(2 days later)
Thursday November 12th at lunch
"well Jade, how are Hailey and Marissa getting along, I assume there's been kissing" says Tori, attempting to distract herself from her own situation
"I'm not talking about my sister's love life or possible lack of a love life Tori, please respect her privacy" says Jade
"spoil sport" mutters Tori
"what's going on, you seem tense Tori, are things not going well with Andre, I thought he bought you flowers yesterday" says Beck
"he did, they are beautiful but he only talks about music, it's as if he has absolutely zero interest in me romantically, I'm starting to feel like I should look elsewhere for love" says Tori clearly annoyed talking about this
"is there anything he can do differently" asks Beck as Tori stares at him, clearly annoyed
"ugh, forget it, I'm going to sit with Trina, she's had better advice lately than you ever have Beck" says Tori storming off to sit with Trina
"did she seem moody to anyone else or is it just me" asks Beck
"no, she was definitely pissed off, does he really only talk about music with her" says Olivia
"it's kinda their thing, they work on music together" says Beck
"right but a relationship has to have more than that, that's part of why Wen and I broke up, all he wanted to do was talk about music and kiss me, it was annoying, I thought being with Wen would be amazing but it was annoying and painful" says Olivia
"why did Mo and her boyfriend break up" asks Cat
"it's complicated, in simple terms he wanted to 'bed' her and the way he was talking about it made her feel like he wouldn't go slow or at her speed, the stalemate that ended Lemonade Mouth was the breaking point as he refused to side with us, it didn't go well, when she said 'we needed to see other people' he hit her so hard she fell backwards almost hitting her head, the only reason she didn't hit her head was because Stella caught her, Stella then proceeded to break his arm before storming off" says Olivia
"is Stella still alive, if I remember correctly she wanted to go big with Lemonade Mouth, as in world wide, at least that's what she said in an interview last year" asks Cat
"depends on how you characterize alive" says Mo
"so she died" asks Cat
"no, not literally, though she wouldn't consider how she's living actually living but something in between life and death" says Olivia
"so, she's considering suicide" asks Beck, jumping in before Jade has a chance to
"she's been considering suicide most of her life, the difference now is there isn't much in the way to stop her, no boyfriend or girlfriend, no band and no guitar, she happens to be interested in a guy names Robert King Vega, is there any connection to Tori there, Stella met him in New York at the Madison Square garden show we did, he'd won a back stage pass, the thing is he was the only one who could make her blush, they exchanged phone numbers and texted for awhile but then he suddenly stopped, she's been a little off ever since" says Mo
"it's possible this Robert is related to Tori, Tori doesn't talk much about her extended family, Cat, has Tori ever mentioned a Robert when talking about her family" says Jade
"not directly, she talked about a Rob out in Pennsylvania and a Bob in Canada somewhere, she doesn't like talking about her extended family, it's possible they don't like her or Trina all that much" says Cat suddenly leaning on Jade exhausted
"the meds tiring you out again Kitty" asks Jade
"uh huh" manages Cat, nearly falling asleep
"is she ok to go back to class like that, I can't imagine the teachers would like it" asks Olivia
"they don't like it, she has the option to sleep in Lane's office but she usually opts to go home, though today she committed to staying at school" says Jade
"may…. Be that w-wasn't a g-good idea" says Cat as she begins to slide under the table, unable to stop herself as Jade stops her from hitting her head
"is she ok" asks Beck
"she's fine, I stopped her from hitting her head on the seat, the meds seem to work in waves, some stronger than others, essentially the meds relax the muscles so any damage can be repaired, the meds are essentially souped up muscle relaxants with an amplifier agent that amplifies the body's natural healing process because hers is not working properly" says Jade
"is this all because of the coffee you accidentally spilt on her" asks Beck
"no, she has a cut that she got from making food a few days before the play and it has been bleeding up until this morning and is only starting to heal now, her insurance refuses to pay for any of her meds Beck, imagine me being in that situation, do you think I'd still want to be living" says Jade
"probably not, wait her insurance won't pay for anything" asks Mo
"nope, she's been off her meds since the slap fight, the insurance she's on is for those without income over fifty grand a year, her family makes three times that, however Cat doesn't want their money but the insurance doesn't believe her, therefore they refused to pay for anything once they found out her family has money, had she been on her meds the severity wouldn't have been as bad, her body would have responded faster and the nerve damage would have been way easier to treat, because she wasn't, she has to be on this medication for a month, maybe two, had she been on her meds she'd already be half done her treatment, instead she's only a quarter through her treatment, maybe even an eighth" says Jade
"that would explain her losing sensation in her feet, so she doesn't blame you for accidentally dropping the coffee on her" asks Beck
"she did blame me, though not after I explained myself to her about why it happened, the thing is she's actually grateful that it happened, her body isn't as healthy as she makes it seem, her metabolism is unhealthily fast, as in if she misses a meal she loses three pounds before she remembers to eat, that's why she always has candy or other snacks on her and why while her addiction to bibble was an issue she needed that calorie intake because she'd missed breakfast, as she does a lot actually, her missing breakfast is actually a result of her being horrified about her hair not looking ok for US so she spends all morning working to make it perfect, which is why she has money issues, which is why she can't afford her meds on her own, she does actually have a job" says Jade
"what job does she have" asks Mo, genuinely curious
"she rides her bike around LA, looking for cracking roads or sidewalks as well as keeping tabs on recycling and garbage collection, she also tests new candy before a big role out, she's the literal reason why several very popular candy flavors were allowed to be sold in LA, specifically the strawberry/Banana and Blueberry frizz flavours of lollipop and twistz, the company was surprised when their allotted stock for LA of said candy quickly ran out, they told her non of their candy flavours has ever sold so quickly, let alone in LA" says Jade as Cat manages to climb onto Jade's lap and straddles her
"I have to admit Jade, you seem different with her than you were when we were together" says Beck
"what does that mean exactly, how am I different, I haven't changed" says Jade
"it's just you seem calmer, Cat seems calmer, Sikowitz was surprised by how attentive Cat was this morning" says Beck
"I'm more comfortable now than I was with you, girls were swarming you, I didn't feel like my relationship with you was solid, I felt that you'd leave me without a second thought if some girl presented a better option or a better family opportunity than me, everything is different with Cat, I can't explain it, it's like our two worlds collided and made a better world, my dad finally believes and understands me, my brother also now understands me, Cat's family finally understands her, angry mean me isn't the real me, it's the anxious and stressed me, the me in front of you now is the real me, I've gotten a lot of hate since people found out I'm dating Cat, mostly because they thought they understood me and my intentions, they think I'm controlling Cat and making her go out with me as a means of paying her medical bill, the thing is her mom paid me back this morning and Cat knows that, she's under no obligation to act the way she's acting now and hasn't been since day one, they don't realize that Cat loves me for me, she doesn't expect me to act a certain way, it's very comforting for me" says Jade as Tori walks back over
"I'm sorry Beck, I shouldn't have walked away like that, it was rude of me, I guess Andre might not be who I thought he was when it comes to love, he hasn't asked for snuggles nor kissed me, it feels like he intends to keep his distance from me, he hasn't talked to me in several days" says Tori smiling as she notices Cat straddling Jade
"I'll talk to him Tori, it's probably my fault anyway, I told him to be careful, maybe I should have said for him to take it at your speed or based on your body language, unfortunately I was afraid of him going too fast and freaking you out" says Beck
"you're sweet to be concerned, though if anything, how I managed to keep Jade in line should have taught you that I'm no scarycat" says Tori
"Tori, I have to ask, Cat seems to be accident prone, she tripped this morning walking into the school, is that new or does it line up with who she was with you, I need to know, if it's a new symptom then her doctor needs to know" says Jade
"it's consistent with how she was when she was with me, though Trina thinks it's a balance issue caused by one of Cat's more recently prescribed meds, remember when you and Beck were fighting in the janitors closet and Cat walked in and you continued fighting then she fainted" says Tori
"yeah, Beck says it's because we were fighting that caused it" says Jade
"he's not entirely wrong, it was the volume and pitch differences that caused her to faint, her brain couldn't figure out whose voice was going in which ear and she couldn't fully understand what either of you were saying, it caused her to faint, in worse situations she has mild seizures, I learned that the hard way when she was in the room when Trina and I fought, Trina and I were screaming at one another, because she'd walked into my room while Cat was changing for bed without knocking first, something Trina is known for doing, Cat fainted, somehow protected her head, Trina looked at me because she noticed Cat was undressed and asked if I was going to make love to her, I had to firmly tell Trina that no I wasn't going to make love to Cat, not that day or any day in the immediate future, that Cat was changing for a bedtime movie cuddle session and that she needs to learn how to knock" says Tori as Jade stops Cat from slipping
"what happened the next day" asks Jade
"Cat slapped Trina, told her that if she ever walked in my room again without knocking that she'd personally make her even more of a fool at school, which is the last thing Trina wants, Trina's been on quite the learning path since that day, she's genuinely a better person because Cat confronted her" says Tori as the bell rings
"would you mind staying beside me while Cat and I head to class Tori, I don't want to drop Cat, she's half asleep and she's all dead weight, ninety pounds is a lot different when she's not awake, it feels like a hundred and ten pounds" says Jade
"absolutely, Mrs. Bell isn't in today, her daughter was in an accident, so it's movie day in history class, also I spoke to Helen about what Cat's experiencing with the meds, surprisingly she was understanding, said that if Cat needs naps she can nap in class but only if she needs to because of the meds, I told her the expected timeline that Cat's on the meds for" says Tori as Jade gets up
"what about homework" asks Jade walking beside Tori back into the school after lunch
"Cat will be sent with homework at the end of the day, you are allowed to help her if Cat is having trouble as long as you don't give her the answers" says Tori
"Cat usually records the classes now anyway, she'll be half awake for the rest of the school day, when the meds hit hard they hit hard, we go to the hospital tonight to check the progress, the meds knocking her out like this is only supposed to happen in the final week of her regimen, it doesn't make sense that she can be that far along, it's been like a week" says Jade
"my aunt overlooked the fact that all of Cat's meds are low dose, she's more susceptible to medications effects, unfortunately she does that kind of thing a lot, she's more worried about lasting damage from pain or injuries than she is about adjusting doses, to be fair she did dose it to Cat's weight, the problem is people generally don't inform her about medication sensitivity, Cat would have been too scared to say anything about it because most doctors don't believe her, her own doctor had to learn about her sensitivity to meds the hard way, he prescribed her Bipolar medication at regular strength, she took the first pill and nearly had a heart attack, most meds are half dose for her, though some are quarter dose, her Bipolar meds are one third dose by weight, thankfully this medication she's on now has no nasty side effects that can seriously hurt her so full dose is ok, unless Cat responded exceedingly well to the first week my aunt will likely halve the dose" says Tori
"she seems to sleep better on the medication, she keeps saying that she has been having better sleep than normal" says Jade as they approach history class
"that's more likely because of you than the medication, she was the same with me, couldn't say anything bad about her sleep when she woke up beside me, cuddling someone seems to provide her with better sleep" says Tori
"you're still coming over tonight for the movie right, Cat made me order a bunch of snacks, she'd be upset if you didn't show up" asks Jade
"yes, I'm still coming over, Andre needs time to figure out what he wants, he talks in his sleep and it freaks me out sometimes, I would rather not put up with it if he's going to walk away" says Tori
"you know you could always ditch him and be with us, neither Cat or I are opposed to a thruple" says Jade
"I appreciate the offer, believe me I do but my dad would have a fit as it would mean I'd also be with Cat and he doesn't want her pressuring me into anything I'm not comfortable with, which in a romantic setting is exactly who Cat is around me, anyway I'll see you guys tonight" says Tori as she heads off to her own class
Later that day at the hospital
"how is she" asks Jade
"better but not back to where she was, when her doctor asked for a scan to determine if she had inner ear problems they did a full body scan, we know where she should be and she's not there yet, maybe a week out, unfortunately this medication only works fully in month to month doses so I'm cutting her dose in half" says Doctor Sabrína Vega
"why did he order full body scans if he only had concerns about her head" asks Jade
"because the medication he put her on for the sensory stimulation issues that cause her to faint would have caused nerve damage if it was simply an inner ear issue, he wanted to know the state of her entire body, he made a personal visit after I updated him on the dosing for the medication, he wasn't happy, he said that I was lucky that the medication didn't have serious harmful side effects or he'd have sued me out of a job for putting her life at risk, apparently he almost lost his job over the accidental dose miscalculation after prescribing her Bipolar meds after tests were done to confirm Cat's suspicions he doesn't seem to want to be in the crosshairs of Mr. Valentine ever again" says Doctor Sabrína Vega
"I have to admit he can be scary at times, he doesn't entirely understand Cat, a doctor misjudging doses for things he does understand about Cat is definitely something he would sue over" says Jade
"I'm not in any risk am I" asks Doctor Sabrína Vega
"not likely, though he did ask for an MRI scan to confirm that the medication is actually doing what you say it is doing, he's in the field of medical and psychological research in Malibu, MRI scans are something that he does understand" says Jade
"we just sent her for one ourselves to confirm the timeline for recovery, the first scan kind of scared us, the nerve damage was immense, not something that could have happened from having coffee dropped on her one time, if I were to diagnose it I'd say it was the result of nerve degeneration, specifically around her hands and feet" says Doctor Sabrína Vega
"the feet can be explained by her job, she rides her bike on the weekends and after school checking streets for damage, she puts a lot of pressure on her feet, also she walks a hell of a lot, as for her hands she's a CMr, I assume you know what that means" says Jade
"she plays with herself that much" asks Sabrína Vega in shock
"she's not your typical human being Doc, she has a lot of attachments to people, mostly girls, anyway the tension would build to the point that she can't figure out why she's so tense, her brother has had to explain it to her, it got so bad her little sister assumed their brother was doing stuff to her, the walls aren't insulated enough to have hid the moans from her little sister, granted there is only a few years between her and her sister, Cat's little sister tends to be on the more innocent side of things" says Jade
"so I assume you're taking care of her needs now" says Doctor Sabrína Vega
"no, not yet, I'm not doing that stuff until I insulate the walls of Cat's room, I don't need Cat's little sister and her girlfriend to hear stuff, though I do watch her, I have to cover her mouth so the sound isn't so loud" says Jade
"if I were you I'd insulate those walls asap" says Doctor Vega
"Cat doesn't want the walls destroyed, apparently she only just got it the way she wants, so I have to find the edges of the drywall and take the sheets down individually, she doesn't want to have to repaint and redecorate her room, I've taken off one walls worth and put special sound isolation in that is also fire resistant, its going to take a few weeks but it will be done" says Jade
"I had to sound isolate my house last year, I used what is likely the same stuff you used, I hired a contractor from a company called sound construction, he uses paint penetrative technology to find the edges and screws, he had one room done a day and they don't charge an arm and a leg, I'd suggest you use them for Cat's sister's room, they could likely have it done while she's at school and she wouldn't know the difference" says Doctor Vega
"yeah that's not going to work" says Jade
"why" asks Doctor Vega as Tori approaches
"her little sister doesn't like her room messed with by people she doesn't know, she's afraid of people stealing her undergarments" says Jade
"you talking about Sofía" asks Tori
"yes, your aunt said she soundproofed her home last year and recommended the company to me for doing Cat and Sofía's room" says Jade
"yeah that's not a good idea, for the rest of the house maybe but Neither Sofía or Cat like their room messed with by people they don't know" says Tori as a nurse walks over
"Miss Valentine is out of the MRI and headed back to her room Doctor Vega, there was noticable improvement in nerve viability, it would seem she's more sensitive to the medication than we realized, I think we caught the damage just in time" says nurse Alexis
"how far off is she from her baseline scan from two years ago" asks Doctor Vega
"about half way, though looking at her baseline I noticed the nerves were already in decline, I'd estimate that the damage started about a month before that scan was taken" says Nurse Alexis
"if you had to guess at the cause what would it be" says Doctor Vega
"the damage is centered around her ankles and wrists, either cuffs were involved or the damage was caused by two different scenarios, her feet looks similar to arthritic damage but the wrists look similar to carpel tunnel, neither is likely at her age" says Nurse Alexis
"she rides her bike nearly daily and the wrists can be attributed to excessive amounts of self play with her hands" says Tori
"huh, so it could simply be nerve damage due to repetitive motions, not totally dissimilar to carpel tunnel or arthritis" says Nurse Alexis
"based on the evidence provided it seems likely, if she never let them heal it would damage the nerves faster, Tori, how often would you say Cat played with her self hard and fast enough to cause pain" says Doctor Vega
"she does go fast but not hard, her touch is very light, though she can go on for about an hour, the likely culprit is in how she sleeps when she's alone, her wrists are either under her chin bent at almost a ninety degree angle or under her pillow bent the other way, her wrists are almost never straight when she sleeps" says Tori
"that would make sense if Cat's autistic" says Doctor Vega
"that's a non starter unfortunately, her brother was diagnosed after our group had a slap fight, 'the slap' is the name of the website at our school, we didn't actually slap each other, anyway Cat was tested too, her doctor said she didn't meet the criteria for an autism diagnosis" says Tori
"it's often missed in girls, especially one so outgoing like Cat, Bipolar disorder and ADHD are commonly diagnosed instead of autism" says Doctor Vega
"no she has both of those, the meds for Bipolar and ADHD definitely help" says Tori
"hypermobile joints in autistic people is rare but it would explain the wrist thing and the severity of the nerve damage as well as the auditory issues that caused her to faint in loud environments, Cat is begging for an answer as to what disorder is connected to her loud environment fainting disorder because her doctor confirmed it wasn't her Bipolar disorder, she won't accept that its simply an auditory confusion thing, I have an obligation to find her those answers" says Doctor Vega
"Cat doesn't want me spending much more money on her medical bills, how much is this test going to cost" says Jade
"it won't cost that much, I thought you said this morning setting up this 'appointment' that you had Cat on insurance" says Doctor Vega
"she is on my insurance but they have a policy about not starting coverage on treatments that is already in progress, the only way they'll cover the cost of the autism test is if you can prove to them its separate from her current treatment" says Jade
"I do believe they are linked though, it is part of why she does certain things, like that with her wrists that caused the damage" says Doctor Vega
"they won't see it that way, I already told them she has a lot going on, you're treating the nerve damage, finding a cause would be a different thing to them as one is physically present and the other would be mental focused, besides Cat's asking for it, I told them she wants confirmations of all diagnoses and a few new tests done, they said they will authorize diagnostic tests up to ten grand if I pay for any of the current treatment costs then after she's off this medication they will start coverage for anything and everything" says Jade
"so how would I bill it to them, I've never had an insurance company that was restrictive like that" asks Doctor Vega
"say 'patient requested mental health diagnostic (autism)', autism needs to be in brackets, it will count towards one of the ten diagnostic tests they will cover, so what should we do with the current meds, return them to the pharmacy and get pills that are half the dose or how will this work" says Jade
"yes, return the current bottle and exchange for half dose pills, they'll likely be either caplets or capsules, do so at the hospital pharmacy not the pharmacy you got them at, they know me, I'll call them before you get there to explain" says Doctor Vega
"here's the thing though, she likes how it feels, she might take two pills to make it the same dose anyway" says Jade
"I don't understand, it makes her tired and makes it so she can't stop herself from falling or sliding off chairs" says Doctor Vega as Tori understands
"when Cat gets tired she tends to get cuddly, she did it at lunch today, the meds kicked in and she slipped off the chair, she managed to pull herself up and managed to straddle Jade, legs locked around Jade and fell asleep, it was adorable, everyone I passed mentioned it, they thought it was absolutely adorable, they're beginning to see Jade AND Cat in a different light because of what happened today" says Tori
"the side effects are the same no matter the dose, they're just less jumpy at the dose she'll be on, she will still be just as tired as she's been, it just won't hit her like a truck causing her to go 'fluid' and fall off her chair or seat, she'll more than likely just slump forward, if anything lowering the dose, given her sensitivity to dose will actually amplify most of the effects, when she goes 'fluid', that's the medication ramping up as she takes in calories, that's what will happen less with this dose, or rather not less but less jarring, if Cat takes more than prescribed it's not me who will lash out at her for doing so, her doctor will see it as an addictive act and will refuse to be her doctor and then you will be looking for another doctor and not many doctors will take her on if he tells them she takes more than prescribed of her meds, for her safety please do not let her take this medication if you think she will take more than the bottle says to take" says Doctor Vega looking Jade directly in the eyes as she says that last part
"I promise, when can she be released, we kind of had a movie planned for the evening" says Jade shaking Doctor Vega's hand
"I need to look over the MRI results first so I can give a report to her father, her doctor and you on her current status regarding anything I find, say half an hour" says Doctor Vega
"ok, I'll head down for those meds, I have them on me, when she gets nervous she likes holding them because the bottle is different than her other medication bottles, it's textured, she has a thing about texture" says Jade as Tori follows her to the hospital pharmacy
"Cat's going to know the difference between the new dose and the dose she was on, Jade, she's not going to like it" warns Tori
"I know but Cat will have to deal with it, healthy nerves are important for love making and her health in general , if she's careless with the meds, I will walk away no question" says Jade
"Cat would try and kill herself and the entire school would turn against you, she hides how happy she is with you because she's afraid of how people will react, I wasn't joking about how the other students are beginning to see you for you instead of how you used to act, you can't put that at risk, so much is on the line Jade" says Tori
"Cat's health comes first, they may beginning to see me for who I really am but they all still blame me for causing her pain to begin with, her body requires the calories but people see her as a sugar addict, I wont let them think she's a drug addict as well, this medication, yes it regenerates damaged tissue like nerves, muscles and hair but in extremely high doses it can cause fatal seizures, four pills is enough to cause seizures, the kind that scramble the brain Tori, the part of the medication that causes her to go fluid as your aunt put it, it does that because it sends an electrical signal to her brain telling it to relax her muscles, if the dose that is tied to her weight can cause her to almost hit her head in the process, imagine what four pills would do Tori, if she wants to feel how it makes her feel rather than care about how it affects her brain than I won't have any part of it, yes I'd be sad but it's not worth seeing Cat spiral out of control like she did with the bibble, imagine if the bibble was pills instead of candy, she'd be dead" says Jade
"I see your point, have her mom lock them up at night, Cat can be pretty crafty but at night she's less coordinated, she wouldn't be able to use keys to unlock the pill safe nor would she be able to remember the order of the numbers on the money safe her parents have, I'm sure that issue has to do with nerves as well but still" says Tori as Jade stops to hug her
"I really wish you'd have reconsidered the thruple, you're a great friend who has the best advice, don't try and kill yourself if Andre decides to walk away, you know Cat better than anyone, I'll likely always need advice" says Jade
"hey, I may have occasionally thought about it back when Trina was grunge but not now, if I die it will be because someone hit my bike with their car" says Tori