell phone and two lanky teen boys that watched Kate walk by.

"Jared! Good to see you!" the receptionist said, putting her phone down. "This must be Kate?" she asked.

Kate smiled, a little surprised that this stranger knew who she was, given the fact that Jared made a big deal of keeping his life private. "Hi."

"Open gym?" Jared asked, nodding to the door as he signed them in.

"Have at it," the girl replied.

He led Kate into the cavernous space, choosing a bench in the middle of the floor and chucking his jacket down onto it. He started stretching while she changed shoes.

"Alright. Up you get," he told her, handing her the climbing harness. "Put it on."

Kate grumbled and pulled it on. "Don't I get anything else?" she asked.

He patted her on top of the head. "There. Good to go," he said with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Where?" she asked, pointing to the walls in front of them.

"Over here," he said, following behind her toward the nearest corner. He started to unloop a length of climbing rope and grabbed her harness, clipping the caribbeaner onto one of the loops at the back. "Grab hold and climb."

"Helpful," she muttered.

Still, Jared watched her navigate the wall, stopping every once in a while to consider a route.

"Does Winterlake have a rock climbing team? Because you're a fucking natural," he called up to her.

"Nope. Besides - I'm on the swim team now, remember?" she replied from twenty feet up.

"You don't sound enthused," he called with a chuckle.

"I'm not," she said. "But I'm glad I did what I did. So I guess its okay. Coming down," she called.

He let the rope go through his hands and harness slowly, giving her a controlled descent. "Go up again," he said, tightening the rope again.

"I just went!" she said.

"I know. Do it again. You can do it cleaner and faster. Go again," he instructed.

"Last I checked, I'm supposed to be studying," she complained as she started her ascent once more.

"Last I checked, you're the smartest branch on the entire Leto family tree, so I think you'll be fine on your exams," he remarked. "Our hopes and dreams lie with you," he teased.

"Gee, thanks," she said sarcastically.

Jared sent her up twice more before he was satisfied that she had started to relax. His real goal hadn't been to see her climb progress, but rather distract her enough so she'd focus on something else. Since Emma's revelation of Kate's difficult reception of Shannon's news, he had been worried that his daughter was under too much stress and would once again, try to do something to hurt herself as she had in the past.

"Aren't you going to climb?" Kate asked as they sat on the bench.

He shook his head. "I don't really feel like it."

"Then why the hell did we come out here?" she demanded, slightly incredulous.

"Because you needed to loosen up," he told her. "Any tighter and you'd be shitting diamonds."

"Okay - gross," she made a face.

"You're seventeen. You should be relaxing a bit. Stop making everything the end of the world. I didn't at your age," he said.

She narrowed her eyes. "You also did a shit ton of coke and disappeared for three days straight, too."

"Do as I say, not as I do," he corrected her. He sighed. "Kate, I know its been hard the last few months. I just wanted to spend some time with you," he said. "I want you to know that things are pretty much back to normal now. I'm not going anywhere. If I am, I promise to bring you."

"Pinky swear?" she asked, holding out her hand.

He took it and wrapped his own finger around her outstretched one. "Pinky swear."

***GOSSIP BOARD***

FLORIDAGAL999 POSTED: Oh. My. God. Jared just posted a picture of Kate and I'm melting. He took her climbing. It's so fucking adorable to see him bragging about her like this.

GUITARWIZARD POSTED: I know! I'm glad to see him home. I was beginning to wonder if he was ever coming back. Poor Kate spent so much time away from him. Its nice to see them back together again.

LOVELYLETO76 POSTED: I wonder what Jared's going to do for his birthday this year. Last year, we had Gingerbreadgate. Let us hope it doesn't repeat itself.

GUITARWIZARD POSTED: He's been keeping his distance from Irina lately. I wonder if that's the reason. I hope he does something fun with Kate and Sian and his other non-messy friends. I'd like this holiday season (and his birthday) to be as drama-free as possible.

FLORIDAGAL999 POSTED: Come on. Its the Leto family. You should know by now that nothing is ever drama free for them.

GUITARWIZARD POSTED: I know. But a girl can dream.