NOVEMBER 19th as Liv and Mo visit for Ivy's birthday
"hey Cat may I ask why you're in a wheelchair, you were fine last week" asks Mo
"let's just say I was dropped from head height" says Cat
"Robbie's doing" asks Liv
"yes but not entirely his fault I've put on at least six pounds since Halloween, though Tori's amnesia is his fault, we had a rare occasion of freezing rain, I'd bought salt in advance and told Robbie to salt the driveway and he forgot, Tori went to see Trina at the beach but never made it past the driveway, she slipped and fell, luckily Andre and Jade had just returned with groceries and got Tori inside before calling an ambulance, luckily Tori's first album is soaring her to heights nobody thought possible so money isn't an issue" says Cat
"does Tori remember anything" asks Andre
"it's spotty, memories come and go, sometimes she remembers Trina, other times she doesn't, her world has shrunk considerably, it now only includes, you, Robbie and me, everyone else is more or less a stranger to her, luckily Rebecca says it won't last long, the fall caused a bit of inflammation in the brain that was already going down by the time the scans of her brain were taken, at best she'll be good in time for Thanksgiving, at worst she'll be good for Christmas" says Cat
"Robbie's not here though is he" asks Liv noticing a distinct lack of afro near Cat
"he's tending to Tori, he says he has to so he can make up for his mistakes" says Cat
"aren't you able to stand" asks Mo, concerned that Cat's career is over
"technically yes I can stand but the last time I tried to stand I nearly dislocated my hip and I nearly fell over had Robbie not been there, the muscle specialist said the muscle needs time to heal, he said when I fell I landed squarely on one side and ripped a tendon or two and damaged the muscle" says Cat
"how long till you can walk again" asks Mo
"if I'm lucky, before the month's over, if I'm not then it won't be till close to Christmas, it all depends on how lazy I'm willing to be so I don't strain my hip muscles, my dad had an old people stair lift installed yesterday so I have very little reason to stand up now" says Cat
"I hope he's not trying to convince you to be less active and that this immobility isn't temporary, 9 I'm certain this immobility thing will almost certainly pass as you heal" says Liv
"oh he knows trust me, however he also knows that I find following doctors orders to 'reduce physical activity' inconvenient, he's always provided alternatives that more or less allow me to remain independent, which allows me to heal, as much as I hate it, it was the right decision to make" says Cat
"what about that tattoo on your arm" asks Mo
"I've had that a long time, at least four years, I love butterflies, when my papa died my parents got me the tattoo, my papa worked at the butterfly conservatory that I always insisted we visit every month when I was little so it's not just some random tat that I thought 'oh that's a cool design', it actually has meaning" says Cat
"oh ok fair enough, I've just never seen it before" says Mo
"it's usually covered up because I don't want people thinking I only care about tattoos and I don't want the girls thinking that way, I got it for a very specific reason, unfortunately since my fall I haven't been able to cover it up well enough so I just figured I wouldn't hide it anymore" says Cat as Moss Jackson arrives with a massive box wrapped in wrapping paper
"where's my little sister, I want her to open the gift, I don't have much time, Anna's waiting in the car" asks Moss
"ahh you're the big brother she said was going to stop by, she's getting ready for the party, IVY, your brothers here" says Cat as Ivy runs up the stairs still in her pyjamas
"MOSSIE, I didn't think you'd have time between deployments to even come, I was hopeful but I didn't think you'd have time" says Ivy as Moss picks her up
"technically I don't, I took enough time off to get Anna to her appointment and back and my superior officer wasn't too pleased but also happy I took time to help my family, I can maybe explain to them that it's your birthday and you haven't seen me in a year but I can't guarantee that they'll grant me a few days off, you know I'm in high demand Ivy" says Moss
"Navy" asks Jade curiously
"I'm a mechanic, I swing between all branches of the military, some people call me a prodigy because I've been taking things apart and putting them together mostly correct since I was a baby, whether they're right or not it's more a curse than a gift, while I make tons of money fixing things, I hadn't seen Ivy in a year, it had been almost two since Anna has spent any time with me because of her mental health and I haven't seen mom or dad in at least three years, I barely get a week off once a year, usually less, I'm in high demand as winter is coming up and lots of winter equipment needs work, I benefit from a significant pay bump for emergency work but it means I don't get to spend time with my family as much, I only continue to work with the military because of how much I'm paid, it helps take a lot of weight off mom and dad for Anna and Ivy's medications, my sisters are my world, I have yet to meet anyone that makes me smile like they do, ladies come close but they're nowhere near as funny as my sisters" says Moss as he sets Ivy down
"ok Mossie, go take care of Anna, it's important, I forgot today was THAT appointment" says Ivy, holding back tears
"if the appointment is short like they promised we should be back in time to see you open the present" says Moss
"and you'll bring Jeremy right" asks Ivy
"I don't know about that, apparently someone told his parents that him and I went on a real date and kicked him out, he hasn't talked to me since, anyway I'm going to make Anna late for the appointment" says Moss as he leaves
"NO" cries Ivy as she runs downstairs, knocking several things over on the way down
"I'm guessing Ivy is the one that told his parents based on how she responded, expect her to ask the entire celebration be cancelled" says Jade
"could it really be that bad" asks Liv
"yes, Jeremy's family is majorly homophobic, he's still in the closet, Ivy spoke to me about telling his parents that he had a boyfriend now, expecting them to take it well, let's just say they threatened to kill him, in their eyes Jeremy was influencing his little brother to be anything but normal, his little brother is trans, they refuse to acknowledge him as actually their daughter, it's not easy" says Cally
"is Jeremy's family anything like Melissa's family" asks Mo
"they're similar but not the same, Melissa and Ella's parents are physically and emotionally abusive, Jeremy's parents are simply emotionally manipulative, they're usually more bark than bite, I'm honestly surprised they had the guts to kick Jeremy out as he makes more money than they do" says Selena
"do you think Ivy would be forgiven, she obviously thought she was doing the right thing" asks Liv
"forgiven by who, by Moss or by Jeremy, Moss may forgive her but I happen to know that Jeremy will never ever forgive her, Jeremy wasn't anywhere close to ready to tell anyone besides Moss that he's gay" says Melissa
"fair enough, now go get the girls ready for the party, Cat and I need to talk" says Liv
"ok" says Melissa as she heads downstairs
"this is about that media story I assume" asks Cat
"the label is furious you'd sell nudes, especially to the press" says Liv
"they're not of me, the FBI said they can't go after Mel and Ella's parents for that trauma they caused them, the point of the investigation is to bring the criminal organization down, Mel and Ella have to sue their parents to get justice for their trauma specifically, so I hired a lawyer to do just that earlier this week, I can strip down to prove it to you if you'd like, it's quite a poorly edited photo of me actually, not to mention they made me half a foot taller" says Cat
"if it's not you then who is it actually of" asks Mo
"it's Mel, her parents found out Cat had hired a lawyer for Mel and Ella and wanted to discredit Cat so the lawyer would drop the case against them, they still maintain that they're innocent people and committed no crimes" says Stella as Cat takes off her skirt to prove the picture isn't her
"whoa Cat I never asked you to do that, please put your skirt back on" says Liv averting her eyes as Mo turns around
"do you believe me now that it isn't me in that picture" asks Cat as she puts her skirt back on, almost falling out of the wheelchair in the process
"it's not us who you have to convince, the label press manager is convinced it is you" says Liv
"I don't have sway with them, nothing I say will change their minds, there's a reason I fired my label press rep, she wanted to control what I ate, what I wore, when I slept and even if I went to school or not, which she seemed to think I was too talented for a formal education and should drop out, I have yet to decide if putting Trina in that position would be seen as favoritism or not, she's definitely qualified, anyway I feel like your word would mean more than mine to them" says Cat
"we only have so much sway because of the sheer size of our fan base, the main issue is the face in the picture, it's a real face that you actually make, especially now that you're in a sexual relationship, you have to be able to prove they could have gotten that picture somewhere other than from you personally" says Liv
"the paparazzi is everywhere, they never leave me alone, I can't control what my face looks like when a random sexual memory pops into my head, trust me I wish I could but I can't, based on my hair I was likely wearing a one piece bathing suit, which means the picture was taken within the last month" says Cat
"but you've worn one piece bathing suits for a long time" says Jade
"not in public, only at private pools, Robbie and Tori gave me the confidence to wear them to the beach" says Cat
"how could you tell what you are wearing if the picture isn't of you besides your face" asks Mo
"my hair, the braid specifically, though you can only see party of it, I can tell it is caught under the strap of my bathing suit, my bikini straps can't hold my hair like that, my bathing suit is two inches thick, my lawyer is looking through my public photos to see where they got the reference photo from" says Cat
"surely it's possible they hacked your phone and got a non public photo, I mean they are criminals after all" says Liv
"not likely, Robbie has our phones locked down tight, the password is twenty-five characters long and sometimes I can't even remember it, if I don't put the password in correctly I can't access the photos, the only way to get access to them is to get physical access to my phone, even then you'd have to be incredibly lucky to guess the password, three failed attempts and the photos get permanently deleted, just in the past week I've lost all my spicy photos because I forgot a special character in the password, I tried to get them back, they're completely gone, not to mention I'd have been notified if someone accessed my picture vault, Tori tried the day after it was created, I got a notification that said 'someone almost guessed your password, please change it asap', to authenticate the password you have to plug your phone into the computer that runs the software, it is physically impossible to authenticate without being at the computer in person as the computer is not connected to the Internet, anyway we have to prepare for the party, you can talk to Robbie about the software later, April is a guest at the request of Ivy, she's bringing her little sister, which seems to be the reason why she was invited, Danielle is the school geek and quite unpopular even among the other geeks like Ivy and Ariel, though that appears to be changing as peer pressure is cracked down on at their school" says Cat as everyone starts working on preparing the living room for the party
During the party 1 hour later
"hey April can we talk outside for a moment" asks Jeremy
"they didn't even expect you to come, don't tell me you're having second thoughts, Sally seems happy to be included and out of the house, just like my little sister is" says April as they head to the backyard
"I'm not having second thoughts about coming here, Sally gets to be a girl outside of her room for the first time in her life, she's visibly glowing, I'm worried she might kill herself if I have to take her back to the house, mom and dad would rather suppress her girly nature than accept her for her, I was hoping you could help me petition a judge to let me be her legal guardian, she has a crush on your sister, who is one of the only people who treat her with respect outside of Ella, Ivy, Ariel and Savannah" says Jeremy
"I can get another agent to help you with the process but because of how Sally feels I can't be involved as the feelings are mutual, which is why she treats Sally so well, though I feel you have something else on your mind" says April
"it's been bugging me about how my parents found out about me being gay" says Jeremy
"Ivy made a mistake, she thought your parents knew about your sexuality, she told them that you had a boyfriend now, they told her she wanted to have sex with grown adults and was using her condition to make it seem normal, they also said that they'd kill her if she showed up at their house again, she's been quite quiet about talking about anyone who could be gay since" says April
"see I don't understand why she'd do that kind of thing, she doesn't seem the type of person that would out someone like that" says Jeremy
"as you know Moss is a military mechanic, none of them get to see him much, her thinking was that if both families knew you and him were together, you could date openly and Moss would spend less time on deployment and more time in town with you which for her meant more time for him to visit her and Anna, they don't agree on much but they agree he's not home enough" says April as Jeremy looks in at Ivy
"so I assume Moss knows she told" asks Jeremy
"no, after your parents lashed out at her for 'insinuating' that you're gay she only told two people, Moss wasn't one of them, she's absolutely terrified, as it is girls with the condition rarely ever make it to their eleventh birthday, now she's afraid people will kill her on top of all that" says April
"Tori said Ivy tried to cancel the party several times, was she afraid that Moss would find out, he blames himself, he thinks that I think he told my parents" says Jeremy noting how Ivy and the girls just isolated themselves from the adults
"Ivy is afraid that someone will hurt her, very afraid, sometimes she does not even trust Savannah, especially during meals" says April
"that sounds like paranoia, not just fear" says Jeremy
"well you're not wrong, both her and Anna are paranoid, Anna has to be homeschooled because she literally doesn't trust teachers or students, Ivy can at least trust the teachers and fellow students most of the time, though since your parents threatened to kill her, Ivy's paranoia has gotten worse, I think that if you were to mend things with Moss some of that guilt might heal, because it is absolutely the guilt that is causing the paranoia to get worse" says April
"I have the feeling that he's moved on, even though I haven't, I don't consider us not to be dating because he's never said we aren't, though he hasn't really been talking to me either so it's hard to tell, I asked him out the first time, I took the risk of accidentally outing myself as gay to my family and everyone I knew, I'm not going to make that move and make a fool out of myself if he rejects me, don't get me wrong I think we should be together but if he's not even willing to make an effort to make time for his sisters, why would he want to make time for me, if he wants to be with me he has to make the first move" says Jeremy
"you'll have to let Ivy know that you're not stopping Moss from asking you out and that it's up to him" says April as they head back inside to find Sally leaning on Danielle cutely
"hey Ivy, can we talk about something" asks Jeremy
"am I in trouble, I can only assume April told you about the problem I created" says Ivy as Moss looks over
"no, you're not in trouble, I'd just like to talk to you for a minute" says Jeremy as Moss looks at him
"oh ok, well if I'm not in trouble then I guess I'm safe" says Ivy as she walks over to him
"I need you to know that I'm not stopping Moss from being with me or spending time with you, I've been trying to get a hold of him for six months, he just doesn't respond, I asked him out the first time, I still consider him and I as dating, he needs to work things out and contact me, I'm not going to make myself look like a fool" says Jeremy
"so you're not mad at me, I need protection, your parents are after me, they've been stalking me ever since the feds took Ella's parents into pre-trial custody, whatever that is" says Ivy
"wait they're stalking you, that's bold for them, they talk a good game but they've never actually acted on it, April is there anything you can do, should Sally stay here tonight" says Jeremy
"technically I'm off duty for the next week, mainly for my protection, Ivy go tell Tori about the stalking, her dad can do something, I'll be too busy moving in next door" says April as Ivy's eyes get wide
"d-does that mean Sally and Dani will be living there, they don't get much time together outside of school" says Ivy
"Dani will be for sure, Sally's situation is tense, I'm going to have a judge look into it and rule on guardianship, so they are dating, Dani's very secretive about what happens at school outside of tests and stuff" says April
"as of this week yeah, the school loosened flirting rules between us kids last Friday, so long it's consented to beforehand, the principal doesn't care so long as any relationships are strictly age appropriate and don't affect a student's grades, though they don't call it dating, they just call it 'being cute together', Sally's situation doesn't allow her to have much of a life outside of school, if you need someone to validate Jerry's claims I'd love to, unlike Ella, Savannah, Ariel and I, Sally doesn't have the option to have a social life or not, Dani doesn't have much of one either but that's mostly of her choosing, you being an FBI agent who info dumps to her doesn't help, she doesn't keep secrets very well" says Ivy as she drags Jeremy over to Moss
"any particular reason why you almost ripped Jeremy's arm off Ivy, you know mom and dad don't like it when you use your strength, you forget you're stronger than you think" says Moss as Ivy pushes Jeremy into him
"love him again, no excuses, I made a mistake, I thought his parents knew that he likes guys, I accidentally outed him to them, they threatened to kill me because I 'insulted' their family's 'normality' as if that's ever really been a thing, humans pretend to be normal to fit in, normal isn't a real thing, it's faked obviously" says Ivy
"what about Anna, doesn't she want to say anything on the matter of his love life of is it just you who seems to care" asks Jeremy
"Iris, as caring as she can be, doesn't care if Moss is dating, just that by not being in a relationship, he's keeping himself from her, she's very much clingy to those who gain her trust, Moss and I especially" says Ivy
"wait I thought her name was Anna" says Jeremy confused
"not legally, between her and I she's the more paranoid one, people were making fun of her, saying she had an 'inhuman' name and it bugged her to no end, she made mom and dad change it, at least when it comes to people, Iris is still her legal name" says Ivy as Iris walks over clearly angry
"IT IS NOT my name, would you stop saying that it is, mom messed up the forms and the government won't let her resubmit them till I'm of legal age, whatever that means, I'll always be a test subject for these doctors, it's like I'm not even human to them" says Iris as she storms off
"don't mind her, she's just very testy, she's in the middle of her cycle, she's usually more agreeable" says Ivy as she heads back towards the group
"so a date when" asks Moss
"I don't know, can you actually make time for me, Ivy doesn't need your money and Anna clearly wants more time with you, I have noticed that you tend to calm her down" says Jeremy
"that's because the specialists she sees tend to creep her out, it's usually about the size of her chest, the doctors seem to think it's undersized for a seventeen year old, though by that logic Ivy's chest is oversized for her age, when doctors aren't trying to find a reason to explain them staring at her chest they're telling her she should be smarter or more fluent in English for someone her age, its been stupid things like 'try this medication', 'oh that's not working anymore, let's try this incredibly dangerous experimental medication instead', Iris has every right to be pissed off, her paranoia is the only reason she isn't in a physical school environment instead of being homeschooled, she just doesn't trust the teachers or students not to creep on her, though the paranoia exaggerates it, her paranoia about it is valid, if doctors are willing to justify objectifying her then so will teachers and classmates" says Moss
"to be fair they do look small" says Jeremy
"ironic that you'd focus on that of all things, doctors thought she had breast cancer a few years back, they used to be big for her size and age, they believed she had cancer right up to the point of touching the scalpel to her skin to remove what looked and felt like a tumor, turns out it was a lump of red blood cells that had clotted and got stuck thanks to her blood and heart issues, they woke her Io and she asked them to shrink her chest size down because it was hurting her back, she hasn't winced getting out of bed since the reduction, unfortunately her medical doctor is new and refuses to read notes left by the hospital about the surgery so every doctor he refers thinks they haven't grown in years and is a hormonal issue" says Moss
"may I ask what you think is wrong and if we moved in together, would you bring Anna with you for her safety or is she safer with your parents" asks Jeremy putting a hypothetical situation out there
"If she follows me that's up to her, I know full well mom and dad are having trouble with her, she may be seventeen but education wise she's only at a seventh grade level, as for why I think is wrong, it's a mix of things, from autism, to extreme anxiety, to claustrophobia as well as mild paranoia disorder, all of which her previous doctor diagnosed her with, this new doctor seems to think it's on Anna to prove she has these conditions, instead of just trusting her medical history, he's literally not saying she was misdiagnosed, he's telling her that she should be in what amounts to a one room prison, I've been trying to get a meeting with Rebecca Vega for the past several months, I apologize if my focus wasn't on you, I was worried the fear of having to prove she's not planning to kill someone might break her and will cause her to hurt someone" says Moss
"does she have anyone interested in her romantically, I have to admit that Sally noticed all four of those girls calmed down dramatically when they started what they call dating, they must have a ton of self control not to be glued to each other's side all day everyday" says Jeremy As David walks over after hanging up
"hey Moss, can we talk" says David
"what about, by fellow military mechanics didn't report me missing from curfew did they, DOD gave me the week off, my boss confirmed my time off when Anna and I left her appointment" says Moss
"Rebecca had someone cancel an early morning appointment and was wondering if Anna would like to have her confirm things, she knows you have been trying to get a hold of her about Anna's doctor, one message you left said that her doctor would swear at her" says David
"she saw a specialist today who demeaned her, made her feel like a lesser human being, I don't know if she'll be ready to talk to Rebecca by tomorrow, it usually takes her a few days to recover, besides isn't Rebecca a doctor at the hospital, I didn't know those doctors were allowed to take appointments, I thought the hospital delegated that stuff, the hospital won't let Anna in without a doctor referring her because of her issues" says Moss
"Rebecca has a team of doctors that work for and with her, she's strictly psych ward, during flu season mental health care lulls the hospital allows her to make appointments with patients from outside the hospital, her pay doesn't change, they just don't see the point in paying doctors the same amount if they're sitting around half the time during flu season, you might not get another chance, Rebecca majored in biochemistry, she's realized connections in patients long before other doctors have because of it" says David
"is she going to make Anna defend her current diagnoses like Anna's doctor is, because it's very draining for Anna" says Moss
"no, Rebecca doesn't do that, though Anna will likely be there for several hours to a few days while tests are done, it'll give you and your parents a break as well as give you time to hang out with Jeremy" says David
"will her doctor be informed of the results, because it won't go well if he's told Anna's been right the entire time" says Moss
"won't go well for who, Anna or her doctor" asks David
"her doctor thinks she's faking so she gets diagnoses that free her from prison time, he thinks she's planning to kill someone and wants to use the insanity defense to get out of serving time, the thing is, if she was planning to kill someone she's been planning since she was two" says Moss as David winces
"may I ask if she was better on the medication her previous doctor had her on, is she worse now than she was then" asks David
"I mean she wasn't perfect, I don't know any normal person that is and Anna has mental health issues on all sides, she can't get away from them but on her old medication she could at least attend school part time, even if she had to be isolated most of the time, before the medication her old doctor gave her she was failing quite badly, after the medication and assistance from the school regarding study assistance, she was a C plus student, she was very proud of her progress, that all changed when her doctor suddenly retired, something about a stroke, this new doctor wants to blame Anna for everything, being confronted and told that she's telling the truth, it might just put a target on her head" says Moss
"this Doctor, his name Jamie Allen Kingstone" asks David
"yeah, he's Ivy's doctor too, wait how did you know his name" asks Moss
"not the first time a rapist has resurfaced, he has five other victims five years ago and a few recently brought to LAPD attention, though unfortunately they're all rather untethered from reality so the District attorney won't touch it, Anna's mental health issues don't make her out to be untethered from reality, she could give the case credibility" says David as Anna suddenly sits up and pays attention to the conversation
"I don't like the insinuation that her doctor is molesting or raping her, mainly because it implies ivy is also being raped" says Moss getting upset
"I don't bring it up lightly Moss, however if you want to be upset at anyone, it'll have to be Ivy, she's the one that brought the matter to our attention, we had assumed Jamie had been rehabilitated as he'd been cleared by the board of doctors to practice again a few years ago, as far as Ivy has said, Jamie hasn't touched her, though she said he was intent on making her and Anna fight constantly by feeding Anna lies" says David
"so what's to be done about it" asks Moss
"Anna will have to talk to Rebecca about everything, anything said will remain confidential unless it implicate Jamie but only relevant information will be shared with us cops, Rebecca is all about privacy but to understand what conditions Anna does have, Anna will have to be open about everything, even if it's amoral, the better Rebecca understands what Anna's baseline is, the better she will be able to correctly diagnose her, she's even open to being a replacement for Jamie if Anna wants that" says David as Anna walks over
"take me there, take me there now" says Anna
"you have things to talk about don't you" asks Moss trying to be as discrete as possible
"too many, I didn't realize he was trying to put a wedge between Ivy and me, she grounds me, she isn't afraid to tell me the truth even if I hate it, I wish I had an alternative to her but the only people I want in my life won't talk to me" says Anna
"Moss, you stay here, I'll take Anna to the hospital, keep Ivy safe at all costs" says David as Anna follows him to his car
"well I guess our second date is a pool date" says Jeremy
"as long as the kids don't want to use the pool sure" says Moss