[For Bay] Amnesia plot

[happy_dsign]

Daphne woke to a shaking pillow, frowning and sitting up. She felt weird, disoriented. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, not recognizing anything in her surroundings, and her heart started pounding. "...Mom?" she called, clutching the blanket against her as her gaze fell on the sleeping stranger in the next bed. A whimper of fear, of panic escaped her as her head whipped around and she scooted toward the headboard, her eyes wild. "Mom!"

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[happy_dsign]

Daphne mouthed the name, her confused gaze flickering briefly to the girl's hands as she made strange gestures, then back to her face. "No we're not. I don't know you." She hugged her knees to her chest and moaned, "I want my mommy."

[neither_a_nor_b]

Could Daphne really not understand sign language? Bay's stomach clenched and she tried not to panic. It seemed, by default, she was the grownup here.

Scribbling in her book, Bay wrote out bullet points: the found out when they were fifteen that they'd been switched at birth; they were currently roommates on a magic island; and no she didn't expect any of it to make sense.

[happy_dsign]

Daphne bit her lip and wiped at her teary eyes, sniffling as she read the page the girl Bay had held out to her, finger tracing along as she read each word. She looked up after she finished and shook her head. "I don't know what any of that means," she wailed, shaking her head and trying to get herself under control. This was all weird and scary and she really, really wanted her mom, but her mom wasn't here, and it didn't seem like anyone was trying to do anything bad to her, at least at the moment. She managed to almost stop crying, though the occasional tear still tracked down her cheeks.

She looked down at her body, noticing for the first time that it was the wrong shape, the wrong size. "What happened to me? Why am I so...big? Long?" She held out her arms, eyes wide.

[neither_a_nor_b]

Wait? Had the island turned Daphne into a kid or something? This place just seemed to enjoy punching her in the gut and Bay swallowed, trying to remember what they taught her in that Girl Scouts baby-sitting course. She hadn't really been paying attention.

Reaching into her bag, Bay grabbed a mirror and sat next to Daphne.

On the pad of paper, Bay wrote We're 16 and held the mirror up in front of their faces.

[happy_dsign]

Daphne's eyes got wide as she stared at herself in the mirror. She looked at the paper again, at the words Bay had written, and shook her head slowly. "I'm...sixteen?" she whispered, looking terrified again. She looked at Bay and said in a small voice, "But I was eight yesterday."

[neither_a_nor_b]

Everything about writing the messages down felt wrong to Bay after so much time enforcing the importance of real communication instead of shortcuts, but she couldn't think of another way to do it. Sighing, she wrote down more, handwriting small and blocky. This place is magic and sometimes it plays tricks. We've been here for almost a year. And you knew me back home. You taught me sign language.

Hoping that it might jog some memories, Bay began signing the alphabet. "A, b, c..."

[happy_dsign]

Daphne stared, her fear fading a little to be replaced by wonder. "...Sign language?" she asked, watching Bay's hand raptly as it shifted, forming different shapes with her fingers.

[neither_a_nor_b]

Bay nodded, repeating the first letters of the alphabet. Then she changed tactics, writing D A P H N E on a new page of a sketchbook before signing the letters. Then she shifted her hand and showed Daphne her own name sign. "Daphne."

In the book, she wrote You use the sign for 'Happy' but with a D. For Daphne.

Then she finger-spelled B A Y before going back to a B and drawing a line of wavy hair from her temple. "Bay."

[happy_dsign]

Daphne just kept staring, then slowly tried repeating the sign that Bay had shown her for her name. "Daphne?" she asked, looking down at her hand, then at the other girl for confirmation.

[neither_a_nor_b]

"Daphne," Bay agreed, repeating the word and the sign again. "Daphne Paloma Vasquez."

[happy_dsign]

There was a language using hands. No talking, no hearing, just gestures that meant words. Suddenly the rest of this insane morning didn't matter as much anymore. "Show me happy," she demanded, sitting up straighter, her eyes wide and expression intent. She wanted to learn more, learn all of it.

[neither_a_nor_b]

"Happy without a D, you got it." She made the sign slowly and then a second time, faster.

"My signing is okay, but I don't know all of it."

But, Bay thought, she'd know enough for Daphne to get by until this all blew over. It had to blow over. She didn't want to consider the alternative.

[happy_dsign]

"You know more than me," Daphne pointed out with a little grin, even as she practiced signing 'happy' over and over. "I want to see more. Show me more." She climbed out of bed, wrinkling her nose as she looked down at the floor. "I got tall," she observed to herself before turning her attention to Bay with an expectant look.

[neither_a_nor_b]

"What do you want me to–" Bay stopped and shook her head. She grabbed a pair of Daphne's jeans and a t-shirt.

"Better idea. We'll learn the signs for breakfast by making it."

[happy_dsign]

Daphne nodded and smiled happily at this plan, accepting her clothes and quickly shedding her pajamas to change. "I want to learn everything," she professed sincerely.