SOUNDTRACK: "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N Roses

Jared stifled a yawn as he pulled onto Kate's street in the dim light. It was early the next morning and he hadn't slept much the night beforehand. When three o'clock rolled around, he figured he could get a jump on the drive and just head down to San Diego. He could see the sun's light just barely starting to peek over top of the horizon.  Ryan's car wasn't in the driveway and Jared was reminded of the other man's words the night before. Shaking his head, he parked in the driveway and got out, pulling the house key from his pocket on his way to the front door.

He looked through the front window to try to see if Vedder was awake before he unlocked the door. The alarm system let out a high pitched noise until he punched in the code to disarm it. He put his keys on the table in the entryway and slid his shoes off near the door. He flicked on the hall light and quietly walked up the stairs. There was no sign of Vedder and he figured the dog must be in Kate's room.

Jared walked into the kitchen and flipped on the light, his stomach grumbling loudly. Under normal circumstances, he considered it rude to go into someone else's home and raid their fridge. However, given the way Ryan behaved and what he was forcing on him, Jared didn't think stealing his veggie pizza at five AM was too out of line. He chomped down two pieces, grateful to put something into his stomach.

As he sat at the island, he was reminded of the first time he had come to the house. He forced back a chuckle as he thought about Ryan having all this money and job. And it turned out, Ryan only worked as much as he did to keep from having to interact with Kate. Everyone had their secrets, he supposed. He had plenty himself. And quite a few of them were going to be much harder to keep with a fifteen year old in his house.

He sighed and looked around the kitchen. A graded test was pinned to a bulletin board near the back door. He took it off the board and looked at it. 100% on an Algebra test. He shook his head and put it back on the board. He didn't even remember chemistry from high school. In fact, most of his high school experience was a distant memory. A slight panic rose in his chest as the realization hit him that he was going to have to find a way to relate to Kate somehow.

A piece of paper on the other end of the counter caught his attention and Jared picked it up. It was a note from Ryan.

Kate,

I'm sorry, but I had to go away for work for a while. Be good.

R.

Jared shook his head in frustration and balled the note up, shooting it into the trash can. If Ryan wanted to talk to Kate, he was gonna have to go through him from now on. As far as he was concerned, Ryan was persona non grata to Jared. The sunrise started to peek through the windows and he walked out into the living room. Several pieces of art were featured on the walls and he knew they had to be Rachel's. He admired the brush work and the color selections and wondered about the story behind each piece.

These will definitely be coming with us, he thought. He knew the perfect place for them at the Compound.

A jingle of tags hit his ears and he saw Vedder appear on the stairs, licking his lips and blinking as he woke up. Jared's eyes widened and he prayed the dog wouldn't maul him. The Great Dane's eyes fixed on him and Jared's heart started racing, pounding in his ears. For a brief moment, it seemed like the dog might jump on him and go right for the jugular and Jared prepared himself for death. But Vedder surprised him by trotting over to him and sniffing him thoroughly. He held his breath until Vedder sat down next to him, satisfied with his inspection.

"Hi," Jared said awkwardly to the dog. He reached out a hand to touch the dog's giant head and sighed when he didn't turn around and try to bite it off. The dog leaned into Jared's touch, enjoying the scratch behind the ear. "Good boy."

Jared sat on the sofa, unwilling to push his luck with Vedder around. To his surprise, the dog climbed up onto the sofa and flopped across it, taking up most of the cushions. He rested his heavy head on Jared's lap. He could only assume that Vedder recognized his scent from his previous visit. Several minutes passed and eventually Vedder began snoring. Jared felt himself start to drift, too.

"Jared?" a female voice jolted him awake. "What the hell?"

He slowly blinked and sat up with difficulty. Vedder's 150 pound frame was considerably harder to maneuver around than he originally thought. When his eyes finally focused, he saw Kate standing in front of him in her pajamas, arms crossed over her chest.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "I didn't think I was seeing you again until next weekend."

"Oh - uh - yeah," he stood with difficulty, pushing Vedder off of himself. "Didn't Ryan tell you?" he asked, steeling himself for the lie he was about to tell.

"Tell me what?"

"I changed my mind," he said, forcing the words out. "I don't just want one weekend a month with you. I want full custody."

Kate's eyes widened. "What?!"

"I don't want to have to drive back and forth all the time. And the judge will have to grant me full custody, so I came down here to get you and bring you back to Los Angeles with me," he explained. The lie hung in the air like a poisonous cloud. He couldn't bring himself to look at Kate's face.

"What about Ryan? Where is he?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"He and I actually spoke. He decided that since I was taking you full time, he was going to move to Japan for work. Made more sense to him," he replied. At least it all wasn't a lie.

"But - but why would he just give up like this?" she asked as tears formed in her eyes. "He didn't say anything about wanting to move to Japan, ever. All he ever spoke about was the case and winning it."

Jared fought a scoff back down into his throat. "Well, it doesn't matter. I changed my mind. I'm your biological father. The judge will automatically grant me full custody. So you're coming back with me. Today."

She looked around the room at the memories that had accumulated there over the years. "W-what about all the stuff? What about the house?" she asked.

"Ryan told me to take anything you wanted. So I hired some movers. They should be here around nine. Anything that's left behind will get sold with the house," he explained. "I have space to store it, so take everything if you want to."

"What about school? And Vedder? My friends?" she demanded.

"Kate!" he exclaimed. Vedder's ears perked up at his raised voice and one of his big brown eyes popped open. "Just do as I say, please. Vedder will come with us if you want him to. We will talk to your school next week and move you to a different one in LA. You will make new friends. Just please, go pack your stuff."

She blinked at his sudden change of tone and turned to go back upstairs. He sighed and ran his hands over his face. This was not how he wanted to start all of this with her, but she had given him no choice. He knew she'd hate him, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth and take away the one parent she'd known her whole life that was left. He wanted Ryan's image to remain pure and good in her eyes, even if the opposite was the reality. Having her hate him for taking her away from her home was so much easier than breaking her heart like that.

~~~

Three hours later, Kate had packed up the contents of her closet into boxes and they were being loaded into the large moving van that had parked in front of the house. Jared had gone through the house and taken down as much of Rachel's artwork as he could, even venturing up to her studio to take the easel and a few other things of hers. He figured Kate would want to take a few of her things. He dodged the movers as he came downstairs to the living room, not wanting to get in their way as they carried Kate's bed frame out to the truck.

He stopped when he found Kate in the living room, looking at a bookshelf.

"Hey, doing alright?" he asked.

"Why would you care?" she responded snidely.

He sighed and put his hands into his pockets. "I know you're pissed at me," he started. "But this move really has to happen. Like, today. So I need you to keep moving."

She sighed but said nothing. Still, she pulled books and photo albums off the shelves and put them into the large box next to her. He walked into the kitchen to see how things were going there before going back upstairs. He passed Kate's room and looked inside.

The furniture was all gone and her closet door was open. Several boxes still sat on the floor near the door. He wondered how many memories must have been in that room. When he was a kid, the first move he could remember was hard. But each time after that got easier. He had to remind himself that Kate had grown up here. It wouldn't be as easy for her to leave it all behind. And the fact that she was following his instructions instead of acting out was a testament to how well behaved she truly was. He took a moment to thank the gods for at least making her well-behaved.

Jared turned and walked away, going to Ryan's room. He pushed the door open and stood in the doorway. Vedder was sprawled across the king sized bed and he looked up when Jared walked into the room. There was a large flat screen TV mounted over top of a dresser and family photos lined the walls. He walked over and took one off the wall.

Rachel smiled at the camera in her wedding dress. Jared took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He had a connection to her and he could barely remember her. It felt strange to him to see the photos of her life and all of the things she had done in it. He felt like he should have been there for her. Maybe if she had reached out to him, he'd have helped with Kate more and Ryan wouldn't have left after Rachel died. Maybe he'd have felt better equipped if Jared had been there from the beginning.

Jared took the picture off the wall and tucked it under his arm. He pulled open the dresser drawers and found a large manila envelope with Kate's name on it. He pulled out a thick packet of papers and flipped through them. Her original birth certificate and immunization records sat near the top, along with other important documents. The envelope joined the photo on the bed next to Vedder's gigantic paws. As he was closing the drawer, a journal caught his eye. He opened it and saw the neat script printed on the first page. It had to be Rachel's because Ryan's was too messy. Figuring Kate would want the journal, he added it to the stack before gathering everything up.

"Come on, Vedder," he urged, patting his leg for the dog to follow him.

Vedder sighed and heaved himself off of the bed with a thud before walking after Jared. He followed Jared down the stairs and went right to Kate when he saw her. Jared put the things in his arms into an open box one of the movers was carrying by him. He surveyed the damage.

Most of the bookshelves had been cleared out. Kate's room was definitely empty. Jared had told the movers to leave the main furniture; he didn't need it even at the Compound. The walls were empty and the room looked slightly less lived-in. He turned to Kate.

"Is there anything else you want to take with you? Like from the kitchen or the dining room?" he asked her. She shook her head. "We can always come by again when we go to your school to tell them everything."

She nodded, staying silent. He was at a loss on what he should say to her. It felt like anything he said would just come out wrong.

"Mr. Leto, we have everything you tagged. Is there anything else you need us to get?" one of the movers asked.

Jared shook his head. "Nope. Not right now. Thanks guys."

"In that case, we have the address. We will see you there," the mover replied.

Jared looked at Kate. "Ready?"

She nodded, ducking her head in sadness before walking ahead of him down the stairs. Vedder whined lightly and followed her. Jared sighed and grabbed his keys from the coffee table before going after both of them.

~~~

It was late afternoon by the time Jared pulled into the driveway at the house. He was glad he had hired the moving truck because Vedder took up the entire back seat. He had rested his head on the console between the driver and passenger seat and a pool of drool had formed on the leather during the trip. The moving truck had already arrived and parked in the driveway. Jared could see Shayla directing them to move a few boxes into the house.

"Good thing you got the POD," she remarked when she spotted Jared. "She in the car?"

He nodded and crossed his arms. "And the dog," he added.

Her eyes widened. "A dog?" she asked.

"Don't ask," he muttered. Kate got out of the passenger seat and opened the back door for Vedder to get out. "Kate, come here." The girl obeyed, defeat and sadness written across her face. "This is my assistant Shayla. Anytime you need anything, she's the person to ask. She travels with me ninety percent of the time, but when I'm not traveling she's here. If I'm not available, go to her second."

"Nice to meet you," Shayla said, holding out her hand. Kate nodded and forced a smile. Shayla looked at Vedder. "And who is this?"

"Vedder," Kate answered. The dog busied himself with peeing on the bushes nearby. "He was Ryan's."

Shayla gave Jared a confused look.

"I'll explain later," he muttered to her with an exhausted grimace. "Kate, why don't you take Vedder around to the back so these guys can move things in," he suggested.

Kate nodded and led the dog through a gate and down to the back patio.

"What the fuck?" Shayla asked as soon as Kate was out of earshot.

He shook his head. "In private," he told her nodding to the movers. "Hey guys, everything that's labeled 'Kate', bring in and put it in the living room. Everything else can stay there," he told the men.

The men obeyed and Shayla tailed Jared as he walked into the house.

"Where is she going to stay?" she asked. "You don't have any space."

"I'll have the interns relocate to the studio living room, put Emma, Reni, and you in the old intern room, and give her the old room," he explained.

"What about tonight?"

"She can have my room. I'll take the sofa," he said shrugging.

"Have you told Robin?" Shayla asked.

Jared sighed. "Haven't had a chance to. I'll call her tonight." He walked into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water from the mostly-empty fridge. "For Monday, I want you to call an emergency staff meeting. First thing in the morning. Mandatory," he told her. He took several swigs of water. "Then I need you to go to the pet store and get food for that...horse," he added, gesturing to the window.

"I always thought you were a husky kind of guy," she remarked, making note of his requests in her phone.

"I didn't get to choose," Jared said wearily. "And I couldn't just make her leave him. Not after what Ryan did."

"Which was?"

He sighed and leaned against the counter. "He showed up here last night and tells me he's no longer pursuing full custody of her. He tells me he doesn't really want her and only took her on because he loved Rachel."

"What?"

He nodded. "So he tells me if I don't take her, he will just sign her over to the state or something like that."

"What a dick," she remarked.

"Exactly. So I'm basically just stuck with her. I couldn't let him do that to her," he said. He glanced at the clock on the microwave. "You should get going. They'll close soon. We can talk later."

Shayla nodded and left. Jared saw Kate in the back yard through the kitchen window. He took a deep breath and walked outside to meet her, stopping on one of the stone landings built into the hillside. Vedder was busy sniffing the ground and she was standing by the pool.

"Hey," he called, leaning on the metal railing. She looked up at him as he walked down the rest of the stairs. "So let me give you the tour while they're moving stuff." He gestured to the backyard. "It's enclosed so he won't get out unless he tries to jump it. You can swim all you like. Just make sure you put the little robot cleaner thingy back in when you're done. Through here," he gestured to the sliding glass doors that led into the basement of the house. "Is the studio area."

She followed him into the house. The floor was all white tile and a large white piano dominated one side of the living space. Pictures of Jared and another person as kids lined the walls and the walls were written on in marker.

"You can hang down here if you want, but I just ask that you don't go into the actual recording space unless someone else is with you," Jared said. "There's a second kitchen down here, but that's mostly for my employees."

"Employees?"

"Yeah. They're here every weekday, usually from about seven-thirty to six or seven. Sometimes later if we're trying to get something done," he explained. "They'll stay out of your way mostly."

She followed him up the staircase to the main floor of the house. It was decorated with a bit more flair; abstracts and pop art covered the wall. She could spot a dining room with a table and chairs through an archway.

"Kitchen, living room, dining room - though I don't really use it much," he rattled off. "Down here is where your room will be." He led her down a hallway off of the kitchen. "Right now it's set up as an office, but I'll make sure that's taken care of on Monday."

Kate looked into the small room as he pushed the door open. Two desks took up most of the space. A small window let in light from the setting sun and a fan took up most of the white ceiling.

"I know it's smaller than your old one in San Diego. But we're closing on the Compound in a week. Once we do, we start a few renovations," Jared said from behind her. "The staff will move over there right away. So it won't be too cramped for too long. Plus, when they're done, we'll move. I'll take you by there sometime and you can pick out your room."

She shrugged and nodded but didn't say anything.

"In here is my room," he said, opening the door to his bedroom. "You can sleep here until we get your room sorted out."

Kate looked around the large room. A platform bed took up one wall and plastic containers lined another. The sun was setting and the light was spilling through the sliding glass door that dominated another wall.

"Okay," she said quietly. "Where will you sleep, though?"

"I can take the couch," he assured her. "I don't know how much sleep I'll be getting anyways since I have a lot of stuff to figure out now that you're with me."

She nodded. "Can Vedder stay with me?"

He blinked. "Sure."

She sighed and walked over to his perfectly-made bed. She ran a hand over the fine linens before sitting down.

"I know it sucks, Kate," he told her. "But it's better this way. It really is."

It was all he could say to her. He felt like he should explain things or try to make it clearer, but how could he without fucking up the image she had of the last person she knew that cared about her?