Around 6pm that day at PCA
"oh my God is Erin ok" asks Rebecca as Alexander arrives with Erin in his arms
"yes, your parents did the same to her as they did you Becca, they were quickly put in front of a judge and when I said I had evidence of their crimes they quickly pled guilty, all of this happened over the phone because I didn't want Erin to have to be near them, your parents gave up all parental rights to both you and Erin, Becca, you and Stacy were awarded parental rights for Erin, however that only holds as long as someone else is monitoring you while the trial is awaiting answers from the jury" says Alexander handing Erin to Becca
"what's that mean for her future, I can be quite paranoid sometimes, Quinn's helping me drink water so I'm a little more clear headed now but I'll be paranoid for the rest of my life, I'm glad mom and dad are out of the picture though" says Becca
"your conviction was overturned, the blood test Quinn performed showed you're under the influence of the chemical salt Logan lied to Quinn to get, the same stuff he used to rape Lucy and Trisha, Quinn testified to the fact that you wouldn't have any free will, that you'd have followed any orders he gave you even if it went against everything you stood for, while the judge took your side he still wants to make sure that you get better, Stacy has to face the music about being Logan's accomplice though he's not recommending jail time" says Alexander
"is she ok, she's not opening her eyes" asks Stacy
"the meds your mother fed her damaged her hearing, you have to either use sign language or speak to her in a clear voice spacing out your words, she's sleeping because she was talking to the judge about what your parents did, it tired her out, I paid Officer Reeds to go get her last minute Christmas presents but Erin said you didn't have to get her anything, also she calls you Bee and Stee just so you know, she'll probably spend every waking moment cuddling you girls, to her neither of you could do anything wrong, she says you're angels that were put on earth to be her sisters, to protect her from evil" says Alexander
"that's a pretty tall order, I don't think we'll quite live up to her expectations" says Rebecca as Cat shakes her head
"it doesn't matter now Becca, you've made peace with us, you don't have to go through this alone, we will always be here for you" says Cat as Michael chips in
"besides that Stacy's my girlfriend now, you're family Becca, you don't need to be afraid" says Michael as he hugs Becca, Erin and Stacy
"it's not easy raising your little sister but I've got experience with that, if you girls ever need to talk my door is always open" says Cat
"would Andre and Paige really be ok with that" asks Stacy
"absolutely we are, Cat has tons of experience raising Lucy, it would be irresponsible of us to deny you a chance to ask for advice" says Andre as Paige nods in agreement
"Chief, what's your thoughts on the matter" asks Becca
"for too long I thought I knew better, for too long I took Cat's advice as just a child with ideas, I thought 'how could a child know how to raise a child', I always forgot that for three or four years she WAS raising Lucy and was doing better than most grown adults could ever dream of doing, when I found them Lucy wasn't no skin and bones baby, it was clear to me she was well fed, I worked my butt off making money so all the kids in my care could have birthday and Christmas presents but I barely spent any time with them, Cat knows how to talk to kids, you'd do well to ask for her advice, acting like you know how to raise a six year old kid won't win over the judge who could take Erin away from you, Alexander and I can only do so much to protect you, trust me asking Cat for advice is the best thing to do" says Valerie as Erin jolts awake
"Bee, Stee, Mechal, cuddle pwease, me have bad dweam" says Erin
"is that speech the result of her damaged hearing" asks Becca rocking Erin back and forth
"yes, she pronounces names the way she hears them, if you spell your name out slowly, for example with two second gaps between each letter she can say them properly but her brain will revert back to pronouncing them as she hears them because it's easier for her, my name is Alexander but what she hears is alender if I say it at normal speed, the pronunciation of r, c, x and y throw her off, which is why Stacy is Stee and Rebecca is Bee, though she has tried to say Rebecca it comes out as reecha, though I must say Mechal is actually pretty close to Michael" says Alexander
"I actually like being called Bee by Erin but I have to wonder if it will ever be possible for her to say our names right, I'm worried about her being bullied" says Becca
"it is likely possible but you'd have to alter the spelling in a phonetic fashion or syllabic fashion, breaking it up essentially for example Cat-a-ri-na" says Cat as Erin mulls it over for a second writing it down in her head
"Catawina" says Erin as Cat smiles and kisses Erin's cheek
"how would you break our names up" asks Stacy
"St-a-cy" says Cat
"Stawcy" replies Erin
"what about mine" asks Becca
"depends on if you want her to know you as Rebecca or just Becca" says Cat
"Becca is preferred, Logan ruined Rebecca for me" says Becca
"B-ek-ka" says Cat
"Becca" says Erin replicating the k sound Cat used
"what about mine" asks Michael
"Michael or Mikey" asks Cat
"let's go with Mikey as it sounds like it would be easier for her" says Michael
"My-key" says Cat
"Miikey" says Erin almost getting it
"that one's going to need some work, I'm going to have to see how she hears certain letters so I can get them closer to the correct letters" says Cat
"how'd you know to pronounce them like that, you don't even know her that well, if at all" asks Alexander
"two hours ago Lucy decided to try playing the drums over in the corner there, because of her size her seat had to be raised, her ears were at the same level as the crash Cymbals, as a result when she hit them she was thrown back, she was hearing things at a delay of ten or more seconds because the pressure in her ears suddenly changed, she fell back on phonetics and syllabic pronunciation, Erin more or less is using the same system, I could tell by the way she said Mechal instead of Michael, to Erin Mich in Michael sounds like Mech as in mechanical and in ae in ael the e became silent, in regular English the e in Michael is also usually silent, in Stacy the y makes an e sound and in Becca she doesn't hear the cca sound so she doubles up on the e sound, if Becca was spelt with a k or two instead of two c's she'd be pronouncing it easier, hard consonants are easier for her to hear, x she can hear but can't pronounce, likely the pills damaged her throat a bit so it takes a little longer to pronounce some names more than others" says Cat
"is there anything we can do to help make it easier for her" asks Stacy
"lots of water or drinks with a high water content, she's sweating just from the short experiment we did with the names, she's dehydrated" says Cat
"but Doctor Brown said she was ok to be released" says Alexander
"there is only so much he can do before the hospital makes him discharge her from the hospital, she's hydrated enough to speak therefore she's fine in the hospitals eyes, besides there is only so much testing Doctor Brown is willing to subject a six year old girl to in a given time frame, it's mostly dietary stuff now anyway, cold liquids and no hot foods like oatmeal, Erin do you like yogurt" says Cat
"me wove gurt, me like pple uice" says Erin as Paige runs to get a yogurt and an apple juice from their fridge
"that's your dinner tonight then, Becca set her down on the couch and cuddle her until Paige returns, Erin you can have as much gurt as you want but only one pple juice tonight ok" says Cat as Becca, Stacy and Michael sit on the couch cuddling Erin
"ok" says Erin, closing her eyes and enjoying the hugs
"ok I take back what I said about you being a bad mother Cat, clearly you're queen of the mom realm, which is odd to say considering you're not a mother" says Dana
"don't be so sure" says Cat holding her stomach
"seriously, when, how" asks Valerie excitedly
"it wasn't exactly the plan but mom had Izzy when she wasn't much older than me, I don't have a problem being a teen mom because I know now that I have the support structure I need, it was Halloween, Paige and Andre were kinda pushing me over the edge, I wasn't thinking, I told Andre to finish without protection, I loved how it felt" says Cat
"so you're really ok being a teen mom, because your mom wasn't sure she was at that age, your grandmother always blamed me, said I was a terrible influence" asks Valerie
"yes I'm ok with it, I knew the next morning that I was pregnant but I took three tests an hour apart just to be sure, I waited till today to tell more than just Paige and Andre because I wanted to make sure it stuck, you lost your first kid and mom almost lost Izzy, Grandma also lost her first child, I had to be sure my daughter would make it to term" says Cat
"how do you know it's a girl" asks Alexander beginning to feel very excited
"my gift is seeing connections between people, the strength changes color as it gets stronger, from a weak pinky orange to a strong deep Violet, Rosie and I, we have a dark blue connection Tori and Jade have a deep purple connection, Andre, Paige and I have a deep Violet connection, the colors I see can also dictate gender, Rosie has always been lit in a pink color, even as Robbie, it's a very vibrant pink, my womb is shrouded in the lightest of pinks where as I'm surrounded by a reddish pink color, the color of red Velvet cake as well as a slightly darker red than my hair" says Cat
"have you thought of names" asks Tori grinning
"Vanessa, Elizabeth or Mary, I have time to decide yet, I'm due sometime in July" says Cat visibly glowing
"I'm glad you're happy but how were you sure it was even that time of month for you, normally you've had your period towards the end of the month" asks Valerie
"my period has been sorta synchronizing with Paige's since September even though we weren't exactly together at the time, it sorta just happened that way, my period came early in October, I figured it was risky but you know how I love living in the moment, love making is no different for me, it just felt right, do you think mom would be mad if she heard me talking like this" says Cat suddenly self conscious
"mom knows momma, she's happy for you, she's always known, it was what she saw the moment before she died, it's why she crashed into the moving truck, dad was already dead when it happened, mom felt it, brother was also dying moments before the crash, mom says an angel came down and shielded us from the heat of the fire, she says we both would have died that day, she says name your daughter anything but her name, she says her name is a curse, she says she'll be just under seven pounds and you'll be a few days early" says Lucy
"and she's telling me this now why, that ruins the surprise" asks Cat
"she wanted you to be ready because she says the doctor will be concerned the baby is a little underweight, she didn't want you, Paige or Andre freaking out" says Lucy
"so she knows about the life I'm living, about how it goes against everything she taught me for those six years, I was raised Christian, I shouldn't want this life but it makes me feel safe, it makes me feel loved, does she approve of the life I'm letting you live, Dad was very much against trans rights as well as anti-polyamorous" says Cat
"mom didn't preach that, the church did, dad admits he was wrong, he sees how happy this life makes us, he says something that gives us new life, new focus can't possibly be a bad thing, especially when this life makes us so happy" says Lucy
"Cat you know my issues with mom and dad but Lucilly's right, mom was way more open minded than dad was, she always said Love was love but there were limits, in particular she had issues with more than three if a single boy was included in the relationship but often said girls can be in groups as big as five as long as no boy was involved but five was as big as she'd allow, her and dad often fought about it" says Isabella
"your speech seems better Isabella, that's a big shift in so little time" says Valerie
"Lissa gives me confidence, she calms me down, when I'm calm my speech patterns are more regular, you're not saying I was faking are you" says Isabella
"I'm not that stupid, at least when it comes to relationships, I know how important finding the right person can affect someone's life, even their speech patterns, your mom used to swear like a pirate any chance she got because her gift frustrated her, as much as I didn't agree with your father, he believed her gift was real and he accepted her, he helped her understand it, the effect was quickly noticed by your grandma and I, your mom quickly calmed down, I had to mention it for her to notice just how calm she felt, that's what I was attempting to do by mentioning your speech patterns, you and Cat are very much like your mom that way, subtle changes evade your introspection, I wasn't sure if you'd noticed" says Valerie as Isabella suddenly starts panicking
"uncle Kyle needs you right now auntie, he needs your help, I was right, he's dying, if you don't leave now you might not get another chance" says Isabella
"Lucy is it ok, I wanted to spend all of today with you" asks Valerie
"family comes first, you couldn't save mom and dad, unkie Kyle is the only sibling you have left, if his death can be avoided by you being there then you must go" says Lucy
"truthfully our family comes in fours, your mom and I were twins and Kyle is a twin, though she hates my guts, she was connected to Kyle at the hip metaphorically speaking, she had feelings for him, she'd have married him if it were legal to do so, when I told her that it would never be she stormed off to Paris, though she has been back for about a few weeks, it's been under the assumed name of Sybille Allister, her real name is Josephine Gertrude Valentine, it's possible she changed her name legally so she could be with Kyle, at least in a sense" says Valerie
"that's not healthy" says Cat
"ironic because he was at his healthiest when she was around, his heart was stronger than any human his doctor knew, she would never have had Kyle's kids because of the risk but mom never told me that she would disown Josie if she dated Kyle" says Valerie
"so Grandma's a freak" asks Isabella
"no, as a twin yourself Izzy you must know that your gift isn't as strong or as clear as it was when your twin was around, the same applies to Kyle and Josephine, their gifts were stronger together, that's how twins with paranormal gifts tends to go, they'll be stronger together than they will be apart, it tends to create a bond that can feel like love" says Valerie
"did you feel that way about mom" asks Cat
"very much so, we used to experiment together, both when it came to our gifts and love, we used to kiss all the time before she became a lawyer, it wasn't like all out make out kissing, it was more like we were seeing what we liked, both your dad and my husband were ok with it, being apart only made the 'feelings' stronger when we did meet up" says Valerie
"what's my twin sisters name, mom never told me, she just told me to call her sister" asks Isabella
"Ariel, she's still alive, even if on the streets, she claims to be a homeless person who can give messages to people from family who have died, mainly so that people don't pay her, they tip her" says Valerie
"can she come here tomorrow, the whole like love thing makes so much sense now, I need to see her" says Isabella
"the bond is too strong Izzy, you have said you don't agree with the polyamorous lifestyle but bringing her here would guarantee she falls for Lissa, she's literally you but without the dyslexia, same interests, same personality and the exact same interests when it comes to love, you were separated from her because people thought the similarities meant Ariel was a clone of you not your twin, your mom couldn't deal with the pain of Ariel not being seen as her own person" says Valerie
"I think it'd be cool to date both Izzy and Ariel, I'm usually pretty good at finding differences, besides cloning that good won't be viable for a long time, I'd never call Ariel a clone, especially not with what I know thanks to what you said just now" says Melissa
"you'll have to meet her at the entrance because the guards will think Ariel is trying to impersonate Isabella and they'll be on extra high alert thanks to Logan" says Valerie
"not a problem, just get her here" says Melissa
"ok, I'll have your dad drop her off" says Valerie
"bye auntie, safe trip, tell Unkie Kyle I said hi" says Lucy as Valerie nods and leaves
1 hour later at the entrance to the PCA Property
"I'm sorry miss but impersonators aren't allowed on the property" says Security guard Roger Smith as Melissa and Isabella walk up to them
"stand down Roger she's my sister, I haven't seen her since I was seven, I asked her to be here" says Isabella
"how can you be sure this is your sister" asks Roger
"she's my identical twin sister, also Dean Rivers said we were allowed guests, me saying she's my sister should have been enough, would you rather I report you" says Isabella
"oh Uhh no it's just my brother died last year on Christmas eve, I guess I'm just a little on edge, working security was his dream job, I guess I just feel like I'm a fraud living his dream, he was the kindest person I've ever known" says Roger as His brother appears to Isabella and talks to her
"he wants you to know he's proud of you, he says that you chose not to wallow with him gone, that you chose to stand up for what you believe, he's proud that you chose to tie the knot with your girlfriend on his birthday" says Isabella
"how do you know that" asks Roger as he let's Ariel through
"I can speak to those that have passed on, it's not an easy thing to do and most people I try and help threaten to kill me if I continue to contact them and 'dishonor' their loved ones, very few actually appreciate the messages I give them" says Isabella
"thank you for telling me, I was terrified that he'd hate me for choosing his birthday to get married but he always believed it was possible to talk to those that have recently passed away, my wife died a month after the wedding, it was one of those things where they're dying and if you don't do something now you won't get another chance, her daughter just started here this year, I've been raising her since my wife passed away, Lilly and I are close, some would say too close, as in sexual but she's only in sixth grade, I would never do anything like that, not even if she wanted me to, I wanted to be a cop but got rejected because the San Diego police chief chose to believe the so called truth that I'm sexual with Lilly simply because we're so close, we both miss her mother, besides she likes girls, I wouldn't even be her type" says Roger
"Wendy knows the truth and she's proud of you for accepting Lilly's sexuality, if you ever want to talk about it let me know, Ariel, Lissa and I have some catching up to do" says Isabella as she tugs at Ariel's arm
"thank you, Lilly would be happy to know that her mom doesn't believe the lies" says Roger as the girls drive off to their dorm room
5 minutes later
"you're very hot Ariel" says Melissa
"but you're dating Izzy, she doesn't believe in polyamorous relationships let alone a satellite relationship involving me" says Ariel as they walk into the dorm room assigned to Isabella
"a lot has changed sis, I'm talking to mom and dad again, you don't know how hard that was to do" says Isabella
"do you feel the bond, auntie Josephine warned me about it, she said that it can be dangerous" says Ariel
"I do feel the bond Ariel, it can be dangerous but as long as things don't get too heated between us auntie Val says it's ok" says Isabella
"what do you mean heated" asks Ariel
"as in solely sexual, Auntie Val said kissing was ok but that you can't put your tongue inside me down there and I can't put mine inside you, that doing so would legally require her to arrest either of us for the I word, that kissing would have to be enough to satiate the bond between us, we can however share Melissa and she's quite eager to be with us" says Isabella
"but we're identical twins, how can she tell the difference, how could she know" asks Ariel
"you have a tattoo on your left calf and Izzy has one on her right calf, they're identical in all but one way, they're mirrored, the colors used are on opposite sides of the color wheel" says Melissa
"yeah the tattoo artist thought I was nuts because the only word I could use to describe the colors I wanted was mirrored, every time I tried to say exactly as shown or identical to the drawing I coughed and immediately said mirrored, it was as if the spirits around me were trying to make sure Izzy and I weren't identical in every way even though our gift bond makes me dress and do makeup just like her, it's as if the ideas are planted inside my head by her" says Ariel
"well come on strip girls, I wanna naked cuddle" says Melissa as she begins taking clothes off
"isn't that kinda fast" asks Ariel as Isabella follows Melissa's lead
"she's an artist Ariel, that's how she noticed the color difference so quickly, she has an eye for that kind of thing, she helped an art gallery determine that a very valuable piece of art was stolen and replaced with a fake even though an official art appraiser didn't notice the difference until Lissa pointed it out last month, besides Aunt Val says you've been living in the streets, you deserve to sleep in a real bed, with girls that love you, even if I can only show you by kissing you" says Isabella
"we'll be made fun of" says Ariel as she reluctantly gets undressed
"nobody has to know, there are several other polyamorous relationships on campus, as far as anyone has to know we're both dating Melissa, as long as things don't get sexual between us there is nothing any police officer can do, not even the state police or FBI, I'm a very kissy person, nobody will know, I kiss Lucy and Cat's cheeks all the time, nobody will think of the I word, as long as the official story remains that we're both dating Melissa nobody will think twice about us cuddling naked, it's the hazard of dating the same girl" says Isabella as they cuddle up under the blankets
"and you're sure you're ok with this Melissa" asks Ariel cuddling closer to them
"my dad might not fully understand but yes I'm ok with this as long as we follow the rules given to us we can stay in love, see I believe love is the most important thing in someone's life, though rules are important, especially in a case like this where I get the chance to love twins, I've lived this once before though it was a soft relationship, very fragile, both of the girls got exceedingly jealous if I didn't spend exactly fifty percent of my time with either of them so here is how this is going to go, we do everything together, no split time, you can both make love to me as long as the interaction between the two of you stays tame, sexy with me and tame with each other, understood" says Melissa
"absolutely, don't mind me, just biting my sister's nose" says Ariel as she indeed bites Isabella's nose
"that's cute, maybe tone it down a little though, I'm not sure Cat would think that's tame, I think she's more innocent than she looks, Logan making her take those pictures doesn't mean she's naughty, her opinion hold great value to my dad and half of the LAPD" says Melissa
"she's pregnant Melissa, she may not be 'naughty' but she's not some innocent little girl either, that's absolutely who Lucy is though, Lucilly's actions look sexual in nature but she doesn't intend for them to be that way" says Isabella
"and you know she's not innocent simply because she's pregnant, she's THE in the moment girl at PCA, with Cat I can absolutely guarantee you that nothing with her is ever as it seems" says Melissa
"her gift is seeing the connections between people, just like mom and Aunt Josephine, it doesn't matter how 'tame' we are, she will see right through the tameness Melissa, she will easily guess the sexual tension is very high and she will also know IF we ever slip and did anything sexual, with you or each other, she's very good at it and she's also very good at acting innocent, especially if she notices something by way of her gift and it makes her nervous, you'll know because she avoids the topic like the plague" says Isabella
"either way let's get some sleep, if I know Quinn, Zoë and Nicole tomorrow is going to be a day filled with food and opening gifts, we're going to need our sleep" says Melissa
"ok" says Isabella as they both kiss Melissa's cheek and snuggle up to her
