As they arrive at Palermo airport 1 day later
"wake up guys we're here" squeals Jade as Tori wakes up realizing she drooled all over Sadie's dress
"oh sorry Sadie, I didn't realize I was drooling, how long was I doing that" says Tori
"about an hour, I was doing your hair and you were rolling r's the whole time…. Purring I meant purring, man my dyslexia brain sucks" says Sadie
"oh…. What's dyslexia brain" asks Tori
"it's part of my ADHD, I have a terrible time remembering words for things, especially when I'm nervous and right now nervous doesn't even begin to explain what I'm feeling right now" says Sadie
"am I making you nervous" asks Tori
"no, being this close to you makes me happy, happy that you love me back and we can live together, whether that be in Spain or here in Sicily, being here in Sicily is what's making me nervous, I've wanted to visit Italy and Sicily since I was little, my great great grandparents were from here, they left just after world war one, all but one bloodline died in world war two, I'm a Agnello relative, my parents feared Italy" says Sadie
"ahh welcome back then, your distant relative is the diplomatic pass greeter here in Palermo, it's a pure coincidence I'm sure, he's been working here almost six years" says Cassandra as they leave the private Jet
"welcome to Sicilia my friends, we welcome you with open arms……. Is that you Sadie Marie Marino" asks Jacob Agnello
"I am indeed you must be Jacob, why is that significant" asks Sadie
"as a lost lineage survivor you're entitled to payment, are you the only one" asks Jacob
"I have family but they won't come they fear this land for some reason" says Sadie
"in that case you are entitled to the whole amount, all hundred and fifty grand, anyway the limo is here to take you guys to Cat, she's finally asleep I hear" says Jacob
"how do you know this" asks Jade scared
"I haven't seen her since she got here when Cassandra brought her here, Trina informed me when she got word you were on your way, she's been updating me and I've been updating her on my part, she wanted you guys to know if anything had happened right when you landed, last communication was five minutes ago when you landed, it's part of my job in situations like this, anyway you're behind schedule, you are expected" says Jacob as Cassandra nods
"it's not my fault I swear, there was a storm in Japan that stopped us from getting fuel there and we didn't have any time to stop anywhere else, then on that way back we stopped in Japan for fuel and were delayed because there was a line up for fuel" says Cassandra
"I wasn't accusing you, I'm just saying that the hospital won't be happy" says Jacob
Arriving at the hospital
"this run was behind schedule Cassandra, that's not like you" says Lucy Ricci
"you know if the government let my Jet settle for a few days to fix my engine heat issues I wouldn't burn so much fuel, Japan was in the middle of a storm on my way to LAX so we had go around it and burn more fuel as a result I barely made it to LAX on the full tank I had Lucy, then on the way back there was a line up for fuel at Haneda airport" says Cassandra
"how's Cat" asks Jade
"she's actually doing a little better, she's on some meds to help cool down the nerves to her brain from her eyes, it only stops the hallucinations for a few hours but it lets her rest" says Lucy
"so her optical nerves get warm causing the problem" asks Jade
"in simple terms yes, unfortunately her condition is much more complex than that, it can cause memory problems" says Lucy
"so she'll become forgetful, she already has some memory gap issues" asks Jade
"it can go either way, remembering everything or barely anything, it can tank her short term memory or her long term memory, so far it's never been more than one of those in the patients that have it, luckily it's not a life threatening condition though she will need a non hospital place to live, somewhere she can recognize as home and soon in case it goes south" says Lucy
"I can't do anything right now, I have to get things set up first, am I legally allowed to cuddle her while she's here" asks Jade
"you can yes, however there are rules, kissing only, at least till the festival starts at which point you are expected to sacrifice, then you can have a little fun, the limit is two hours, if you exceed that there is a fine" says Lucy as Cassandra walks away having received a call
"I agree to those terms" says Jade
"welcome to the children's hospital, I will take you to her room, be careful though she's sleeping" says Lucy as she leads them to Cat's room
3 minutes later after passing through three coded gates
"hey Trina, how's she doing" asks Jade
"man you really are in love with her, she's doing ok right now, she'll be doing even better when she wakes up, she really didn't believe you'd come, she was getting depressed which didn't help her hallucinations, the doctor is more and more certain that they know exactly what caused it, unfortunately there is no cure they say, that all they can do is push back on it a little, it causes her to be very tired" says Trina as Jade settles in on the bed with Cat
"I'm here for her, Beck and I agreed it was more important for me to follow my heart and my heart is screaming Cat's name" says Jade
"I'm glad to hear that he's being understanding, just mentioning your name makes her giggle, however I'm not sure how receptive she will be when she wakes up, it's best you get your cuddles in now, the meds do help keep the hallucinations at bay but they amplify her moods, they swap like crazy" says Trina as Sadie and Tori cuddle on the couch
"sounds like average Cat to me to be honest with you Trina, she hides a lot of who she is, it's called masking, fear of being judged can make people do crazy things, my pull to Cat was immense yet I chose to align with societal norms out of fear, that's literally only reason I dated Beck instead of Cat, as I've said before Cat speaks a mean Italian, though she rarely speaks it around others, I'm probably the only one besides her mom who has heard her speak Italian, fear makes it hard to trust people Trina, you were thrust over her head to monitor her, you have to understand how fearful that can make her" says Jade
"I'd never thought of it that way" says Trina
"most people won't Trina that's the point, people base pain off what they experience not off what the person they're judging feels, I've heard time and time again people tell cat she's stupid for being herself right to her face because she feels things more readily than others, she's more receptive to her emotions, she feels them more strongly than most people, that's rare Trina, people judge her without thinking, any jabs I sent her way were always playful and she knew it, nobody understands how to interact with her in ways that calm her down, I didn't see it before, now I do, she responds to kindness, which explains why she trusted Tori so much, Tori exudes kindness" says Jade as she plays with Cat's hair
"mmmmm" mumbles Cat in her sleep
"she will be awake soon then we will see if you know her as well as you think you do" says Trina
"you lack faith in Jade Trina, that has always been your issue, you lack simple faith in others, in humanity" says Tori
"can you blame me Tori, think about how much hate us Latinos got back there in America, sure I've been treated better here but I need more proof" says Trina
"I hear uncle Henny made a deal to get Jade here, is that proof enough" says Tori
"wow uncle Henderson, never thought I'd hear that name again, he did always have a soft spot for the innocent though I'm not sure he ever really liked us" says Trina
"oh I'm sure he did it to get fresh investment money into western Europe, the environment means everything to him, more than even family, he risked everything to get where he is, unfortunately it would seem there aren't enough enviro investors here in Europe, though I'm not sure how Jade makes the cut" says Tori
"probably my dad, my dad's been trying to reverse damage anywhere he could, he ramped it up after Michael tripped with that match three years ago, saying things like the environment hates us for what we've done to it, he's one of the only billionaires that don't donate to American politicians, getting me in the door would mean his chances of pouring millions into the European economy go up, he may have a thing for Japanese culture but he cares about all life, human or otherwise, he's of the belief that the earth is a living entity and we have dishonoured it, he's been in Spain for two weeks, no doubt offering money for environmental projects, Henderson seeing the possibilities would have definitely contacted the surrounding governments to try and convince them" says Jade
"your dad didn't seem the type to care when he showed up to your play, he didn't seem to care at all" says Tori
"he has resting angry face, it's just what he looks like, he didn't like or understand my need for attention and appreciation, that all changed when I came out to him as gay Tori, he finally understood my issue, my fear, my anger, his hope is that if he can get Europe to become eco friendly and build ecological buildings that will withstand the changing climate then America might follow suite" says Jade as Cat stirs
"she's waking up" says Trina warily as Cat indeed wakes up
"what's going on" asks Cat groggy and confused
"I'm here for you baby girl, Beck and I are no longer, I'm following my heart, if you will have me I'd be honoured to be yours" says Jade
"ooh cool so like we can kiss right" asks Cat getting excited
"that's up to you my girl, you're in control not me, what you say goes" says Jade
"b-but my eyes, the hallucinations, I shouldn't be in control" says Cat
"if anything it means you should have more control over your own body Cat, you know I can get controlling when I'm given control, that virus took away control over your vision, it isn't right for me to request that you hand over control over other parts of your body, no matter how much or how little you like me being controlling towards you, it is important that you have control Cat" says Jade
"Hehe I owe you still" giggles Cat as she hugs Jade
"wow if that wasn't a reference to exactly my point I don't know what is" says Jade as she kisses Cat
"you seem calm, Trina was worried" says Tori
"of course Trina would be worried, she's acting like a mom, being protective, as annoying as it can be you can't blame her Tori, my condition is getting worse and the doctor can't determine which route it will take, Trina has every reason to be scared, not just because of me but because of you too Tori, she spent the entire week before I left after that freak out trying to save you from deep depression, she was convinced I was the only one who could make a difference, she was clearly wrong but you can't blame her for that either" says Cat
"in my defence the whole family was saddened when Cat freaked out and ended the relationship, Dad said that in his opinion you and Tori were meant for each other and that it was sad how it ended, unlike him I know when something ends it ends, all I wanted to do was have Cat explain why" says Trina as Cat starts acting weird
"no no no get out of my head" screams Cat hearing voices
"what's happening to her" asks Jade scared
"she's hearing voices, like I said it's progressing, doctor Isabelle says it's never presented like this before but it's definitely the eye thing causing it because they did tests for the other possibilities and it came up negative, try playing with her hair" says Trina as Jade nods and plays with Cat's hair
"come back to me baby girl" says Jade as Cat's eyes glaze over
"is that good or bad" asks Tori
"good, it means they stopped, shortest episode so far, glassy eyes mean seizure, they don't last that long, a minute at longest, she should already be coming out of it, press the red button, Doctor Isabelle needs to know it wore off too quickly" says Trina as Jade pushes the button
2 minutes later as Isabelle arrives
"she seize again" asks Isabelle
"yes, glassy eyes, she's awake now but out of it, she seems confused" says Jade
"it's the meds, it disorients her to prevent her from having another episode right after the last one, it's not as confusing as it sounds" says Isabelle
"why is she hearing voices" asks Jade
"I assume you're a couple now and I have to answer that" asks Isabelle
"we are, I gave her control over the relationship, she decides when we kiss or do other stuff, I wanted to give her some sort of control because of what the eye thing is doing to her" says Jade
"that's actually a great idea, thanks for putting her first, she's hearing voices because it's spreading to her auditory nerves, kind of like how a cancer spreads, it seems to run like a clock, the meds alter brainwaves to interfere with the condition, believe me if we could have a cure for it I'd have given it to her, my daughter has the same thing Catarina has, the difference is Cat's went for the ears, my daughters variation went for the nose, there seems to be no connection between any of the cases" says Isabelle
"except there is, you said it spreads like cancer, my uncle is a cancer researcher, there are ways to attack it without hurting healthy cells" says Sadie
"how is that" asks Isabelle
"is there an operating room here in this hospital" asks Sadie
"all hospitals need one, what are you getting at" asks Isabelle
"do a biopsy on the back of her eyes, you're likely to find something that looks like a clot or tumor" says Sadie
"you guarantee this, operating on Cat requires consent" asks Isabelle
"believe me if this thing mimics cancer then that's what you'll find, clots or tumors, the worst that could happen is you blind her, which to be honest would help her, can't hallucinate if you can't see it" says Sadie
"what are the odds you're right Sadie" asks Jade
"eighty percent, my uncle specializes in cancer like conditions, he has personal experience in this, he had an eye infection that did similar things to what is happening to people like Cat, he was told it was cancer, they did the biopsy and turned out it wasn't cancer but was still malignant all the same, after they got everything with meds his eyes never returned to the way they were before it but they stopped getting worse and the neuro symptoms stopped too" says Sadie
"I'm convinced, she's not able to consent right now but as her girlfriend I give my consent, a biopsy would help give her a definitive answer" says Jade
"ok, put her in the wheelchair and follow me, only Jade will be allowed to observe the operation, I will have a doctor bringing updates to you guys, depending on what it is they might operate right away if needed" says Isabelle as Jade puts Cat in the wheelchair
After the biopsy in the OR
"I know what this is" says Doctor Quincy looking at the sample under a microscope
"what is it" asks Doctor Isabelle checking Cat's vitals
"in medical school we studied about this but I've never seen a real one in person before, it's a virus" says Quincy
"is it curable with medications currently available" asks Isabelle
"yes, though she will still have some psych symptoms, the damage has been done, I'd have your daughter scheduled for a biopsy as well, if we can find this virus in all the victims of the vision condition we could cure them all, at the very least Catarina will have minimal symptoms after" says Quincy
"ok I'll have my husband make an appointment" says Isabelle
Back in Cat's hospital room 10 minutes later
"well any news" asks Jade
"it's curable however some symptoms will remain as damage has been done to her nerves but she likely won't hear voices anymore" says Isabelle hanging a medicine bag
"what kind of virus was it" asks Sadie
"it's known as the blinding virus, exactly what we suspected people Cat's age were exposed to, the difference is Cat's has mutations that make it susceptible to treatment" says Isabelle
"what kind of symptoms will she be left with" asks Jade
"she'll most likely be back to color issues and the seizures but that's manageable outside of the hospital" says Isabelle
"why isn't she waking up, shouldn't she be awake now" asks Jade
"she needs to be out for this medication, it's not a painless process, the virus is known for resisting, its eating her nerves for breakfast, this medication stops it, the virus will be sending out false pain signals till its gone, its almost like a parasite or cancer that way, it's better she sleep through the worst of it than having you hear her in seemingly constant pain, it will only be for a day or so" says Isabelle
"ok" says Jade