The next morning
"did I faint in front of the nice Japanese dude who was giving us food yesterday" asks Cat
"his sushi set off your fainting disorder, do you feel embarrassed or something" says Tori
"no I understand why I fainted, I just don't want him thinking it was his fault, or scaring him off, his sushi was amazing, can I have some again today" says Cat
"Quinn fixed her MRI thing and would like to get results to our doctor as soon as possible, we can have sushi after" says Tori
"promise, do I need to be dressed for it" asks Cat
"being dressed would be a good idea yes, we don't want Quinn assuming something else is wrong, like say body temperature issues, she promised our doctor she'd tell her the entire event, assumptions and all" says Tori
"ok, promise about the sushi, you didn't answer" asks Cat
"yes, your memory seems to be better right now" says Tori
"no, just the embarrassing ones on replay at the moment, like the time Robbie fainted and I tried to perform CPR on him, I'm pretty sure I cracked a few of his ribs, or the time I kept calling you mommy instead of your characters name when we did that play at school in front of all those famous people and I was sweating bullets, I'm pretty sure I sweat so much people could see my panties" says Cat
"you don't do well when you're obviously being watched, that much is clear, but that's one of the reasons I fell in love with you, like Andre always said, normal is boring, the whole time we've been together there hasn't been a dull moment, anything happen between you and Lola last night, you went to the movies on campus, how was it" says Tori as Cat gets dressed
"I don't believe she's your cousin, her amazing body would indicate sisters not cousins" says Cat as Lola walks over
"in another life we could have been Cat, my mom would do anything to not be a Vega so she doesn't have to feel guilty about crushing on her brother, it may be odd Cat but David hates lying to me, I'd know if I were her sister, David wouldn't hide that, not knowing what's happening here, the guilt would tear him apart, Quinn's here with the equipment, she said it will take about ten minutes to get a full body MRI with her equipment, oh by the way no telling Tori what we did last night" says Lola as Cat runs out to meet Quinn
"she tells me everything Lola, I don't have a problem with it, she sees us as family, all four of us, until you or Zoey say otherwise we are all family to her, it hurts her that we can't all sleep in the same bed at night because we're related" says Tori
"there's sleeping in the same bed then there's 'sleeping' in the same bed Tori, there is a fine line between the two, mom said that because neither of us really like sleeping in clothes of any sort that unless we could find a way to keep my hands to myself when I'm asleep that we can't sleep in the same bed, you know I'm hansy in my sleep" says Lola
"it's a Vega special, you me and Trina have issues with that, though ever since the incident I've been dealing with sleep paralysis, what if we kept Cat and Zoey between us, it would mean the world to Cat if we could try and make group sleeping work" says Tori
"we can definitely try but I can't guarantee my hands won't touch you when I'm sleeping, my doctor says I'm unable to succumb to sleep the way Zoey or Cat or normal people do, that when I'm dreaming my body plays it out, I do everything but sit up or sleepwalk, I'd hate for David or mom to forcefully separate us" says Lola
"my dad doesn't want us intentionally interacting romantically, Trina calls the wandering hands issue the Vega curse, dad has no problem with wandering hands while we're asleep as it's not voluntary movement, he'd be mad if we did anything together when we're awake, sleeping is another thing entirely" says Tori
"why does he seem to want us to kiss or something, it seriously seems that he'd be okay if we did do stuff" asks Lola
"because on a personal level he does, he really doesn't care, it's only because he's a cop that if he hears about anything like that that he has to act, honestly the issue is Cat not having a filter, keeping such actions a secret from people would literally be impossible with her involved, the moment it happens she'd tell anyone who would listen, there would be no way to keep such things secret, she loves the idea of an involved family, that family being the four of us in her eyes, anything preventing us from being happy makes her sad" says Tori
"you've been thinking about it I see" smirks Lola
"it's hard not to, I do everything I can to not look at you in the group shower, I still get glimpses, when did you start cutting" says Tori
"over the summer, the moment you and Cat didn't respond to my texts actually, Zoey was at work when I started, I'd gotten it into my head that you guys were dead and that because I'd suggested walking the great wall as a date idea to Cat that your deaths were my fault, when I told Zo why I cut she understood, she didn't like it but she understood, her understanding helped me slow down" says Lola
"we should probably get mom and dad in a room and tell them what's going on" says Tori
"it's our life, they don't need to know" says Lola
"ok I worded that wrong, I meant between them, they're living a lie Lola, what right do we have being more mature than them, if they refuse to confess the truth and continue to live a lie then so can we, we can be as romantic as we want and deny it to the world, you call mom I'll call dad" says Tori
45 minutes later
"why did you call me here Lola, it's bad enough the port fired me for helping these girls find out if their families miss them" says Danielle as David walks in
"isn't it obvious Sis, they're tired of being the mature ones, we have feelings for each other, we shouldn't deny that anymore" says David
"but we can't, we'll be arrested" says Danielle defencively
"but if we don't admit our feelings then we're teaching them it's ok to live a lie" says David
"what are you implying they'll do David" asks Danielle
"he's implying that if you guys continue to live a lie Lola and I will become romantically involved and disown you guys as parents" says Tori
"Mom you have me, you don't need to be sexy with uncle David, you can cuddle with him, you can have 'dates' with him on campus here, you can sleep in the same bed together, unlike with Tori and I where we detest clothes when we're sleeping, you guys don't have problems with pajamas, being together is enough, you won't want more" says Lola
"is that how you feel, being this close to Tori, sleeping in her bed" asks Danielle
"we actually haven't managed that yet, we're trying that tonight because that's what Cat wants, we're her family and she feels like it's her fault that we can't sleep in the same bed as a group, we've passed one another in the group shower yesterday, at this moment the most we have any desire to do is light kisses together, that's as far as it goes mom, in order to live your best life you need to make a sacrifice" says Lola
"on the lips" asks David
"no dad, not on the lips, that is a line at this moment I don't have any desire to cross and probably never will, actually kissing is a bad idea for me because it would mean I'd blow past any morality I have, it's bad enough that that's how I took Cat's innocence, touching Lola would absolutely destroy any sanity I have, I have a tendency to get addicted to touch, you know that dad" says Tori
"so then how do you kiss" asks Danielle
"cheek and nose mom, cheek and nose, what you do with David is up to you, Tori and I chose the line, now that you have stopped lying to yourselves and each other it's time to decide where that line is for you guys" says Lola
"why now, of all times why make us confront our fears now" asks David
"because Dad, at some point your issues affect us, you didn't know who Danielle was for almost fifteen years of your life, momma and pop should have realized what introducing Danielle into your life at sixteen would do, you didn't fully understand who she was, or how she was family, as a result feelings formed that might not have otherwise and you guys punished Lola and I growing up as a result, sure we knew about one another but we'd never met, we'd never talked on the phone, you guys only let us text, you put us in the same dilemma you guys were in at sixteen, the difference is we are unable to deny those feelings, Like Lola and I said, we only kiss lightly and not on the lips, for all ignorant people here know it could be some Spanish culture thing" says Tori
"wrong culture, I mean sort of, doting is more an Italian thing, I guess if your plan is to become Valentine's it would make sense that you'd adopt the culture, it would probably make Cat feel safer" says Danielle
"we can't all marry Cat mom, I'd never be allowed to, not if Tori plans to" says Lola
"you are clearly unaware of a very old Spanish custom Lola, at least it's an old one in our family, Cat can ask you to opt out of being a Vega, basically meaning you lose your Martinez-Vega last name and would just become Lola Martinez, all family ties would be wiped from existence, at least legally, I'd become your adoptive mother, Tori and Trina would no longer be your cousins, not legally, which means legally there is nothing stopping you from really kissing" says Danielle
"that sounds wrong and Cat isn't in the mental state to do so" says Lola
"your great grandmother opted out after her brother's wife died, mom and uncle Jake were more attached to her than they were to their own mom, it was a marriage of purpose, mom said they did everything but pen sex, they were allowed to be cute, they were allowed to kiss, the same can apply here, and it doesn't have to be Cat just for the record, I just used her as a prime example of who could request such a thing, Tori could ask, Trina could ask and so could Zoey, though it sticks better if it's Cat or Zoey, Trina's request could be solely based on her view of you in the family and how you'd be better off outside the Vega family structure, all it would take is one letter to the Vega home in Puerto Rico and they'd petition a lawyer here in California to act on the request, it's a protected cultural right, designed to preserve families" says David
"would Cat and I qualify because of the trafficking thing" asks Tori as Trina walks in
"yes, you both would qualify for protectorship" says David
"I thought you guys should know Cat's in the hospital, stable but she could be like this for awhile" says Trina
"Quinn ran the test four times, she's certain Cat will be ok" asks Lola
"yes, the memory fragmentation is due to her dealing with five recurrent concussions due to the head hits she received in that container, your doctor is amazed she's even alive, the doctor said something about extreme skull pressure or something, they drilled to relieve the pressure hoping that it would allow the concussions to stop coming back and sort themselves out, Zoey's with her in the hospital, doctors orders to make sure she sleeps as little as possible for the next two days to reduce the chances of permanent damage to her brain, though they don't expect her memory to get any better for a few months, maybe longer" says Trina
"I didn't fall for her because of her retentive memory Trina, back in China we didn't have to try and save those girls, we could have never gotten involved, her morality held strong, nobody, not even me could convince her that letting those girls get taken, maybe to never bee seen again, nobody could convince her it was right to watch as little girls were taken against their will, that's why I fell in love with her, no matter what strings you pull to convince her of one side of an argument or the other, she will choose the side that is morally sound, the gymnastics in bed is a bonus, not the reason" says Tori