Voice

Kyle manages to drink some water, then quirks an eyebrow at Misty’s statement. Poison? What was she talking about? He tries to remember what happened, on top of trying to figure out where on earth he is. Then it dawns on him. He was at TJY. Poison....he remembered what had happened to some of the others now. But...him? Why? How?

On his back again and finally able to sit up just a little, he tries to shake the cobwebs from his mind. He was so terribly groggy, yet didn't want to sleep any more. He felt exhausted and yet trying to wake up at the same time.

He finally gives Misty a little nod and opens his mouth to respond, but again has difficulty. Clearing his throat a little, he tries again, his voice coming out as a heavy rasp. "What...happened?" he finally manages in a whisper. "I feel...like crap."


"Hey!" A smile spreads across Rick's face as he reenters the infirmary and sees Kyle sitting up. Relief sweeps over him. They hadn't lost him. Thank God. "How's the patient?"

Kyle shakes his head, still a bit confused. "Tired," he forces out.

Rick quirks an eyebrow at the sound of Kyle's voice...or the lack thereof. He decides to make a quick examination before letting the others know they were out of the woods. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he checks Kyle's vitals, finding them to be fairly satisfactory, considering all that had just happened. "You gave us quite a scare there, bud." He cocks his head. "Any idea how you could have been poisoned?"

Kyle shakes his head.

Rick has him open his mouth, and examines the back of this throat, poking and prodding. "Well, I know some folks who will be mighty glad to know you're awake." He smiles and gives Kyle's arm a pat. "Don't go anywhere."

Kyle rolls his eyes. "Sure, doc." He glances to Misty and eyes her for a moment, wondering why he felt he'd been with her all day.


The brief hubbub is over. The hugs are through, the commotion ended. Jason is working late, Mike has taken Jen home, and Phil has left for the evening. Upon Rick's suggestion, Kyle is to stay in the infirmary for at least one night.

The several hours has exhausted Kyle further, and he does all he's told without argument, not saying much, but sleeping some and just trying to get over the pain and grogginess.


Rick stands at the counter, going over his findings, and he shakes his head slowly. He didn't like this...not at all. It made sense, now that he knew. But it wasn't going to be easy. Sighing, he turns to see Kyle awake at the moment. He gestures for Misty to join him near the bed.

Kyle looks up expectantly, uneasy about the look in Rick's eye.

Rick rests his hands in his lab coat and looks to Misty, then back to Kyle. "I just went over some things I found after your examination this afternoon, and..." He figures he might as well just give it to him straight. "It appears that there has been damage to your vocal cords. This poison that we've dealt with attacks weak points within the body. You're one healthy young man. The only part of you that's been under strain has been your voice, so that's what was attacked the hardest."

Kyle can feel himself tense a little. He wasn't sue what this meant. Mustering up the energy, he hoarsely asks. "How bad is it?"

"It's not good." Rick purses his lips grimly. "Only time will tell about this one, Kyle. I know you do a lot of singing with Jason in the band, but...I'm going to have to tell you, your best option at this point is to not use your voice at all."

Kyle's heart sinks as Rick continues.

"The only thing we can hope for is that if you give your voice enough rest that your vocal cords will heal. I don't want to go in and do surgery unless time doesn't do enough healing. Surgery risks everything all together, and at least at this point you haven't lost total voice. But..." He shakes his head. "If you listen to me on this one...no talking...no singing. For at least three weeks until I can check on you again."

Kyle's eyes drift downward, then back up again, a grin quirking his mouth. "There'll be....a lot of people happy...that I'll finally shut up."

Rick chuckles, glad to see a good attitude. "You just get yourself some rest now, Kyle." He turns to Misty. "I'll be around for a few more hours probably. If anything changes, let me know."

Watching Rick walk away, Kyle gives a little sigh, forcing as cheery a look as possible. Looking up to Misty, he shrugs. What could he do but obey? He wasn't about to let it show how deeply this bothered him.