Thanksgiving bribe

by ScottyBgood

Sometimes, we find ourselves looking back at the people we once knew, the things we once did, and wish them back in out lives. Jade lost friends for a choice that still seems like the right one, but wishes them back in her life. Will cooking them dinner maybe at least get them to reconsider her as a friend? And how much more did Tori charge for her forgiveness? Read and review.

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious or it's characters. Also, conked out on editing, so good luck.

:}

Jade watched the expensive house, her pulse calm despite the storm that raged inside her. Her cell was in her hand, answering a question she'd hoped never to have to face. "Just outside. I... I have everything. Just, gonna take a few trips to get it all inside, and then set it up…"

"We have people very interested in dinner, so why don't I get a few of the guys to help?" Trina said. "Just, you don't get to retreat after. We're doing this to mend fences. Besides, we have us a deal, and I expect you to play your part fully. Got it?"

"I don't retreat." Jade growled. "They all made it very clear they didn't need me in their lives any more. Not after what happened. I… I can't believe it took me that long to see what was going on there?"

"Sikowitz was protecting you." Trina said calmly. "Protecting most of the girls he had dealings with. But considering how many groomers and users as were at that school, something had to give. Just lucky none of us carry the scars of that kind of…"

"Yea." Jade held her breath. 'Child porn leaves deep scars. I know, even though I was only molested, and that was back in middle school. Part of the reason I'm so dark. But when I did see the signs, in someone I knew, I blew the whistle, and we found out that Hollywood Arts had multiple kinds of adult offenders in the faculty. The child porn was just the worst, and only by a little. So many shruggers, chasing their dreams, who had no idea what they were being subjected too wasn't normal in this valley. Only, turns out, it is, to a point. God, this is so screwed up. It's not surprising how few of us wound up staying in entertainment… Course, the whole school, with certain exceptions, being blacklisted did help.'

Andre was the first out, rushing to the wrong car to gather food, only to realize Jade's junker was his true goal. "Still driving the same car, huh?" He shot a dig at her. It wasn't the car she'd driven only a few years ago, back when she was a senior at Hollywood Arts. That had cost too much to insure. Hers was a cheap vehicle she'd picked up at auction that now served at her chief method of transportation.

"Look, just gather up what you can. I have a cart…"

"Which is the turkey?" He looked at the containers, all shiny and virtually new. All from this high end food storage and transportation line, keeping hot food hot and cold food cold, while also keeping the dishes safe and separated.

"Careful." Jade warned as she pointed it out. "The containers almost five pounds, and the turkeys another twenty five."

He didn't respond, just hefting up the bird in it's container, and noting how the still hot bird, finishing cooking in it's own heat, hadn't made the container any warmer. "Okay, this is good chiz." He smiled. "Misses Tupperware."

Jade ignored the dig, even as he made his way inside, content to focus instead on gathering the cart and the food. Robbie had come out to help, guided by Cat. The petite girl seemed to know which of the containers most likely carried what. "Those are probably vegetables. Place them together, cause when we set up the buffet, we're putting likes together. I'm gonna have Beck carve the bird now, so that, once set up, we can just eat. Probably make this whole event that much easier."

"They have this long table, all nice and ready, with cloths covering every inch, and seating for all of us, plus who knows how many others. The extended guests have kids, so of course, there is a kiddies table, but the core of us, all at one small side table, where we'll have full access to everything, thanks to the buffet style of serving. Cat knows her catering." Rob explained, despite the ire Cat was showing her one time best friend.

"We don't engage." Cat warned the boy. "Once we've tasted this so called feast, we'll decide if she's even close to earning the right to talk to us again."

"Cat, I…"

"I get it, for once, the Wicked Witch of the West tried to do the right thing." Cat cut her off, snagging some veggies and starting towards the house. "But you could have found a way to do so without closing down our school. And, and the industry, they took it out on all of us. Me, Beck, Andre, none of us are considered hire-able, all because of you."

Jade watched her friend stomp off, and tried to remind herself, it wasn't Cat's fault. They needed someone to blame, and Beck, sweet no secrets Beck, he decided to extend that policy to other peoples secrets, letting them know abut her middle school molestation, something she'd though he'd never share. Menwhile, Tori was treated like anyone else the industry already had invested in, someone they'd protect in the resulting scandal, where principal Helen sold out the faculty for a talk show, and Sikowitz found himself the odd man out, so many of his former students testifying that he was professional as hell, the only faculty never to try anything. Him and Mister Alexander. Tori became a pop princess, bolstered not only by her luck and talent, but by a small core of the Hollywood elite who wanted a counter to the claims that they'd been blacklisting the Hollywood Art Alum to get revenge for spilling the Tea, and possibly hurting some of their friends. Tori's success was their way of pointing to someone, claiming that talent carried her to the top. Anyone who disappeared, didn't make it, just lack the talent.

'It's one of the reasons why Trina contacted me, offered me this chance to buy my way back to them.' Jade thought. 'Cause Tori, she found herself surrounded by sharks. Sharks who felt she owed them, and to survive, she needs real friends again. Us, we're a temporary fix, a core who'll protect her until she makes a few among her new peers. Only, cause of circumstances, this…'

"Jade, thanks." Rob whispered. "I had no idea just what they wanted when that lady spoke to me, made me that offer. I thought, a chance to get freaky with some beautiful women. WOMEN! Whats not to love. Only, the psychological damage, turns out it's real enough. Me, and the girls who were recruited with me. Had to give Rex up, cause he never stopped making fun of me for not just being the stud and getting over it…"

Her hand found his arm, a sharing of strength. "I get it. Sometimes, it's hard to imagine how boys feel, cause they're expected to be horn dogs. But rape is rape, and being tricked into things you're not ready for, that can leave scars too. Look, we have to get the deserts in, cause this meal, I'm hoping it buys me some forgiveness."

"How'd you get Tori to agree to let us use her place?" He wondered.

"I paid a different price." Jade said, eyes on the house. "Trina negotiated the whole thing. Come, lets get dinner inside, and face the others."

Robbie knew his friend, better then back in High School. 'She must have been desperate to reconnect. Yea, whatever this cost her, I hope she gets her monies worth.' He trailed her into the house, and watched as she started the setup, only to witness Jade do something he never thought he'd see her do in his life, surrender the process to Cat. The petite girl, his one time crush, was determined to finish up, as if she'd prepared the food, or at least didn't want Jade's fingerprints on this meal any more then it already was.

"So, whats everyone been up to?" It was a casual question, asked, ironically, by Tori's mother, and one loaded with backstory too twisted to be told.

"I own my own business." The one time nerd said, eyeing Jade carefully. "I got a windfall, from something I'd had on the back burner, around graduation, and invested it wisely while I went to collage. Wasn't easy putting entertainment behind me, but after I found out what happened at Hollywood Arts, I just wanted a new start. We do cash management and investment advice, handle a couple of surprisingly big clients. Then again, we helped Microtile Food solutions grow from basically a garage to one of the leaders in food storage and transportation for Caterers and others who like their food well preserved."

"Microtile?" Cat said, eyeing her one time crush. "So, you helped miss Tupperware here grow her business?"

"Made me some nice profits too." Rob admitted, smiling as he watched her try to make this a bad thing. "Okay, Jade and I do business. She needed my expertise, something I admit I had to learn, as well as hire, and I needed… I needed someone to believe in me, cause before he died, Rex was on me, like all the time."

"Rex… Died?" Cat actually looked devastated, as if somehow the puppet were a real person. She surrendered finishing the setup to Jade and went to her man for comfort. Beck's arms around her were another sharp prick to Rob's heart, a reminder of where she'd fled when he needed her the most. However, he was far more stable then the others, both emotionally and financially, despite his hurts.

"So, Cat's…." Holly was trying to catch up.

"Cat, not sure." Rob sighed. "We talk, but mostly she talks about Beck. How he's trying, gonna be the one to overcome the blacklist. She was wazzed when Jade made that microbudget movie, and didn't offer him a part, even though I know for a fact she reached out to everyone." He looked down. "As I said, I was done by then. Happy being the boss in my own little company, making the big bucks and managing some surprisingly high profile peoples." He looked strait at the older woman. "Like Tori. Guessing she never told you."

"Oh, she told me almost everything." Holly smirked, eyes on Jade. She closed a step to include the goth. "So, Jade, you made a movie, huh? All cause Rob here was able to manage your growth from small business to major force in food storage and transportation?"

"All he did was…" Her voice hitched.

"Invest his settlement from the school in the one out there idea you had that wasn't based around scaring people, and then helped you grow that business as he tried to hide his minority share, which was soon bringing in the big bucks. You, despite the movie being so expensive, no mater how small the budget supposedly was, you shouldn't be living in that crappy apartment, or driving that old car. Tell me, Jade, why are you?" Holly seemed to know far more then expected.

"Can't be because of the lack of military contracts, cause while they use your temperate control technology, the ceramic beads, or microtiles as you call them, it's for far more then food." David added in. "What? When we heard Trina's plan, we reached out, found out as much as we could. Rob got you a military contract, using your one invention for all it's worth, and you got majorly paid. In fact, the off label stuff you make for them, that's the majority of your billion plus in sales last year, right?"

"Only cause a lot of labs use my chiz." Jade sighed. "Not just military. But yea, I should be doing better, only I'm not making the same mistakes I did in the past, sharing the wealth…"

"Still Tori's parents." Holly said, showing patience. "We insisted this party be open to family, not just her attempt to reconnect with her high school friends. We saw how the industry was isolating her, making the voices of her so called friends the only one's she was hearing. We saw her doing your movie, not because it'd help anyone, but the people around her felt it'd be a good move to expand into film, and you were basically giving her a part, without expecting much…"

"She's a good actress." Jade confessed. "I wasn't gonna say no just because I didn't like her in school. Just, wasn't expecting Trina to be her agent, or negotiate such a hard bargain..."

"When we asked Tori, we thought that job was about protecting our eldest, a token job in a talent agency." David smiled. "Only, she's grown to understand image management far better then any of you guys ever did. They use her, for like a dozen plus clients, and let her be Tori's manager, cause she's that good. The whole team agrees, they got a good deal hiring Trina. And Tori, growing her career, they love her so much, just as long as she brings in the green."

"Slang?" Jade asked.

"Expected it." Rob jumped in. "So, Cat's doing better then expected, but only cause Sam made some interesting contacts, and set her up. Started as the personal chef to her mom's boss, until her one time roommate arranged for her to expand on that. Has an on line cooking show, doing okay, but she challenged one of the Granite Connoisseurs, and came out on top. Girls slowly making it, and at such a young age. Too bad she's trying to revive Beck's career, cause she lets him just be an actor, while we're all blacklisted, and yet, letting him choose how he's gonna do it. Meaning, he passed on Jade's movie, even though that roll would have helped get them both off the blacklist."

"I'm off, cause my film, getting good reviews." Jade noted. "The whole reason I'm off the list is I'm not really cancel worthy, so I'm good. Just, I have this company, making money, and I really need someone to help run it. I'd ask Rob, but he needs that one level of deniability."

"I'm sure you'll find a way." Holly said, showing more support then the goth ever got from her family. "So, anyone else know about your little deal with our daughter?"

"Not rushing into telling them." Jade sighed. "Just, we're here, and they have so much hate for me. I tried, everything people tell me I'm supposed to do, and I tried, and they still blame me. That is, except for Rob here, and we know why. But Cat, Beck., Dre, all hate me. Hell, I even understand the hate from Dre. Music was the only thing he ever wanted to do. So, why again wasn't he brought along by Tori?"

"Because the label only wanted her." With that statement Trina let them know she was there. "Jade, look, I get it, you feel like the odd woman out. Just, finish up here so you can mingle. This is more then reconnecting with your friends. My family is all over here. Family and friends and every excuse for that big a bird, so mingle, and I'll handle the hard part."

"We were just talking." Rob said meekly.

"God, no one is in trouble." Trina groaned. "Mom, dad, make a point to discreetly introduce Jade. Discreetly, got it? None of those who don't need to know find out this way. And Jade, you had better be ready to move your ass into this house tomorrow, cause we have a deal…" Her brown eyes held the goth for only a moment, long enough for the usually strong girl to waver. "Now, Cat, not gonna come around today. Give her time, but not today. Beck, he has a LOT of hate, and he's directing it all at you. Even passing on that roll, he's blaming you, and that was his choice. I mean, fuck, you found me a roll, and micromanaged me through it. Should have let me create, but I get how hard it must have been given how long you had to wait to have that moment, that film. But Beck, we get him through Cat. That just leaves Andre. Thinking we should approach, cause I have something I need from him too."

The two hesitated only long enough for Jade to finish placing her dishes, and then they started over to where the hungry boy was hanging out. "You do make good entrees. When and how did you learn, cause I don't ever remember you cooking." He greeted Jade.

"Oddly enough, it was during what Cat calls my Tupperware days, early in my company." Jade sighed. "I was selling how good the containers maintained temperatures without electronic warmers and such, and I needed chiz to put in them. Fancy food worked better, so I learned me to cook, often from on line cooking shows and the like. I still follow some, and I've seen Cat's show. She's good."

"FYI, I don't hate you." Andre told her. "I just, we have some bad blood between us, and it's not just from what happened at Hollywood Arts. You've always been a bully, and when we found out you got the school closed, we reacted. Don't mater that you were trying to do whats right for once, we reacted. I had no idea that the Jade who'd been molested, that girl was from middle school, well before she developed into the psycho killer I knew in school. Emotions, they hold on, even in the face of logic and the truth. So, took me a minute, and we still have lots to deal with, but I don't hate you. I just, I'm working, finding my way back, but it's so frustrating, cause I'm doing it one jingle at a time, for advertising." He sighed. "Congratulations, by the way. Where's your ring?"

"She told you?" Jade asked.

"She told." He smiled. "Part of some kind of deal, right? She does your movie, you do whatever to help her with her PR problem?"

"Not Public relations." Jade deflated. "Just, she needs more people around her she can trust, cause once you're famous, so few real friends to rely upon. I… I have no idea what to do, other then give her what she wanted. I'm moving in tomorrow."

"Yea, she's gonna need the support." He nodded, and for a moment, he looked to want to drift away. Only, instead, he hovered, looking to the side and watching his friends as they huddled together in the sea of Vega friends and family. They were the outsiders here, even if they'd bought their way in with food. Mostly the food Jade had cooked and brought.

"Tori's out there, mingling." Jade commented. "They want me to mingle too. Only, how the hell do I, when this whole arrangement, I don't know what it's supposed to achieve."

"She thinks she can love you." Dre shrugged. "More importantly, she believes you can love her. The rest, finding the part of her that wants to help, it's a good thing. The part she had to bury when she became a pop princess, cause so many people taking advantage…"

"So she married the bulldog." Jade sniped at herself. "And now, without admitting it, I have to be introduced to her family, many of whom already know…."

Decision made, Andre shifted subjects, moving on from one uncomfortable topic to the next. "As long as I'm here, I wanted to ask, any chance I can get into your next production?" The musician had that practiced casual about him, trying to seem like this wasn't a big ask. "I was gonna ask Tori, but given the bad blood between us, her and me, from when her label had her drop me like I was toxic…"

"You know, she does want to help." Jade tried.

"Only she can't, cause as much success as she has, she's always gonna be vulnerable until she's not." Andre noted. "Big money people, they get skittish. Those who aren't reacting just to prove they're not the bad guys, throwing stones first so no one thinks they're sinners, those types are terrified of public backlash. Plus, a lot of revenge hidden behind those closed doors. You have no idea how much money is made on exploitation, and the closing of Hollywood Arts, it did have an effect on the bottom line."

"Okay, first, why didn't… no, lets save that for last." Her shoulders fell, not relaxed so much as too tired to have a fight right now. "When did you get all interested in that chiz?"

"It's out there, and I went looking." He told her. "You, you made it outside the system, until they started to smell the money. They'll have to accept you now, and in doing so, they'll have to accept whomever you try to help out. Not like the way they'd react if I was helped by the one victim who got away breaking her image to help a potential predator. Screw the fact that we're far more likely prey, they don't much care, and the public, gonna judge without knowing any of the facts. I've watched, seen how many victims are blamed, cause they were there, while the one's who facilitated the tragedy, the abuse or other crimes, get away cause the powerful know how to protect themselves. Sure, maybe one or two get caught, and maybe they even pay a price. So many people getting richer off of misery, and no one is saying nothing about it, cause the press, totally owned."

"Okayyyyy" Jade eyed her escape. "I was a victim, back in middle school. You know that. I care. It's just…"

"Painful, so you avoid when you can." Dre finished for her. "Which is why I skipped out on the roll you tried to give me in your fist project. Which brings up, really? A rom-com? Was so sure you'd be killing it in horror. Less expensive, and has a higher profit margin. So, why the rom-com?"

"Because no one would expect it." Jade sighed. "Plus, I needed a larger cast, with more lines. Make room for all my friends. Plus, once miss perfect was on board, I had a lead people had heard of, so I had a shot at getting it seen. No way Tori would agree to a major roll in a horror film unless it was something where she'd be the hero, and you know, I probably don't write that kind of chiz. Romantic comedy worked better for my first film, and with it, I made a mark, gonna be a film maker, and a business mogul…" Her voice faded.

"And a wife, possible a mother." Andre finished for her. "Yea, if I'd realized it was a romantic comedy, and if Tori weren't in the lead, then sure, I'd have done it. Love me that girl, and she and I are tight again, but we have our issues, and I didn't want her suffering any backlash from being too close to me. Get me off the fucking list, and I'll work with her just fine."

The two had an awkward moment, then Andre risked life and limb and went for a hug. He was pleasantly surprised when she let him embracing him with a warm, friendly hug before quickly letting go. "Just, get me your contact info, so I can start working on this project."

"Start?" He asked.

"Barely got my first one into a couple of film festivals, and that got me the whole exposure." She looked to the side. "But yea, I hadn't thought that far ahead, what with the movie, reconnecting with my high school friends, that kind of drama…"

"Jade, just the person I was looking for." Holly Interrupted, dragging the pale woman off to talk to several people from her side of the family.

Dinner was now being eaten, and Jade eventually made her way to get herself a plate. She'd cooked and presented over three quarters of the meal, with a second entry and a few other dishes provided by various Vega family members. Reaching for a bit of candied yams, her hand intersected the one she'd been unconsciously avoiding all night. "It's okay, you first." Tori insisted. "Just, remember, tonight we're together."

"It's not like it'd be our first time." Jade said, but still blushed. She couldn't remember a time since the seduction when any of their meetings hadn't ended up in an intimate encounter. Sex wasn't just on the table, it was the big expected. Only problem was she didn't have a retreat away from the commitment Tori had insisted upon, not that she wanted it.

Tori smiled at her girl as she made the rounds. Today had been a big success. 'I've caught up with Cat and Beck, spoken with Robbie, and even managed to find out a thing or two, thanks to Trina and her better then we thought insight. Of course, that's why we use her, to help manage the image of so many people, and to protect me as I deal with the after effects of Hollywood Arts. Trina, so much smarter then we all thought. Delusion can really blunt how we think about some people. Now, we just have to find you a man…'

"Tori, a moment." Beck called out. He watched as she turned to face him, a smile forming on her beautiful face. "Um, why, exactly, did you invite Jade? I mean, sure, I get it, now that you've made it, you want to reconnect, and Jade was a part of our little group. Just, she's toxic. Bad news. I know, I dated her, and this girl, she's showing a lot, and I mean a LOT of restraint. But I see it, behind her eyes, just under the surface, the same Jade I knew and dated is standing there, trying to put on a show, and…"

"Okay, lets start with the basics." Tori huffed. "Jade and I reconnected back when I started in that movie she made. The one that restarted my professional acting career. Mason wasn't sure, not at first, but it was self financed, and kinda outside the Hollywood system, so I had the excuse I was drawn to the part, and not anything about politics. Plus, Jade was buying her way off the blacklist. Any actress would have worked for that. I just, I got her some star power, and she got me a new career direction. It was almost everything I needed."

"Yea, how is it you're still dating users and losers?" Beck wondered. He saw her eyebrow rise, and hastily added "Yes, Cat is supporting me as I try to get off the blacklist, but that's different. I never asked her to. I mean, yes, we talked about it, looked at our finances, and what we wanted to do going forward, and she is doing so much for me, by letting me focus on my acting, and not being bogged down with outside commitments. Not sure I'd be in the game without her. Man, I got so lucky to have her, and she's thinking, if that show of hers grows, not likely, but we're in talks with the food network, have some producer interested, so if it does grow, then maybe we can start a family. Have to be ready to shift, in case I got a roll, make sure her show can relocate, but she's usually filmed in our kitchen, or her bosses kitchen, so I'm thinking we're good there."

Tori rolled her eyes. "Betting the mysterious sponsor is Jade's company, cause it'd be a win win for her. Help a friend, help Cat, and get some advertising in. Yea, that sounds like the kind of thing Trina would think of. Jade, she's so worried about what everyone thinks, she'd pass on an opportunity like that, just because you guys were adamant on not being in her first film. Doesn't show it, but she was hurt. Hurt and vulnerable and yes, I admit, I took advantage."

"Sorry, this shifted fast, and I'm not sure I'm keeping up." Beck smiled, hoping for an explanation that was just Tori being Tori.

"Sigh, I want you guys back in my life." Tori explained. "Wait, get Cat, and Andre, and Robbie, though he knows this chiz. He was at the, you know what? Get Cat, and Dre, cause he deserves to know everything. Just lets get the gang together. Time to come clean about what I've been up to."

It was a quick gathering, in a side room that provided both quiet and privacy, lacking only a certain goth. "Leaving Jade out of this?" Robbie asked, sounding suspicious.

"She's a part of this, but doesn't have to be here for this." Tori explained. "Just hope Trina understands. Her plan, and it's worked so far. Only, now that it's time for honesty, not sure I feel comfortable letting anyone else speak for me. So…" She swallowed, gathering her courage. "This was my bribe. Me, bribing you all to comeback and give me a chance again. I need my friends around me, and so, I… Yea, leaving a few things out."

Brown eyes took in her friends, all looking at her. She lingered on Andre, who she'd told, and Robbie, who was so much more a part of the conspiracy of Jade then most people would understand. 'Ever since that day, they've been close. Bonded over abuse…' She shook the thought away. "Okay, as you know, Jade and I met up while I was filming, er, starring in her movie. Well, while I was doing it, I saw her vulnerability, under that mask of defiance, as well as the steel eyes of that part of her who was gonna use that fortune she got lucky to make to buy her way off the black list. I saw it all, and when I realized what that vulnerability was, I took advantage. At first, I wanted to be the one to use someone, and god, it was so easy to seduce her."

"Seduce, as in…" Beck stammered.

"Fuck." Tori clarified for the Canadian. "I fucked her, like half the shoot, I was in her bed, having my way with her. Honestly, part of it was getting even for the tricks she'd used to get the best performance out of me. But it also helped her learn how to be a more constructive, supporting director, and the sex wasn't bad either. But in the end, I'm me, and I couldn't just use a girl like that. So, I married her."

"Married, as in…" Cat looked at Tori, and for the first time, realized it was a ring she wore around her neck. "Married? Then why isn't she living here?"

"Wedding wasn't until recently." Andre said. "They had a lot of other things to clear up first, like that mistake of a wedding Tori had last year. Wasn't annulled until she finished paying that actor off. Guy was scum, and she should have known. Only good, her and me, we cleared up a little of our issues, got tight again, during the drama where I helped her get the paperwork filled out and handed in."

"Anyways, Jade's my wife, and has been for almost two weeks." Tori took charge again. "And I cracked the whip, insisted she move in ASAP. Tonight, she's starting her new life with me, and tomorrow, she's moved in. However, Jade alone won't be enough. I also need you guys back, cause I still make mistakes, and while I do love my wife, she's not the best at constructive help with my other problem. My new friends, so many are users, looking for their next advancement in their careers. I thought, old friends, those I can count on, that works. Trina also made a list of people from Sherwood, and we're in contact. Just, you guys, you'll understand more, cause this was the world we thought we were preparing for. Also, Jade needs you, so I told her, make the food, we called it a pot luck, but she made most of the food, and I invited my family, and their out there, getting to know her while I'm telling you all. Yes, this was a bribe, me and Jade, getting you all back in our lives. I'm gonna need you all, cause Jade, she's wonderful, but so damaged. And Beck, you never once mentioned how much of that shit was aimed inward. She's hurting herself. The apartment, only secure cause she needed to protect other peoples investments."

"Tori, you never needed to bribe us." Cat cooed. "We're more then happy to help. I mean, sure, we have our own lives, our own problems, and I've learned, the hard way, how few High School friendships last forever. But some do, and some people, you just, you stay connected, are friends, even though your lives take you in vastly different directions. 'Stand By Me' taught me that. Um, the movie, not the song, though I do like the song too." She looked ready to start singing.

"Cat's right." Beck cut off his girl from breaking into song, refocusing on the moment. "We're always ready to help out. Just say the word."

"Help me, or Jade?" The singer wondered.

"Both." Dre insisted. "Though, to be honest, wasn't so sure about helping Jade, but that's mostly cause we're not sure if she's ever really needed the help."

"Why don't we ask her?" Tori said, and motioned for them to stay as she fetched her bride. "They don't think you've ever needed help. Care to explain, like maybe an example?"

"Well wishes." Jade listed, upset at how little her friends seemed to know her. "I've had my moments." Her ire died quickly, showing a remorse most would have been shocked to know existed. "But those are between me and the one's who've helped me. Like how.. No, that was to help Cat, so it doesn't count. But then… No, that was to help..."

"I'm her silent partner." Robbie jumped in. "I got some cash, a gift, of sorts, for graduation, and I invested in her idea. My other business ventures, to protect the returns I was getting as the minority partner." He sighed. "I'm gonna run her business while she's making movies. Burned out on the Hollywood bullshit, and having success does help, but only cause I can afford the kind of therapy to help me heal. But I'm running the food storage empire, and Trina is running her PR campaign, and you guys, she'll take what she can get of you in her life, even if it's being in Tori's, cause I think they're attached at the hip now."

"Okay, bad Robbie." Cat shook her finger at the boy. "Though, in the end, I suppose… wait, you didn't blow your cash on something like male makeup? How about…"

"I was helping a friend, something I've been remiss in doing." He cut off the confusion. "I wanted to help you, back when you were homeless, only I had no idea how. Instead, Jade helped, cause she was willing to reach out, find you a place with your family. And I've wanted to help so many other times, only, each time, I was either following someone else's plan, or working with someone else, or I was a failure. Like the ice cream. I didn't want it to go to waste."

"I apologized for that, right?" Jade asked. "Beck tried to warn you, but I…"

Robbie laughed. "Yea, Beck tried to warn me, and no one else even thought to. Plus, there were ways I could have given it away that wouldn't have gotten me beaten down like that. I could have approached the mothers, explained what we were doing, and seen if any of them wanted some ice cream. I could have went to some place where kids go, like a community center…"

"And been rejected." Cat cut him off. "Those places, they need everything sealed, safe and sterile. I've tried cooking for one, as a charity, and man, they're hard to help. Easier to cook for the homeless, cause they don't have to have their food wrapped in plastic."

"Okay…" Tori smiled. "Off topic here. Robbie, thanks for helping Jade when she needed it. I think you've done okay for yourself as is. Plus, your company, it specializes in helping manage other companies, or at least their money, so taking over her company should work, even if it's just so she can make movies."

"Actually, I've been recommending she sell her company." Rob told the group. "Her idea, it put her on the map. Plus, the military contracts, payed for a lot of their growth. But caterers are a limited market, and she won't continue to show large profits year after year. By selling, to one of the big players in that feild, she can get a nice profit now, and shift to a more spread investment portfolio. I swear, the offers I've had hinted at, those would make it so she wouldn't ever have to work again in her life. Plus, the profits from that one movie, gonna make it so she can continue as an indi film maker for some time. OR, and this is important, she can use all of that to go work with the big boys, get investors for her movies and make the big profit bombs she knows she can make. Honestly, I'm doing the best for my client, partner, and friend." The last bit was aimed directly at Jade.

"I made that company." Jade sounded defiant. "I had the idea, managed to develop the tech, and I worked my ass off to make it a success. While you guys went to collage, I was building my business from the ground up. Every penny I could spare went back into that place. Not ready to just give it up."

"Not even for a dream come true?" Tori asked.

"Oh, she'll give it up." Andre said, sounding extremely confident. "Cause as loyal as she is to her workers, so you maintain a share of ownership, or get a good chunk of stock in the company that buys you out, but as much as your gonna protect your workers, you wanna help your friends too." He shifted to address the others. "I mean, think. She asked us to be in her movie, knowing that some of us were way out of practice. She could have, should have flopped and burned, wasting the money she put into the movie. All to get us off the black list. We're the one's who said no. Beck, you and me, we're gonna be in her next film. Probably Cat too, though I'd understand if she cameo'd as herself, a food prep influencer. But us, we're gonna be in that movie, the one she's gonna write, and Jade will sell her company to buy herself the time to write and direct that movie. She'll do it to help her friends, cause that's the kind of grunch she's always been. Plus, she married Tori, so she's on a path to something better."

Cat looked through Jade. "Whats the name of your production company?"

"Just Jade West Productions." The goth shrugged.

"Try again." Cat frowned. "August films, maybe? As in Augusta, your middle name, and a reference to Julius Caesar? As in, betrayer, betrayed, and lets be honest, emperor? That's so you, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's her." Tori confirmed. "Let me guess, the production company negotiating to do your show?"

"Always trying to look out for me." Cat was in her face pale now. "I grew up, and I'm taking care of Beck now. I don't need your charity. Not that I'm ending the professional relationship, cause this is huge, for me, and if I work my tail off, for you. Just, not gonna do it for half a Jadey." She smirked as she said the name. "I want the whole thing, or nothing. You put your all into this company, and either have someone run the other, or sell it. I think Rob's right, and it's probably time to shift. You wanna do business on the side, keep inventing chiz, maybe do shark tank. But for now, for me, you're gonna focus on that production company, and making my show as much a success as you can."

The redhead rounded on Robbie. "And you, next time your abused by the faculty at Hollywood Arts, don't be afraid to tell us. We'd have been on your side, regardless of what it cost us." A momentary shock covered the room. "What? He got cash around graduation, has two stories on how he got it, and lets be honest, he wouldn't have gotten that much except for some kind of settlement. I'm thinking.., What?" The last was aimed at Beck.

"I don't think that's something you should have shared." Her man explained.

"It's okay." Rob managed to smile. "Not sure how, but I lived through it. The reveal, that is. The abuse, I lived through that too, but I'm still in therapy, and Rex left before the pain of being used. So, yea, not cray cray about you revealing it, but I also feel, save for my fear of you treating me the way you did Jade, I should have told you. Just, Jade's protected that secret for years now…"

"I had my reasons." The goth nodded.

"Kinda heavy now." Tori said, looking at her friends. "Okay, lets go join the others, enjoy the Christmas part of Thanksgiving. Man, why does my family insist on singing carols? Whatever, we're back together, or at least heading that way. That's a major thing to celebrate, and this is Thanksgiving, so lets celebrate."

"So whats this new project?" Beck whispered to Jade as they made their way out to the living room, and all the others.

"I'm gonna write something just for Dre." Jade whispered back. "Working out just what, but I will do it, and it'll sell."

"Do action adventure." Beck suggested. "I wanna know what you can do with that genera."

Jade smiled as ideas started to form. Ideas that would jell as she made it through the evening, the odd joy that was shared by the Vega family, and the return of her friends. By the time Tori was dragging her upstairs, to start their lives together, she had a rough sketch of what she'd do. 'Yea, we both got out monies worth….'

:}

So, thoughts? Sometimes, we feel we need to purchase forgiveness, even when we're not the one's they blame.