2 months later at the old Vega house
"I-I can't believe I'm back in California" says Lucas dumbfounded
"things are going to be different, you are going to be tested for any and all mental health issues the doctor thinks you might have and you are going to cooperate, am I understood" says Jade
"yes ma'am…. Where's my sister, where's Naomi" says Lucas
"with your mother, she's safe from your touching" says Trina
"oh, I NEED to apologize for that, I didn't know what I was doing was wrong, someone I thought was a friend told me if I did that she'd stop growing up…. She'd stopped playing dolls with me, spent all her time looking at magazines… the adult kind, I wanted my sister back, I was desperate" says Lucas very fast
"wait you play with dolls" asks Jade
"y-yeah…. Look I know it's a girly thing to do but Naomi made it fun, I didn't like it at first but it became a different world for us, we'd pretend mom hadn't been forced to give us up…. When she stopped playing dolls with me it felt like my chance at feeling loved disintegrated, I got angry about mom giving us up, I got depressed and sad that my only connection to her was distancing herself from me, I felt abandoned" says Lucas lowering his head
"so you had no intention of touching her for sexual reasons" asks Trina
"God no, she still had a guy part down there, even if it never quite worked right, she was still in diapers when Karen took over as 'mom', Naomi rarely had control over when she had to pee, the doctor said her guy thing was acting more like a cancer tumor than what it was supposed to be, unfortunately they couldn't legally do anything about it until she became an adult because every cancer screen or test of that area came up negative, he said it's something he's only ever seen once in his career specializing in intersex patient care and the girl died when they removed it before she was an adult" says Lucas
"I'm beginning to think you've been misunderstood Lucas, everyone was under the assumption you were becoming like your father" says Jade
"I admit I can be like him sometimes but I hate his guts, what I did I did out of fear, I've always been quite aware of the dark side of myself, I act out of fear, what he did, raping mom, he did out of control and a belief that he was above the law, getting mom pregnant proved he was right" says Lucas
"give me a minute, I'm going to call Victoria" says Trina as Lucas's eyes widen as she walks away for a moment calling Tori
"you want to see your mom don't you" asks Jade
"yes but I know now that I have to pay for what I did, I'll probably never see Naomi again, Naomi and I, we're like mom and Aunt Sofi, you can't understand one of us without the other" says Lucas
"are you saying that you are not as male as you look" asks Jade
"no, I'm definitely a boy just as Naomi is absolutely a girl, I've never been able to do anything right, it seems that everything I do is either a criminal offence or seriously concerning, what people don't understand is that I didn't do those things on my own, I'd ask for advice about something and people would give me their opinion, I have no idea what's right or wrong, I'm overly trusting…. Or at least I used to be, I trusted that people were giving me good advice, that they wanted to help me be a GOOD person, I was wrong and now I have to pay the price, I'm a stupid kid, I've been called retarded and absolutely brain-dead stupid by police everywhere, I want to be a good person I swear I do, nobody gives me a chance to" says Lucas
"you hearing this Sis, you hear the waver in his voice" asks Trina
"yeah I hear it, see what Mia thinks about it first, their father was an excellent manipulator" says Tori
"you don't believe him" asks Trina
"I want to Trina, believe me I do but Naomi might actually have cancer, luckily it is easily treatable but she will likely lose an eye if it doesn't work, possibly both eyes, I can't in good faith let him anywhere near her until I know for a fact that he's not a threat to her, I need to know all the facts first, luckily the house was finished being built shortly before the tour ended so there is tons of space" says Tori
"he's getting a bunch of blood tests, we should know by the end of the day what he's at risk for" says Trina
"keep me informed" says Tori as she hangs up
"m-mom wants to believe me….. people always told me that nobody would believe me" says Lucas shocked as they get into the car as Mia stops them
"what is it Mia" asks Trina
"his fate has changed, the dark shroud that entrapped him, it's cracking, you're right to check his blood, it will be obvious what it is, it will be the key to Victoria's survival" says Mia
"wait they're all connected, Sofía, Tori, Naomi AND Lucas" asks Trina
"the condition comes from a common source, Isabella's blood, a result of some sort of medicine interaction with her blood when she was pregnant with Sofía and Tori, the condition it causes is more obvious in men, it causes all sorts of problems, from irritability to susceptibility to ideas making one appear to be aggressive" says Mia
"can it cause retinal cancer" asks Trina
"the condition makes it a possibility yes, one with this condition would be succeptible to many conditions, Cancer is only one of the possibilities" says Mia
"would it cause Naomi's ahem former junk to not work right, Lucas said she was in diapers until recently" asks Trina
"I'm not certain, all I know is it's super rare and autism, as in the way the brain is wired in those with autism affects it in some meaningful way, making it present more obviously in men, it has the effect of making girls like Naomi extremely clingy, Softie isn't as obviously clingy but its there" says Mia
"ok we have to go the only blood clinic easy for us to get to that will take the blood is in Vegas, they sent a helicopter to come get us, we have to be at LAX in ten minutes" says Trina
"ok sorry for delaying you, I just couldn't wait to give you guys this information" says Mia as they leave
In Vegas 1 hour later
"any news" asks Jade
"we know he's not at risk for any of the serious genetic conditions" says Doctor Brier
"we are told he could have a blood detectible condition that is genetic and him and his twin sister share it with their mom and her twin sister" says Trina carefully
"Victoria's blood has been analyzed before, I'm the doctor working with her personal doctor working through the information Hannah got during the tour, we can't compare dna traits without her approval, I'll be right back" says Doctor Brier as he walks out
"she didn't seem very optimistic did she" asks Jade
"hard to tell, though I doubt us getting her as Lucas's doctor was by chance, I know Tori, if she can get doctors to keep things a secret she will" says Trina
"how long do you think she'll be, I can't stand being this close to my sister and NOT being able to give her a hug, as scared as I made her she never went a day without hugging me at least once, she believes the power of love can fix literally anything, if there's a homeless person to hug she WILL hug them, it doesn't matter who tells her not to, she doesn't believe in evil people, she believes people can be led astray but she always believes they can be brought back into the light, she could be proven wrong a million times but it won't stop her from trying" says Lucas
"I understand, believe me, Tori's just being protective is all, she bought land just outside of Vegas but the Department of the Environment has to make sure anything she wants built is ok and where she wants it doesn't contain any historical artifacts, likewise despite Naomi 'nearly' being a teenager, Child protective services will have Tori's head if she isn't careful, they know she took Naomi back into her care as a way to protect Naomi from your touching, even if it was misunderstood, they will put a strike against Tori if you aren't medically cleared, if there is medication you can take, please take it" says Trina
"I want to be good, please believe me" pleads Lucas
"I believe you, Jade doesn't, you must prove I am right to trust you" says Trina
"mommy Jade why don't you trust me" asks Lucas
"if Tori has a reason to be hesitant about trusting you then I will be equally hesitant, like Trina said you must prove you can be trusted" says Jade as Doctor Brier comes back in
"ok well she said it was ok to check traits so I got that going" says Doctor Brier
"how long till we know, he really wants to hug his sister and he's not allowed till we know for certain what he either has or is susceptible to get, keep in mind the scenario has been dealt with but on an occasion or two he inappropriately touched her because someone told him that if he did that she would stop growing up and they could play the games they play forever after, nobody explicitly told him it was bad to do that, he does now know however" says Trina
"autism would explain why he didn't know it was wrong or misunderstood when someone told him it was wrong but it doesn't explain why he went through with it, Victoria was just officially diagnosed this morning as autistic, even if in the milder side of the needs spectrum, the traits are definitely there, especially now that we have quite detailed observations from Miss Hannah Montana the patterns are quite obvious, we should know within the hour if he shares any distinct traits with his mother that could lead to a diagnosis" says Doctor Brier
Code Blue in OR 2, Code Blue in OR 2
"what's that mean" asks Lucas
"it means there's a medical emergency in operating room two, not to scare you but that's the room Naomi is in" says Doctor Brier
"is she dying" asks Lucas
"they're taking samples for possible cancer testing, more than likely she's had a complication because of the anesthetic they used, Victoria and Sofía are O negative, that's a rare blood type, Naomi is O positive, the same as you Lucas, donors would be your mother, her sister or you, would you be willing to donate blood" says Doctor Brier
"won't whatever condition I have affect her if it's my blood she gets" asks Lucas
"Naomi and Tori likely have an either less dominant version or a resessive version of what you have, it won't affect her, she might need it depending on the severity of medical emergency, in honesty it's better to have it and not need it than desperately need it and not have enough" says Doctor Brier
"only if you're absolutely certain donating blood for a transfusion for Naomi won't hurt either of them doctor Brier, otherwise Victoria and Sofía should have enough" says Trina
"Victoria being a big star shouldn't donate a full bag, if she did it would have to be officially noted down, which would mean there would be an official record of a place she's commonly visited, as of right now her fans only know that she visits the Casino and that she lives somewhere nearby, a hospital blood donation record would say 'I live here' to her fans, they'd swamp her, she'd never have true privacy" says Doctor Brier
"fair enough… wait couldn't you say she's getting a transfusion instead of donating" asks Jade
"that would be lying and the same problem arises it would show she lives nearby" says Doctor Brier
"not if you say there was an incident at the Casino she frequents" says Jade
"again that would be lying, she hasn't been to that casino since she returned" says Doctor Brier
"that's impossible, she's a literal born gambler, it wasn't always money, it used to be friendship, she would gamble on literally everything, it cost her many friends, she'd lose friends and gain friends faster than you could ask her to stop, she never cared about truly keeping friends until she met Cat, everything changed that day" says Trina
"…. An addictive nature" asks Doctor Brier
"absolutely, she gets it from our dad, call it ADHD or whatever but she will challenge just about anything, she's what you'd call a norm buster, or at least she tries to, if you tell her something is impossible, rigged or extremely unlikely to happen she will attempt to show that they're wrong, even if she is indeed wrong, she gets addicted to proving people wrong, the casino told her she'd never make it as a long term pop star princess, so every time she hit number three on the nation charts she'd go gamble a grand to prove them wrong, for six months she maintained the number three slot, the main reason she gambled so much was because she wanted to keep her mind off of Cat as she was with Jade when she got signed, that's why she spent so much time touring north America, she wanted it to be easy for Cat to get on a plane to follow her" says Trina
"huh…. That's an interesting tidbit there, she's never mentioned that to her therapist despite the fact that the therapist asked her about that many many times, she was consistently inconsistent with her answers, it was surprising to all of us that someone so open would so easily lie" says Doctor Brier
"so you knew she was lying" asks Jade
"you can know someone's lying but not why, her therapist feels that asking and asking until someone breaks and tells the truth only traumatize them and makes them feel unsafe, she wasn't going to force Victoria to say anything she didn't want to say, how did you know about that information" says Doctor Brier
Doctor Brier to testing lab 1, Doctor Brier to testing lab 1
"is that good or bad news" asks Lucas
"could be anything, don't lose hope" says Doctor Brier as she heads off
With Doctor Brier in testing lab 1
"what's the news" asks Doctor Brier
"take a look for yourself, Naomi's test results are up as well, they all have it" says Doctor Cameron
"that's impossible, they can't ALL have it, redo the tests" says Doctor Brier
"I've redone them several times already, by chance did Victoria breast feed her kids" asks Doctor Cameron
"no she was thirteen when they were born, she was lucky to survive as it was, she wasn't allowed to keep them because of her age, they were given to a family friend of her father's" says Doctor Brier
"then Tori was breast fed and somehow survived an infant death, that's the only way they could all have it, not many people survive this plague like bacterium-virus thing they have" says Doctor Cameron
"I find it quite interesting that it isn't acting like the bubonic plague but like a virus that's messing with their brains, yet it registers on blood tests as the plague, how long do you think they should remain untreated" says Doctor Brier
"less than an hour, because it's mutated it's actually the cause of Naomi's cancer, it's causing Tori's twitches and it caused Lucas's inability to restrain himself from following through with people's suggestions, I'd suggest they be treated immediately" says Doctor Cameron
"Victoria, Sofía and Lucas absolutely, we can't mix Naomi's meds up, the treatment will mess with her cancer treatment, at least one round of chemo and radiation to kill any other cancer she might have in her body, she won't be able to take any treatment medicine for the mind messing plague virus thing until her cancer is gone" says Doctor Brier
"the cancer is stage one, they won't administer the cancer treatment until she's mentally ok to proceed, like I said this plague like virus thing caused her cancer Doctor Brier, it won't be affected by either the chemo or the radiation, not when its this previlant in her blood, trust me doctor Brier they won't touch her until the cause is gone, the sooner she gets treated the sooner she can start chemo" says Doctor Cameron
"I guess you'd know best, you did major in this area of biology and medicine, fine do as you wish but make sure the moment she's clear you start her on the cancer treatment, Victoria will have my head if the cancer isn't dealt with" says Doctor Brier
"she's definitely not the murdering type, she has social power for the first time in her life, she just wants to have things happen right, I'm sure doctors haven't exactly treated her with respect most of her life, making sure that her family is taken care of comes before caring about looking like a control freak, now get going, give Lucas the medication, his sister is going to need the support" says Doctor Cameron
"I'll get right on it" says Doctor Brier
With Jade, Trina and Lucas 10 minutes later
"what's the news" asks Jade
"the same thing causes Tori's twitches, caused Naomi's cancer, its extremely rare, there hasn't been a case in at least a hundred years, was Isabella a diver by chance" says Doctor Brier
"I don't know for sure, she only got to breastfeed Tori for a week before she was arrested for a lie, what's the significance of the diving to their condition" says Trina
"some shipwrecks from the time of the black plague exist on American shores, depending on how one is exposed, especially if say one was newly pregnant at the time it is possible to infect the child, there are medications for it, during the last bunch of cases a medication was developed, ten years ago it was found to be dangerous, classified as a semi-carcinogen, what most likely happened if Isabella was a diving enthusiast was she touched moved things around on an old shipwreck and she encountered it, she'd have taken that medication, there were no alternatives at the time" says Doctor Brier
"if I take this medication, does that mean I can be around my sister while she fights off the cancer" asks Lucas
"you're quite well spoken for someone your age, your sister has a bit of a stutter, she seems to default to Spanish when people like me ask her questions" says Doctor Brier
"she's very easily freaked out, especially when around people with authority, cops scare her, security guards scare her, Doctors above all absolutely terrify her, also you didn't answer my question" says Lucas
"you have to sign a medical contract saying you'll take the medication until we say you don't have to, usually up to six and a half months" says Doctor Brier
"b-but Naomi could die of her cancer if you make her do that too" says Lucas
"she's being prescribed a higher dose, she'll be done her dose in a months time" says Doctor Brier as Trina clears her throat
"yeah that's not how this is going to go doc" says Trina
"I'm the prescribing doctor and you're his guardian not Victoria" says Doctor Brier
"he's still Victoria's son doc, Jadelyn and I are his legal guardians sure but that's only for as long as Tori wants us to be, she will sue you for negligence and medical experimentation, she will not stand for giving her children or anyone in her family wildly different doses, the only reason she'd accept is age, which won't work for Naomi and Lucas because they're twins" says Trina
"there's a protocol, Naomi needs to be clear or they can't start her cancer treatment, so she gets the higher dose" says Doctor Brier
"Tori's been known to have a high tolerance for medication, when she finally had her wisdom teeth removed a normal dose of painkiller did absolutely nothing, they had to jack it up, same with her antibiotics, they had to be jacked up to twice or almost three times the normal dose, most medications have almost zero effect on Tori, Naomi and Lucas's former caregiver Karen said Naomi had to be upped to fifty percent higher dose than normal for her ADHD, that doctors were extremely hesitant to up the medication at all, until Karen gave Naomi one and a half days worth of her medication the doctors didn't believe that upping her medication was worth the risk" says Trina
"ok what evidence do you have on Lucas about the medication tolerance" asks Doctor Brier
"he's somewhere in between Naomi and Tori, Sofía we can probably assume is about normal because headache medication works almost too well on her" says Trina
"ok, in that case Lucas take two of these pills every day for three months, your mother will be on the same dose as you, we will check up on you in two months time, you still have to sign the contract, this specific strain could be contagious if not kept in check, it's mutated in a way we do not understand, it just barely has enough original information to match in our system" says Doctor Brier as Tori walks in
"doc when does Naomi start treatment for whatever we share" asks Tori
"… Cameron didn't tell you" asks Doctor Brier
"no, she's walked past the hospital room seven times, almost walked in then shook her head and continued walking by" says Tori
"ugh she's nervous, I hate when she gets that way, the hospital won't treat Naomi's cancer until the thing we identified is treated, it's a mutated black plague type virus, what Cameron would call a sister disease, you, Sofía, Naomi and Lucas have it, Trina and I were figuring out dose stuff" says Doctor Brier
"ok but that doesn't explain why she hasn't told us" says Tori annoyed
"she's the type that will do everything a patient needs, she's afraid of disappointing them, she promised the world and more to Naomi after the word came through that it was more than likely cancer, that she'd be treated immediately for the cancer, to save her beautiful eyes, she's afraid of making Naomi cry" says Doctor Brier
"Naomi's tougher than she looks doc, she scares easily but she's felt something was off for a few years now, you know beyond feeling off in half a guys body, she'd get tired easily, she'd twitch on and off and she'd begin to stutter, she's a research kind of person, she's been worried about what it might be not knowing is worse for her than knowing" says Lucas
"Lucas we need to talk later" says Tori
"k mom, as long as I can be by Naomi's side while she goes through this stuff" says Lucas
"of course, I'll be taking mine, Sofía will be here tomorrow to start hers as long as you take yours you can be around her" says Tori as Lucas nods
"she wasn't cleared to leave, she promised Cameron she'd wait till after the results came in" says Doctor Brier
"she's not good in hospitals doc, don't worry, she has a mask and promised to isolate in case it was contagious but she said the walls were closing in, she didn't want to be admitted to the psychiatric ward"says Tori
"she has a problem with hospitals" asks Doctor Brier
"not necessarily hospitals in general but what goes on here, the doctors in a hospital are responsible for life and death, add a little claustrophobia into the mix and with Sofía you've got a bad situation, she also has problems in the air as in riding in planes or helicopters for very much the same reason, she has less of a problem with cars but that's mostly because you can open the windows at any time, she'll be here tomorrow morning at around nine, unless you give her things to cut off visual and audio stimulation she can't be here for long" says Tori
"ahh so the problem was the room size then" asks Doctor Brier
"it played a part yes, do they have to stay in the paediatric wing during the who dose regime or can they go home and come back later" asks Tori
"Naomi has to stay in Nevada until after her chemo and radiation is over, the surgery she got today isolated the type and stage of the cancer, retinoblastoma and its in the early stages of the disease which is why they won't treat her cancer before the virus, Lucas should stay close by or be easily reachable, Sofía is ok to travel back to LA but again should be easily reachable in case we find the medication isn't working and need to up the dose or switch to the other medication if it seems to stop working" says Doctor Brier
"ok fair enough" says Tori
