Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or any of it's characters. Schneider's bakery and Nickelodeon do. I just needed someone to fill in this story, and they have so much backstory to use…

:}

Jade sighed as she slid into the car. This whole trip has been unexpected. Since she graduated, over four years ago, Jade had hardly spoken to the man sitting next her her. 'Course, I've been busy, cleaning up Beck's mess. Man, who'd have thought…' She didn't wanna get lost in those thoughts, but sometimes, we don't get what we want. Like a lifeline, a voice cane to pull her free.

"Okay, that went well." Thomas West said, looking outside nervously. He'd been so calm, classic Thomas West, throughout this impromptu meeting with Mark Bayer, head of the Dingo channels sub studio, Stonetouched, their independent and R rated studio. "I think he'll heed my suggestion…"

Having a new focus allowed Jade to ask what she'd been thinking for the last hour. "How the hell do you know Mark Bayer? I mean, You know him! Mark Bayer! And you know him well enough that he just gave you an appointment, with minimal warning. Like less then a day, and we got in. And, and, and his secretary… His secretary was even polite to you. No one in that building is ever polite to anyone unless their jobs on the line, and yet, somehow, they was so polite to you.. And Mark, I'd heard the rumors, and yea, I swore, he was undressing me with his eyes, even after you kept insisting I was you first child…." Jade felt like she was babbling. Then, realization hit her and she found solid ground. "Is he why you never believed in my dreams?"

"No, I hated you going into entertainment because the odds are so long…" Thomas sighed. "You are very talented. Well wishes proved that. But I…" He exhaled hard. "Jade, time to come clean, talk about why this meeting happened."

"You wanted me to take on a job that, for all intent and purposes, is the Showrunner for Stonetouched Studio's so called connected universe." Jade gulped air, needing to get this out, if only to believe it. "The very one that I've been reading about, with the studio hiring a group of directors and writers to create a world full of new takes on classic horror monsters. They want a series of films, horror films, all somehow connected, and I'd…" She tried to focus, but it was just too impossible to believe.

"What's a showrunner?" The father wondered aloud.

"The guy who makes sure the stories in a series connect." Jade informed him, loving that this one explanation got her out of her head and back on track. "The person who keeps everything constant. Television shows hire a room full of writers, but often individual episodes have a single writer, a single director, etc, and as a result, they need someone to keep everything consistent. The Showrunner is that person, the one who manages the show, the vision, and is the one who makes sure the shows characters stay consistent from episode to episode, as well as keeping multi-episode plot lines flowing towards the conclusion."

"OH, then yea, that sounds like the job I pitched for you." Tom said, relaxing a bit. "But do you know why this meeting happened?"

"I'd say he asked, but he kept saying this was returning a favor you'd done for him." The blue eyed girl said. "So, I guess maybe you believe in me?" Her voice was shaded in doubt.

"Nurture conquered nature." Thomas said. At the befuddled look his daughter gave him, he continued. "As cold and distant as I am, you turned out far more like me then…" He sighed again, showing hesitation for the first time in Jade's memory. He'd been oddly nervous this entire time, but t his was unreal him being so nervous talking to her. Thomas West had never been shy about sharing his opinion with Jade.

"So I'm more like you then mom." Jade tossed out. "Should I feel insulted?"

"Why'd you marry Victoria?" The subject shift was abrupt.

"What does that… is that why you helped?" Jade wondered. "Cause I'm married?"

"You married her to help clean up Beckett's mess." Her father explained. "Just like marrying Catarina was cleaning up his mess. That spree he went on, after graduation, when he discovered how hard the big bad world could be, that left behind a lot of broken hearts, didn't it? But you, you offered to marry the girls who got pregnant, all the one's who weren't gonna get rid of the babies." His hand went up, to count off his daughters polygamous brides. "Cat, because that wouldn't ever be like her, giving up a child. Tori, because she even a lapsed Catholic can sometimes holds odd values. And who else did you offer to help?"

"Meredith, and Joan." Jade told him. "But I only, god, how did you arrange that, cause I thought it wasn't even legal. But once Tori agreed, then Cat jumped in, and together, we've been able to manage, get them into school, give them a life." Her eyes looked at the man who'd raised her. "And thanks, again, for stepping up when you did. I know Beck would have, except then he'd have lost out on his one, best opportunity to have the career he wanted. Someone had too…"

"I just find it funny that both girls were willing." He smiled. "How long did it take before they made it real?" His implications would have, just a few years ago, chilled Jade. But as invasive as the question felt, now Jade felt close enough to this man to answer.

"Not nearly as long as I'd have thought." Jade groaned. "Did you know they have a chart? When each one gets alone time with me. They even have plans for incorporating another, or even two more wives." She sighed, shaking her head. "Should never have let Cat watch 'Big Love'."

"And I could claim that this job will allow you to afford the procedure that would give me grandchildren." Mister West smiled. "Had no idea Kalie would enjoy having young one's around this much, or even as all. I mean, she's had nannies to do most of the work in raising Victor."

"Yea, she never seemed to comfortable being a mother, and she only has one kid." Jade agreed. "But I get it. I get why you're with her." Blue eyes flashed to her father, "Her daddies rich, so you traded up when you married her."

"Jade, your mother and I both felt our marriage wasn't working." Thomas informed her. "Mich was a good try, but sometimes, insurmountable differences just don't go away." He was watching the studio, not having move the car yet. "Kalie was so much easier. We both knew what our relationship was, and that's that." He looked back at his daughter. "I'm circling here, aren't I?"

"I have no idea." Jade admitted.

"I'm your father." He said, his voice full of authority. "I'm just not the one who fathered you."

"Sorry, what now?" Jade had believed they'd gotten beyond the point where anything this growing contradiction of a man did would surprise her. Yet, with that one statement, her world was rocked, again.

"I'm not the man who fathered you." He repeated. "Mark was. Yes, that pervert was your sperm donor." A shadow of a smile crept across his face. "I refuse to call him a father, because he never stepped up, never earned it." The smile faded as the truth again spilled forth. "Instead, he begged his high school friend, the kid who used to worship him for that calm, collected approach of his that seemed to win the girls hearts, and Mark went to this closed off boy and had him marry your mother instead."

"He's my father?' Jade asked. "He hit on me, AFTER you told him who I was." It felt like the only argument she had that this story was a lie.

"He honestly doesn't know any other way to treat a woman." Thomas said. "He's the same as he's always been. A flim flam man who took a job where he had power, he could stop projects cold, but had no ability to move them forward. It was the perfect occupation for him, never forcing him to be responsible for his failures, as his charm slowly moved him up the ladder, until he found himself in a job he's so woefully inept at he's flailing. Yes, I was, once again, bailing him out when I offered to have you work for him. I mean, sure, you'll make buckets and wheelbarrows full of money from this position. Plus, you can easily make a few of your own movies. He just, it's gonna be hard for him, cause his bluffs, his bravado, that's always worked for him in the past…"

"How many times have you bailed him out?" Jade wondered.

"Just five, since high school." Thomas said. "He insisted your mother keep you, cause having a kid, back then, that meant he was a man. To his ego, having a kid meant he was a man, even if that kid never saw her real father."

"Sperm donor." Jade corrected. "I think you're right, he has no right to call himself a father." She was finding footing under her, something to resist the emotional tides

"Then after, when your mother and I were discussing getting divorced, he came and asked me to deal with Kalie." He looked away again, but this time he was stepping into a memory. "Her dad hated that she got pregnant, even though they refused to keep the baby, cause it caused him complications. But he needed her married off, to fix those complications, and I was, marginally, a better choice. Did you know he made me sign a prenuptial agreement?" Thomas smiled. "Man was always prudent."

"He wasn't expecting that marriage to last?" Jade guessed.

"Was a long shot." Her dad agreed. "Just something to cover a lot of procedures, avoid questions about the mans family and their integrity." He paused, only a breath, but long enough. "Only, as time went by, Kalie and I, it seemed, we understood each other, far better then expected, and along came Victor. That's when her dad gave me a promotion, moved me to the high six figure salary." Another chuckle escaped his lips. Jade would have, just a year ago, sworn those didn't exist. "And yet I'm still the minority earner in the family. Her trust fund…"

"So I'm working for the man who's my real father, because you're still bailing him out?" Jade clarified.

"That, and your choice to do practically the same thing I did for him, for the boy you love, and maybe even help girls as well." Thomas clarified. "But also, I felt it was time to admit my sins, and come clean. Jade, I worked hard to earn the right to be your father. More so then even your mother, I've earned the right to be a parent to you. Maybe I was cold and distant to you, but it's because that's who I've always been. But like me, you've been able to take the worst of things and turn it into something special. And, just like me, once you're in a relationship, one based on understanding your rolls, but with the potential to turn into love, things are working out. I'm just giving you the truth, as well as an opportunity to let your wives live in style, maybe even pursue their dreams. You must admit, the Dingo channel is gonna make that happen, through Stonestouched, cause the movies you watch over, you'll get a taste out of each one. So make them profitable, and get yourself rich."

"Is Vic…" Jade started.

"Mine." He said. "Kalie aborted his child. Only gave me one as a sign she wanted us to last. Not even the anchor we thought Mitch would be. No, Vic was born to be a sign we were a couple."

Jade just stared off into the street.

"One good thing, Mark can't just sell the job." Her father said. "Otherwise, he would. No, he needs someone with vision, creativity, and an understanding of horror to be his movie runner." He looked at his daughter. "Hiring you will be Kinda a hard sell to the Dingo board, but Mark Bayer can sell almost anything. No, he'll make us wait a few days, but in the end, he'll pay, and you'll get the job. First time ever for him, but to escape with any dignity left, and avoid the multitude of lawsuits his position has protected him from, he'll pay. Then, you just remember, he's your sperm donor, and don't let him sweet talk you." A moment passed. "To him, Anything female is a potential conquest, and he hates it when a woman has any power over him. So he'll try. You just make sure he never succeeds." His eyes shifted to the road ahead. "Time to get you home. I mean, you have two wives, and their Beckett born children, waiting for Jadey to get home." A smirk slid across the mans face. "I expect they'll wanna celebrate, so I'll call Kalie, see if she wants the kids tonight."

"Yea, sex." Jade groaned. "I'll bet there are loads of guys who'd love to be me right now."

"Be honest, Jade." Thomas West said. "You love it too."

"Right now?" Jade asked. "Wouldn't be anyone else." She inhaled, and said something she'd almost never said before she'd taken responsibility for her first loves children. "Dad, thanks. I mean it. Thanks for being my father."

:}

So, weird enough for you? Honestly, it's the first thing I've written in a while that felt post-able. So review, or don't, cause this is my latest go at something different.

Who wants me to write about this odd, big love style marriage where Jade has both Tori and Cat?

Review, Review, Review, Review, Review, Review, Review, Review, Review, Review, Review…

Just, no pressure.