"Shh, okay. It's okay, it's gonna be okay," Tripp said, hoping he'd believe it if he said it enough.
"Here, I'll get you back to the couch; we'll call-"
When Kayla shook her head and clasped a hand over her mouth, taking that and her face going green as a sign the couch wouldn't be the best location, Tripp rushed her over to the master bath.
Holding her hair back, he rubbed her upper back until she was through vomiting, then got up to get her a glass of water.
Exhausted, Kayla slumped back against the bathroom wall and let out a slow breath, only opening her eyes when the room finally stopped spinning.
"Tripp," she choked out. "I'm sorr-"
"Don't," he interrupted, handing her the water. "Don't even think about it."
Once she rinsed and cleaned up, after helping her up, Tripp considered carrying her the few feet to the bedroom but, knowing that would mortify her more, offered her a sturdy shoulder instead.
Curling up against the bed pillows, her eyes half shut, Kayla went to pull the throw blanket around her but found it was out of reach, and she was too damn tired to move and grab it.
"Here...let me help," Tripp said, draping it over her as Kayla murmured a thank you.
"You take after your dad," she said softly. "He's always been a good tucker-inner."
"I'll tell him you said so," Tripp laughed.
"No need. He knows it."
His face going serious, Tripp perched on the foot of the bed.
"Look, you rest. I'll tell Dad when he gets back about-"
Shaking her head no, Kayla moved to sit up.
"Kayla-"
"No," she said as forcefully as she could.
"There's no need to tell Steve."
"But-"
"You know your dad. He'll start taste-testing my food."
"Kayla, if we don't-"
"He'll feel guilty," she cut in, her voice cracking as she did so. "He'll find a way to blame himself for something he didn't even do and will just worry more. About an isolated incident that's not even connected to this... nightmare."
"Isolated? How do you even..." Tripp asked. "For all we know, Marlena and Kate could be presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms, too, and-"
"They're not," Kayla insisted. "Not unless the cafeteria's started serving takeout."
"What?"
Pulling the blanket tighter around her, Kayla slumped back into the bed pillows again.
"For lunch, Steve ordered all my favorites from the deli we like down the street."
"The place with the cookies?" Tripp asked.
"Yeah, the ones I requested by name," Kayla groaned. "By the time I woke up and the food was here, I didn't have that much of an appetite. Just a headache that had gone from bad to worse."
"And eating just aggravated it?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "Should've skipped the jumbo black and white and stuck to the soup."
When Tripp's eyes clouded over, Kayla frowned.
"What?"
"Nothing...just, you saying that about dessert. Guess you're not faking this just to get the whole family under one roof," he weakly joked, getting a sad smile in return.
"I wish this was all a big fakeout," Kayla grimaced. "I hate...refunding."
"Refunding?" Tripp repeated. Getting a nod, he fought the urge to laugh.
"For what it's worth, I'm no fan of it either," he said.
Feeling her forehead before handing her the thermometer, Tripp reached for her wrist to take her pulse.
"You still feeling queasy?" he asked as she shook her head, uncapping the thermometer.
"What about the headache? Dizziness?
"Not dizzy. Just tired. The headache's not as bad now either."
"How bad's not as bad?"
"7 to a 4."
"The refunding helped?"
"Mmhmm," Kayla nodded. "Tell me why."
"Vagus nerve stimulation, the release of endorphins, change in blood flow reducing pain and inflammation."
"Good job," she praised before placing the thermometer. After seeing her fever hadn't gone down, though it hadn't spiked back up, she sighed.
"Was hoping that number would've gone down, too."
"Hey, the symptoms are still manageable from here," Tripp reminded. "We can tell Dad that when he gets back. Give him a little less reason to worry," he said as Kayla sniffled, shaking her head.
"Steve's not going to stop worrying, and neither will Stephanie and Joey after they see me. And see their pop."
"Look, I know Dad's gonna worry, and I admit, he was pretty ragged when I talked to him before, but you know he's gonna hold it together for you. And Stephanie and Joe know that, too," Tripp reassured, handing her some Kleenex.
"I still don't want him to know. He'll get all worked up and that's the last thing-"
"Kayla, Dad would be worked up if you had a hangnail," Tripp scoffed. "I think he'll be more worked up though if he finds out he's being kept in the dark."
"Look, if it happens again or some new symptom develops, I'll notify the lab and I'll tell Steve. But I'm not going to upset him over something that I know is unrelated. He's already..."
"What?"
"He's not sleeping. He can't even take a catnap now without tossing and turning, and since my fever spiked, he's done nothing but guzzle coffee so he can keep his eye on me 24-7."
"Hey, he agreed to let me fill in for him here once he told me what was going on. That's a good sign, right?"
"It's not a good one that he's been gone this long," Kayla said warily.
"He promised he wouldn't tell Joe and Stephanie over the phone. He...he should be back by now."
Seeing the fear in her eyes, which were starting to well up, Tripp swallowed hard and reached for his phone.
"I'm texting him now and telling him to head back. If he doesn't reply in five minutes, I'll go track him down. Okay?"
Nodding, thanking him, her tears falling faster now than she could dab them away with the tissue, Kayla bowed her head, biting her lip.
"C'mon, if he walks in here and sees you crying on my watch, he's gonna pull his knife on me again," Tripp joked as Kayla managed a watery smile, shaking her head before apologizing.
"Kayla, you don't-"
"I can't help it. I didn't want to tell you guys anything had happened until I was better," she admitted.
"I know you needed to know, and I'm glad you're here for Steve, but I hate that you're stuck seeing me like-"
"Like what?" Tripp asked, shifting closer to her.
"Look, all I see you as is my boss, my friend, my mom," he emphasized as she choked back a sob.
"And someone who's gonna beat this thing at its own game."
"That's your official diagnosis?" Kayla asked as she wiped at her eyes, lightly laughing to keep from crying more.
"You bet," Tripp choked out, hiding his face in her shoulder after she pulled him into a tight hug.