"Jim, I'm not sure that's advisable. It's still a radical, unproven procedure," Doctor Herbert West argued.
"I don't care, Herb! This is my daughter! I'd do anything for her!" Jim West counter-argued.
"I would too, Jim. She is my niece after all. But this?"
"Herbert, can she survive like this?"
The slender man shook his head sadly, his glasses flashing reflections of the overhead lights.
The brothers stared at the wreck on the bed before them. Jade's body was badly mangled from the chest down. In the accident, she had lost her left arm and her right leg as well as her left foot. The remaining limbs were a mass of fractured bone and torn flesh. Her torso had been crushed so major organs were either dead or shutting down. A heart-lung machine was essentially the only thing keeping her alive, maintaining the needed oxygen levels for her brain but, without some true miracle, there was literally no hope.
"Please, Herb. I lost her before, emotionally, and we were just getting back to a real father-daughter life. I need her to be okay."
Herbert took off his glasses and began to wipe the lenses with a handkerchief. "The trauma is extensive but I can save the head, the upper spinal column and her larynx for now. I can keep that going in a nutrient back with an artificial heart. But this is only a temporary solution. I can't guarantee it will keep her alive long enough to get her replacement body ready."
Jim looked thoughtfully into nothing as he thought. Finally, he said, "Based on your earlier experiments, I might have an idea."
Tori came out of the anesthetic fog. Initially, she had no idea who she was, where she was or why she couldn't remember. Several long, scary moments passed then the memories came flooding back.
At the same time, she realized her right shoulder felt...odd. That memory came back to her as well, causing her eyes to open wide and her mouth to form an 'O'.
Turning her head was difficult, there was very little room on her right side, too much hair and flesh. Tori did manage to turn it enough to see Jade's profile. Her face looked beautifully peaceful, even with the bruising, stitches and cuts.
Tori hit the call button as Jade started to stir. A nurse came in, saw the movement and called Dr. West.
Those eyes started to flutter and Tori tensed, waiting for Jade to wake up and find out what happened. She had been briefed that Jade probably would not remember the accident and, since that time, she had been in a medically-induced coma.
Lips started to move as the eyes opened, staring at the ceiling. A very raspy voice tried to speak, "Ah...thirrreee..."
Nurse Lydia Park held a spoonful of ice chips to Jade's lips. For Lydia, it was easy to decode post-op patient-speak. as she had assisted in many recovery situations.
The raven-haired girl swallowed it quickly then tried to speak. "Wh…what happened?"
"There was an accident," the nurse stated.
"You were in pretty bad shape, Jade," Tori added.
Shocked eyes turned to the voice and she stared at Tori. "What the hell, Vega? You forget about personal space?"
A soft half-smile tilted the corner of Tori's mouth, the appearance of the Jade she knew was a good sign. But she only said, "Kinda hard to do. You see, we... Um... I kinda volunteered..."
Doctor West and Jim West came in. Jade's uncle said, "Jade, you were in a car accident. You were in really bad shape. There was no way to save you except…"
When his brother faltered, Jim spoke up, "Jade, your uncle tried a radical procedure."
"How radical?"
The nurse held up her hand then pulled a small mirror from her pocket, "This may help explain..."
Jade stared at herself, seeing the black eye, red cuts on her lips, cheek and the stitches, both in her right cheek, the left nostril where she had a stud and in her eyebrow where the ring used to be. Then her eyes dropped to the white bandage around her neck and Tori's upper torso.
The scream echoed through the private facility, scaring most and alerting those few in the know that Jade was awake.
Several hours later, Jade, and Tori, came out of the sedated state that they were returned to. Jade saw her father, mother and uncle all by her bedside. Slowly, she turned to the left to see...Tori Vega!
Panic set in again but she choked it back. Closing her eyes and counting to ten slowly, she exhaled and looked at the adults.
"What the hell kind of sick joke is this? Is this some twisted Human Centipede thing with Vega?!"
"Jade, you were in a car accident. Your car was t-boned by a truck that flew down the ramp from the Hollywood Freeway, completely out of control. Your body was..." Jim West had to stop. She saw tears in his normally stoic eyes and tears in her mother's eyes too.
Turning to her uncle, she raised an eyebrow, feeling pain from the stitches in her brow.
"Your body was horribly damaged by the crash. It was amazing you made it to the hospital. We were able to stabilize you for a time but the injuries were too severe. Your body was dying."
"Dying..." Jade whispered. "Am I dead? Is this hell..."
"No! No, Jade. You're alive! Well, your brain is. You know I teach and do research at the Miskatonic University in Arkham. I was working on a way to prolong life. Several of my attempts failed. So badly…" He closed his eyes then went on, "But, I did successfully clone a… At any rate, I went to a radically different approach. I can save the head and brain, grow a replacement body then transplant your brain into it."
"Huh? What?" Jade felt like she was drowning in too much information.
"I'm growing a new body from your DNA. It'll take the usual nine months for initial development. Then I have a way to induce aging to bring your new body up to your proper age. That'll take another few months. In the meantime, we had to graft your head to a host body."
Tori cut in, "Your father contacted me since you actually have the same blood type as mine and enough of a physiological similarity to be able to carry you." Jade glanced down at the sheet covering Tori's chest. Tori sighed, "Not that! Anyway, he asked if I would be willing to be your host for a year or so and I agreed."
Jim found his voice, "I offered her money but she refused. She just wants to help."
Jade, finally getting a handle on everything, sighed, "So I'm stuck with Little Susie Sunshine for a year?" Jade's head dropped back on the pillow, "Shoulda let me die..."
"Jade Angelica West! I will not hear that from you! Never again. Your friend is willing to put up with you – put her own life on the line - so you can eventually continue your normal life! You should be grateful!" Melinda West scolded her daughter, gripping the shoulders even if Jade couldn't feel it. "And, I couldn't bear it if you did die..."
She turned away, choking back sobs.
Jade tried to reach out to her mother, "Mom..." She noticed the hand was still lying on the sheet. "What the hell?"
"Jade, that's something else we need to discuss," Uncle Herbert said. "You're a…guest in Tori's 'house'. She still has motor control. I attached enough muscles to let you can control your head and facial muscles and basic neck muscles. I also used a…stint, if you will, to link your esophagus and larynx to Tori's, so you will be able to swallow. You actually don't need to breathe, air from Tori's lungs will keep your blood and brain oxygenated as well as letting you speak."
"Okay, okay... Too much..." Jade said. Tori reached across and held Jade's right cheek softly in her left hand, trying to provide some comfort to the girl.
"Vega? Three. Two. One."
Jade still felt the hand and realized she could do nothing. She burst into great sobbing tears.
Tori adjusted her hands so she held Jade's crying head to hers. Melinda leaned in and pressed her forehead to Jade's. Even as he knew it was a worthless gesture, Jim West held the narrow portion of the shoulder below his daughter's head.
The rest of the evening passed in silence. Jade had more questions but was afraid to ask them. I'm afraid! Jeez! And in front of…her! Damn!
Finally, dinner was brought in on a cart. Jade saw the tray and said, "Only one?"
Herbert West nodded, "Yes. See, you share a bloodstream and respiration, to a point, but there is only one stomach. We did make an adjustment to the amount of food as we are feeding two brains but, still, only one body."
Jade had already noticed the respiration issue. She would inhale while Tori exhaled and the air in the lungs would back up. They finally reached an unspoken agreement and inhaled at the same time then exhaled. Eventually, Jade learned she didn't really need respiration like most people and was able to use it to talk but let Vega do most of the work- it was her diaphragm and lungs after all. The only exceptions were during physical exertion later in their Joining.
"So, who eats?" Jade asked.
Tori spoke for the first time in a few hours. Jade thought, Several hours? That has to be a record personal best! Bet she even talks in her sleep. Oh God!
"We can take turns. Either one of us eats an entire meal then the other has the next. Or…we alternate bites during a meal."
They didn't try that yet. Lydia, the nurse, fed them initially. From the drugs, as well as Tori needing to know how to reach Jade's mouth and not her cheek or chin, they weren't quite ready for that.
After soup, some coffee for Jade and tea for Tori, followed by Jell-O cubes, Jade asked, "So What about college?"
Tori said, "We're taking a sabbatical from USC."
"A sabbatical? We're students, not profs. Whatever, what about… Where the hell do we live? I've already been freaking about paparazzi when I make it big. But now, I'll be a freak! I don't want that! I'd rather be dead!"
She could feel Tori nodding in agreement, which actually soothed her a bit.
Melinda said, "We have a solution. You'll both be gone from public view for a while, so you'll be at the estate on Little Key West. The entire island will be yours, which means the house, the beaches and the Gulf waters."
Tori had to ask, "Little Key West?"
Jade said, "Yeah, it's one of the Florida Keys that the family bought about ten generations ago from the Spanish conquistadors…"
"Actually, my great-grandfather staked a claim when he thought it would be a stop on the Florida Overseas Railroad that finally connected the mainland to Key West. When the railroad was actually built, it followed a line south to Bahia Honda Key instead. My grandfather ended up turning our key into a getaway.
"After the Labor Day Hurricane in 1935, most of the railroad and bridges were destroyed north of Meridian almost to Key Largo, the worst hit was the village of Islamorado on Lower Matecumbe Key and Tea Table Key. Later, after the railroad failed as a result of the hurricane damage, Florida took over and built the Overseas Highway. Still bypassed our little key, fortunately.
"It's private and secure. The only way onto the island is by boat. And we'll have people keeping track of any curious visitors to Bahia, West Summerland or Big Piney. There'll be a team on our key patrolling to keep lookie-lou's away."
"Daddy… Dad, will everything be okay?"
Jim looked at his brother, the 'mad' scientist blinked behind his glasses, then nodded, "I think so…"
Tori spoke up again, "Will I be able to see my family?"
"Of course. I have a cabin cruiser in a private marina in Miami. We can bring them out to the key. There's wealth of passage under Seven-Mile Bridge from the Carib into the Gulf. Using our cruiser and not driving A1A will help keep the secret as well."
"When my…body is ready, what happens?"
Herbert spoke up. "I'll take you both back to Arkham – not that I could only take one – and… My plan is to replace the new brain with yours."
"My BRAIN?!"
Behind his glasses, Herbert blinked then nodded, "I've…done it a couple of times…"
"With humans?"
"Uh… Only once. The transplant worked but…there were other factors…" Seeing the look on his niece's face, he quickly said, "No. You don't want to know. But I've refined the process. I'll make sure it's ready when the time comes.
Jim West cut in, "Jade, Tori, you'll be free of each other next year. It may take longer than twelve months but it will work. It has too!"
Later, as they were left alone for the night, Tori asked, "Jade?"
Sighing, Jade replied, "Yes?"
"Are you scared?"
There was a short pause then Jade said, "Of course not!" Another, longer pause, then she said, in a much quieter voice, "In fact, I'm terrified."
Tori reached over and held Jade's face in her hand, saying, "I'm here for you. Always."
"No shit, Sherlock!"
That was all it took. All the stress of the day, the past several days for Tori, gave way to near-hysterical laughter.
"When were you going to tell me you have the same blood type? You could've helped when Robbie has is operation!" Tori stated.
"Then I might not have a chance to play Steamboat Suzie!"
"You didn't get to anyway…"
"Well, that's Sikowitz' fault!"
"Whatever…" Tori sighed, too worn out from fatigue and the stress of the day to go on.
Jade must've felt that same, probably more, as she finally said, "I'm wiped. G'night, Vega."
"Good night, Jade. It'll be alright."
"Uh-huh…"
Jade dozed off first but was awakened by a buzzing near her ear. In seconds, she realized it was Tori snoring lightly.
"Vega!"
"Huh? Wha…?"
"Wake up and go to sleep!"
"What…?"
At least Tori didn't talk in her sleep.
That was only the first of their arguments. But a significant one as Jade found it almost impossible to sleep as Tori was snoring. Admittedly, it wasn't as bad as times when she and her mother visited her grandfather who had a severely deviated septum - from a bar fight when he was in the Navy during the war. That man could wake up a coma patient a county away.
Soon, one or the other was complaining the other breathed too loud. Or chewing. Or drinking. Or…
It took two days before they could use a bathroom. The catheter took care of urine but anything else wasn't happening in the bed pan. Not surprising after the trauma of surgery. But, on the third day after the Joining, Tori got the okay to walk into the bathroom and try to take care of business.
It took a while and Jade snarked, "You could've brought the newspaper or a book…"
"I'm sorry. I thought it would be a lot quicker!"
"You've been doped up. Your body is…"
The bickering continued while they were in there. In the end…
"Vega, light a match! Jeez! You could power Pittsburgh from the methane that came out of you!"
And that was a litany that continued long after the separation.
Long before they got to the estate on Little Key West, the girls stopped talking. The bickering became intense – to the point that, if Jade could, she would've taken something sharp to Tori.
The big argument was actually a very small thing. Jade wanted to watch Stanley Kubrick's original version of The Stand on Encore but Tori wanted Girly-Cow on Nickelanddime. Given the fact that Tori had motor control, the remote was on Nickelanddime. The fact that she switched to FX afterwards for the encore showing didn't matter to Jade.
The next day, they argued about breakfast, even though neither had a choice. It was oatmeal again.
Over the next few days, while the 'Siamese Twins' recovered before the trip East, nothing was said. Jade had to admit she was somewhat impressed that Motormouth Vega was so quiet. The only time either of them spoke was in direct response to questions from the nurse or Jade's uncle.
There were no exceptions. When Jade's father and mother came to see Jade; Jim, and his ex, Melinda, did draw Tori into conversations but the girls pointedly didn't speak to each other.
Jade talked to her parents, saying, "Tell Vega…" as Tori replied the same way. Jim shook his head, slightly amused, presuming they'd get over it.
Tori found it sweet that Jade and her father, "Call me Jim", had a much better relationship than the time they staged Well Wishes. She wasn't completely surprised by Melinda and Jade's relationship. It was no better than most teen/parent situations but they were obviously close and loved each other. Tori thought she saw some spark between the divorcees but, for a change, let it go.
This silent treatment continued through the month before their release from the private clinic. And on until they finally reached Little Key West.
They were all taken to a private airport in the Valley and flown, on Jim West's Learjet, to Miami. From there, the party (Jade and Tori, Melinda West, Jim West, David and Holly Vega, and their daughter Trina, with Herbert West and Lydia Park) took two private SUVs to the marina and the West yacht.
About an hour after they cleared the channel near Key Biscayne, Jim pointed to the land just starboard of the yacht. "That's Key Largo, like the old Bogart-Bacall movie. The African Queen from that other classic Bogart movie is one of the attractions as well as the vast mangrove swamps with canoe and kayak channels carved through the mangroves.
"Took your mother kayaking there on our honeymoon, Jade." He laughed.
Melinda cut in, "Don't you dare, James!"
"What?!" Jade demanded.
"Your mom fell in. Took her a while to get back on the kayak," Jim managed to say as he laughed.
"It was that damned safety jacket. And the fact that there is no bottom in those damn swamps… I couldn't get the leverage to crawl back on that stupid little boat!" Melinda argued.
Everyone, including Melinda after a few minutes, laughed at the tale.
From there, Jim provided an intermittent commentary on the Keys as they cruised along. Melinda smiled as she said, "You never tire of the sound of your voice."
Jade countered, "I like Dad's stories. Especially when you fall in the drink…"
"It was only that one time!"
A while later, they passed a long, slender key. "That's the Village of Islamorada. It stretches from Upper Matecumbe Key, over Tea Table Key and southwest to Lower Matecumbe. This is where the Labor Day Hurricane hit in '35."
As they slowly passed Long Key, Tori asked, "Is that the bridge?"
"No. That is isn't quite it. That one is a mile or so shorter. And we still have to past Duck Key, Vaca Key, Fat Deer…"
"How many keys are there?" Jade asked.
"How many hells do the Chinese have?" her father returned, happy when Jade smiled at the indirect reference to the old Big Trouble in Little China film they used to watch together when Jade was a kid and the family was together.
In a matter of hours, they reached the northeast end of Seven Mile Bridge where it left Knight's Key to span the distance - actually just under seven miles - to Little Duck Key. On the Gulf side of the bridge, there was another span. Tori pointed and asked, "Is that the old bridge?"
Jim nodded, "Yep, the old highway bridge. It was also what the Overseas Railway ran on until the storm. Remember the chase in True Lies? That was on that stretch of the old road. It'sopen for pedestrians, fishermen and bicyclists but they can only go about three miles to the missing swing-section of the bridge which was removed. We'll cut over about that point."
In minutes, they were passing under Seven Mile Bridge. Tori watched the bridge pass over them. Instinctively, she marveled aloud, "Wow, Jade. That is an impressive bridge."
Jade did not respond. But, inside, she was glad Tori did try to talk to her. She didn't want to admit she missed that voice.
Tori huffed, "Fine! Don't talk to me!"
As they approached the key, Jade asked her father, "How did our…ancestor think this was a possible route for the railroad?"
Jim chuckled, "I can't say. It's nowhere near the route the railroad, or now A1A, follows. I'd have to say wishful thinking. No Name Key would've made more sense to buy but it was public land, more or less, since there were already people living there. Even No Name was too far north for the railroad."
No Name Key was across the water from Little Key West. Their island was roughly two miles laterally and not quite a mile across. Most of it, like the rest of the Keys, was rough scrub with some southern evergreen trees and soft, sandy beaches surrounding the island. The pier was along the west side and the road led to the manor. Golf carts were used to drive the crushed coral road.
As they approached the house, Jade said, "Looks like the mansion in Tarantula. Before the giant spider killed Leo G. Carroll."
Tori said, "Tell Jade to use spoiler alert. Some of us haven't seen the movie yet."
Before Jim West could say anything, Jade said, "Tell Vega that she needs to widen her interests!"
The house was a two-story, colonnaded structure. There were large windows on both levels with the fittings for storm panels, a long lanai on the ground floor and another above that also circled the house. The interior was spacious and open. Wide open windows allowed the nearly constant Gulf breezes to flow through the building to keep it relatively cool. Ceiling fans helped and, in the cases of extreme heat, the home had a full air-conditioning system.
There was a generator shack behind the house as well as solar panels on the roof. While the house did rely on the Keys' public power grid, the Wests were well-prepared for virtually any failure of the infrastructure, mainly due to hurricanes.
There were several bedrooms upstairs. Tori and Jade had one, a corner room with window-doors looking west from the front of the house towards No Name and side windows that looked south across the water to Seven Mile Bridge. Another room was set aside for Melinda, who planned to be there for the duration of their stay. The bedroom adjacent to Tori and Jade's was given to Lydia. Of the six other bedrooms, two were 'reserved' for the Vegas, another for Dr. West. The master bedroom, which was actually not much larger than any of the others, was for Jim.
Once they were settled, Tori asked, "Can we go swimming?"
Dr. West replied, "Not just yet. Another few weeks recovery before I want you in salt water."
Jade actually spoke up, "Can we wade in the water, if it doesn't come up to the sutures?"
Herbert West looked thoughtful for a several moments then said, "I don't see why not. As long as Lydia is there."
Tori turned her head a bit, which was becoming easier as the two got used to their proximity, and their hair had been cut back severely, to said, "Thanks, Jade."
The darker girl didn't respond. But the dam was breached.
At dinner that night, Tori took turns with Jade on their food – seafood and Key Lime pie for dessert. Tori always gave Jade the first bite then herself. This was a pattern they accepted even as they stopped speaking.
The first evening on the island, with Lydia keeping a decent distance from them, Tori followed a sandy trail through the scrub to the beach. Already barefoot, she thrilled at the feeling of the low surf as it rolled gently over her feet. She walked along through the ankle-deep surf to the southern tip of the islet. Dusk was coming on and the traffic along the Bridge turned on their headlights, over a mile away.
"Vega… Um… Tori, thank you."
Knowing what Jade meant, she simply replied, "You're welcome."
It was a start.
They also managed to watch enough of Jade's shows to keep her mollified. Again, mostly unspoken. Tori would ask, "What do you want to watch""
Jade would respond, "The Strain". Or The Walking Dead. Or whatever dark show was on. Tori didn't mind the darker shows – she liked those but her favorite was Penny Dreadful. Still this was never enough to break the barrier between them.
Another unspoken change was Jade accepting Tori's light snoring. By the time they were in the Keys, she actually needed it to sleep. Those nights when Tori couldn't sleep, Jade couldn't either. Not that she admitted this little fact.
One day, when Uncle Herb was visiting (even Tori took to calling him Uncle Herb), Jade asked, "How's my new bod?"
"Your body is growing perfectly. The 'birth' should be in the next month. Then I start the aging acceleration. How old do you want your new body?" he joked.
"My age," Jade replied. "Nineteen is fine. Um, actually, I forgot I'm twenty now."
"I didn't," Herbert said.
