Vera was horrified to learn of the real Kane's existence but, tragically, it made a lot of sense. DID was caused by early childhood trauma from what she had heard. Casey was positively drowning in it.
Kane was a protector. One Little Casey desperately wished he had. Her heart was shattering into even smaller pieces just thinking about it.
While she hated the fact that Kane had to exist in the first place, she was grateful to him for keeping Casey together as long as he had. She wouldn't have met Casey if he hadn't been mostly functional.
This wasn't permanent. Vera had to believe that. He just needed medicine and therapy. If she didn't believe that, she would completely give in to despair.
She needed him. She needed him so much! Having both of the people she loved in a care facility at once was almost too much for her to take. This was just temporary in his case though. He only needed enough intervention to be functional on the outside. That was what mental wards like this were for. They weren't long term like nursing homes.
Casey would come home in a matter of weeks then everything could start to be okay again. Even if she wasn't entirely sure her heart would ever recover from learning what he had been through. And she didn't even have details!
Vera didn't want them either. The physical proof on his body was sickening enough.
Kane was genuinely confused by how supportive she was being so she did her best to explain her feelings. At least he seemed to accept them.
If he was Casey's protector, he would care about what he loved. Right? On some level. Casey trusted her so Kane had to as well, at least a little. She would take what she could get. She was just glad they were able to talk about this calmly. As awful as it was.
He wasn't happy about her calling 911 but at least didn't try to fight back. He even responded with dry humor when the ambulance arrived.
"That's my ride. Can you at least give me a kiss goodbye?"
Where was THAT coming from?! Vera deflected as best she could, not sure what to think. "I'm going with you in the ambulance."
It was both to comfort him—though it didn't seem like Kane needed any sort of comfort with how nonchalant he was—and for her own peace of mind. She needed to know where the man she loved ended up. Even if it was only his body right now.
"Just give it to me later then."
They had to explain what was going on to the paramedics since Kane was perfectly calm and he didn't seem happy about being strapped to the gurney so she held his hand, refusing to let go, as he answered all their questions. He did it so naturally. How long had he been playing Casey? How many times had Kane done it in front of Vera?
She couldn't ask. Not in front of other people.
She saw him get checked in then hugged him goodbye, feeling part of her soul leave her. She was sure she would break down crying all over again as soon as she was out of here. Today had been so awful in so many ways!
"I'll come see you tomorrow, Kane. Do you want me to bring anything?" Vera asked tiredly.
"Snacks would be good. But you're forgetting something," Kane replied.
She hadn't forgotten at all. She just hoped he would since she didn't like the implications here.
"I didn't forget."
Vera kissed Kane's cheek, unable to do more now that she knew he wasn't Casey. Then she waved goodbye and had to hug herself to keep from falling apart.
She was crying in the car on the drive home but didn't completely break down until she was safely inside her house. The man she loved was so very broken. She had to believe he was fixable. That he wouldn't leave her alone when she was already losing Tilly.
Vera hardly got any sleep but desperately needed a distraction so she didn't close the shop for the day. She needed to work on things but it was hard being in the workshop because both of them should be there with her. It was wrong that they weren't!
The day really dragged on before she could go visit after the shop closed. She had to pick between Tilly and Casey and chose the latter because he was more likely to be lucid. A version of him anyway.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the one Vera wanted to see. Kane was out, happily scarfing down the Oreos she brought him.
It was obviously him. His bangs were up so a nasty scar was visible across his hairline.
He was surprised when Vera said as much for a moment before brushing it off, insulting Casey in the process by calling him a dumb baby. It probably wasn't a good idea to argue with an alternate personality when she wanted him to cooperate but she wouldn't stand for any slander of the man she loved.
Kane didn't seem to think what Candy did was nearly as horrifying as it was. He was way too dismissive, thinking Casey was weak for handling it differently. Kane said he got used to it while Casey never did.
It made Vera's heart ache. How could he? He was so sensitive too…
"He shouldn't have. You shouldn't have either. You don't believe all that 'blood is love' crap, do you?" she felt like she had to ask.
He shrugged. "Not anymore. I like your way better."
"My way? Hang on, how many times have we even interacted?!"
Vera didn't like where this was going. Her questions from last night were back full force with the reminder.
"A fair number. I'm crisis management. I only come out when Casey is stressed or in danger. It happened a lot in college but since then has mostly been related to blood, the farmhouse, or other things that set him off."
That…made sense. Even if it wasn't what she wanted to hear. Which raised the most important question of all. One she was distinctly uncomfortable with but had to be asked.
"Kane, level with me. Have we kissed for real? You did ask for that yesterday," Vera said, dreading the answer.
It was even worse than she thought. "We've done more than that. I do whatever Casey would do since no one is supposed to know I exist."
That made sense too but it didn't make things any less messed up. She felt strangely violated, considering it was still her boyfriend's body. Just not his personality, which was what she fell in love with. She had slept with a stranger wearing his skin and that was just wrong!
"When?"
"Two days ago."
Two days ago. That was what kickstarted all of this, wasn't it? Kane staying over and Casey waking up in confusion so Vera saw his scars. The beginning of the end of the illusion that everything was fine.
She had needed to know the truth about what the man she loved was dealing with but ignorance truly was bliss. She had been so miserable since learning things she had been happier not knowing. What he had been through was absolutely devastating.
Vera sighed. "So that was why he seemed so confused when he woke up. He didn't remember staying over. That's really messed up, you know. He's my boyfriend, not you."
"Excuse me? I am too! For all intents and purposes, I AM Casey Parker," Kane said, actually sounding offended.
"You're not my Casey though. You don't love me."
"No, but he's the sentimental one. If I'm going to clean up all his messes, don't I deserve some of the good parts of being him too?"
Vera couldn't believe this! Her boyfriend's alter had callously used her for sex! "You're terrible."
"I never denied that. Still. It's totally unfair. You're my only option since we're a package deal. All I ever wanted was to find someone else who could take care of him and disappear but shouldn't I be able to enjoy some of the benefits while I can?"
The part about wanting to disappear was news to her. Potentially good news. She could work with this.
"You want to disappear?"
Kane scowled, his tone defensive. "Duh. Taking care of him all the time is annoying. You do a great job of it so I'll gladly hand that off to you once I figure out how. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll be coming out for a while so you're stuck with me."
Oh. Vera hadn't even considered that. With how freaked out Casey had been after finding out his hallucination of Kane wasn't real…
"You don't know how to get him to come out?" she asked, upset.
"Nope. It comes and goes at random. Sometimes I'm only out for a few minutes, sometimes it's for several hours."
"You don't have any ideas at all?"
"I have one but you won't like it."