***Trigger warnings for blood, mentions of needles, and violence.***

Start the song. It's Your Ghost by Greg Laswell (cover).

No matter how many times Josh eased the pain in Tyler's throat that day, the burn always returned with more vigour than before. Kissing Josh was a blissful distraction from the pain, but it wasn't a cure. By the time the girls came home from school, Tyler was curled up against Josh's side, drenched with sweat from his fever and coughing up blood at least once every hour. As a result, Tyler could feel Josh's anxiety rolling off of him in waves.

Jim didn't even look away from Josh as the cellar door opened, too busy licking Josh's cheek and ear to even care that Mary Janes were clicking down the steps again. He simply rested a protective paw on Josh's chest, right beside Tyler's nose, which he licked quickly before returning his attention back to Josh. Jim only stiffened at the undeniable sound of sneakers squeaking against the steps, signalling the arrival of a stranger.

The fever raging through Tyler's body prevented him from opening his eyes enough to see who had joined them, but he felt Josh's muscles tense too. Tyler drew in a shallow breath, well aware that anything more than that would feel like a razor blade against his throat.

"Fuck," he heard a male voice say, and then someone was rolling him off of Josh despite the low protective growl Jim let out to warn the intruder not to touch his owner. "How long has he been like this?"

"A few days maybe," Tyler's girlfriend replied. "It's hard to tell. He didn't say anything until his throat was already swollen. He's probably been dealing with an infection for a while now."

Tyler let out his best attempt at a groan of discomfort when his eyelid was pushed open, allowing the intruder to study his eye. Tyler's eyebrows drew together dazedly as he weakly reached out and held onto the front of the familiar visitor's shirt, trying to explain to him what was going on but only emitting breathy gurgling noises.

"Shhhh. Don't try to talk. Just breathe. I brought medicine," Zack told Tyler, showing him the syringe in his hand. "Mom showed me how to do it. Just chill."

"You're Zack?" Tyler heard Josh ask nervously.

"That's me," Tyler's little brother replied distractedly as he drew Tyler's medication out of a little bottle and into the syringe. "Mom said you probably can't swallow anything right now, so this has to go into your veins. It works quicker that way anyway. It's gonna kill the infection pretty quick, and the pain even quicker. I'm gonna teach your friend here how to do it too in case I can't come back down here soon enough. Jenna said it's not safe for me to come around at the moment. Something about Gefjon needing a new organ donor."

Tyler nodded weakly, the pain in his body so intense that he barely even felt the nip of the needle going into his arm. Within seconds though, his entire body was relaxing, and the stabbing pain in his throat was being overpowered by overwhelming drowsiness. He tried to maintain his grip on Zack's shirt, needing to warn him to stay away from Jenna and the girls, but he was losing consciousness fast.

"He's not, like, contagious though, right?" Jenna asked Zack quietly.

Tyler smiled slightly when his little brother irritably replied, "Well, Jenna, I hate to inform you, but not everything is about you, so no. The infection in Tyler's throat is from that time it was dissected and improperly reassembled. That's not contagious, no matter how badly I wish you could catch it."

Josh snorted, and Tyler could barely feel Josh's fingers threading through his hair. Tyler let out a huff of approval, knowing full well that no one would know what the hell he was trying to communicate at the moment. Thankfully, Josh pressed a kiss to his hairline anyway.

"You're the kid from out of town, right? I knew you didn't just run away. Your dad went back to the city in case you turned up there, but your mom's still in town. Our mom brings her dinner once a week and makes sure she doesn't lose her mind. Not much anyone can do though. It's hard enough with Tyler being taken, and everyone in our family knows where he is. We can't talk about it, but at least we know he's kinda safe. I still wanna kill Jenna, but-"

"Gefjon picked him. Not me," Jenna defended herself.

"And then you locked him in your cellar to turn him into a sex slave or whatever. You're not innocent, dude. I know all about what you do down here. My mom did it too when she was your age. That's why Gefjon hates our family so much. She found out my mom wasn't a virgin and decided to try to kill her kids off one by one. I'm not surprised I'm next. I'm more surprised that Gefjon's voice box is shot. She's supposed to be all powerful, yet Tyler gets a sore throat, and she's completely out of commission," Zack retorted simply. "Good thing you stole a backup guy. There's no way Tyler's fucking anyone like this. The last time his throat got infected, he was in the hospital for three months."

"I remember," Jenna replied quietly.

"Of course you do," Zack replied coldly. "As soon as he came home from the hospital, you lured him into your little cellar dungeon so you could get laid. So kind of you."

"He was weak and vulnerable, Zack. Gefjon would've taken much more than his voice if she'd had access to him then," Jenna snapped.

Zack scoffed. "It's so interesting how you say that like you didn't take just as much from him by locking him down here as Gefjon would've by carving out his eyes."

Tyler tried to say something to defend Jenna when he heard her sniffle, but all that came out of his mouth was a croaking sound. Josh's short fingernails scratched lightly at his scalp as he drew Tyler in protectively against his chest. Maybe it was the drugs, but Tyler wanted to live inside of Josh's chest. He wanted to bury himself in the warmth of Josh's skin and the firmness of his muscles until nothing could ever hurt him again. Some part of him was convinced that Josh would let him do that if he just asked.

"Keep an eye on my big brother, okay? He acts tough, but there's a reason Jenna is the one who was chosen to lure him in. Gefjon could've sent anyone after Ty, but she picked Jenna. He needs someone to have his back, and I can't be that for him while he's down here," Zack instructed seriously.

"I won't let anything hurt him ever again," Josh promised without hesitation. "He doesn't deserve this. He's the best person I know, and he deserves a lot better than the shit he's going through."

"That's exactly right," Zack agreed just as quickly. "Don't let any of these assholes try to fuck him while he's sick either. I know he'll let Jenna sleep with him no matter how run down his body is because he's stupid, and he loves her for some reason. Don't let him. It's only going to make things worse for his health."

"I already told him I'll handle everything until he's better. All he has to do is rest and let his body heal. No one is going to touch him. I swear," Josh reassured Zack.

"There's no way in hell I'm sleeping with you again," Jenna replied irritably. "Especially not while my boyfriend is sick."

"So as long as he's healthy, confused, and afraid, you can use your stupid magic shit to trick me into fucking you in front of him, but you draw the line when he's physically unable to do it himself?" Josh asked coldly. "You're fucked up."

"I was protecting both of you," Jenna snapped.

"You were on a fucking power trip," Josh replied coldly, "and you were willing to betray Tyler and Solána to cushion your ugly ego. I don't need you. Out of all of the girls involved in your freaky ass cult, I need you the least. You're selfish, and Gefjon is right not to trust you. You're a fucking snake."

Tyler shook his head, trying to tell them not to be so mean to each other, but only succeeding in letting out another disgusting croaking noise that scalded his throat like he'd just swallowed boiling water. Josh had promised not to sleep with Jenna again, and Jenna was supposed to back off and behave. Neither of those things were supposed to change when Tyler got sick, yet it was happening.

"You're lucky I'm not dragging you upstairs and giving you to Gefjon," Jenna told Josh coldly.

"You'd sell Tyler out too if you did that, and then you'd have to be much more afraid of me than you are of Gefjon," Zack told her harshly.

Jenna scoffed. "Believe me. If you knew Josh, you'd be willing to give him up to her too."

A low growl filled the cellar when the clicking of Jenna's Mary Janes came a little too close to Josh. They retreated a couple steps, and the growling stopped, but Tyler could feel how tense Jim was.

"It's probably in your best interest to know that Jim was trained to be a protection dog too, so he can really fuck you up if you try anything stupid," Josh told Jenna tersely, his service dog growling in agreement.

"If that thing bites anyone, it's dead," Jenna retorted, and that was enough for Tyler.

Everyone protested when Tyler forced himself to sit up, including the whimpering dog who immediately crawled over to support Tyler's back by pressing his own against Tyler's. It took more energy than Tyler really had to sign to Jenna, "If you hurt this dog, I will never forgive you. He is keeping us alive down here, and he matters. If you kill him, Josh and I will both die. You'll die too."

"Ty, you don't need to be worrying about this right now," Jenna told him softly, reaching out to touch him.

She gasped, letting out a pained squeak when Jim moved quicker than she did, his teeth sinking into her forearm. She screamed as the pain registered, smacking Jim's face hard to get him to release as she sobbed fearfully and tried to get away from him, but Jim's grip remained constant until Josh muttered a quiet, "Release." Then Jenna was sobbing, gripping the torn flesh on her arm and looking to Tyler for sympathy. He had none left to give her.

Josh helped Tyler lie back down, letting Jim come back over to his side instead of Tyler's. Jim was still tense, watching Jenna like he was just waiting for her to give him any excuse to rip her throat out like Tyler's had been.

"That thing can't stay down here," Jenna decided angrily through another sob.

"Yeah? Try and get him out then. I fucking dare you," Josh snapped with much more anger than Tyler had ever heard from him. His voice didn't tremble at all, and it was clear that he had complete confidence in Jim's ability to stop Jenna from removing him from the cellar.

Jim dutifully growled his agreement, crawling up to lie across Josh and Tyler. His weight pressed into their chests, and Tyler found that the sensation was reassuring. This was what he did when Josh was anxious, but he was extending his comfort and protection to Tyler now too. His teeth were still bared as he watched a sobbing Jenna stumble away from them. Tyler's vision was a little hazy as he watched her too, blinking tiredly as he watched her run back up the stairs, pulling Zack with her.

Zack pulled away from her grip, rushing back down the stairs to set Tyler's medicine down a considerable distance away from the snarling dog watching his every movement. "I'll find an excuse to come back down tomorrow morning to make sure Josh knows how to give you your medicine properly. I love you, Ty. You'll be home soon, okay?"

Tyler nodded wearily, stroking Jim's tense back softly. There was blood clinging to the fur around Jim's mouth, yet his disposition still melted into the same gentle protector he had been since Tyler had met him. He licked Tyler's cheeks comfortingly before dipping his little head down to soothe his tongue along Tyler's swollen throat.

As much as Tyler didn't want to admit it, it seemed like Jim's saliva had much stronger healing properties than Solána's and Josh's combined. Drowsiness washed over Tyler as any and all pain disappeared from his body. He barely heard his brother close the cellar doors behind himself as he blinked slowly and allowed his head to look slightly to the side against Josh's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Josh asked timidly, running his fingers through Tyler's hair softly as Jim continued to lap up all of the pain clinging to Tyler's patchwork throat.

Tyler nodded lazily, starting to drift off.

"Is the medicine kicking in?" Josh asked, chuckling slightly when Tyler's eyes started to cross slightly from how hard he was fighting to keep them open.

Tyler shook his head slightly. "Jim," he mouthed.

"What about Jim?" Josh asked in confusion. He chuckled slightly. "Holy shit. Is this another weird spit thing?"

Tyler nodded, blinking for a second too long. After years of feeling at least some degree of pain in his throat at all times, he was finally free of any and all pain. He could swallow and breathe and exist without searing pain shooting through the tangled nerves knotted up beneath his skin. By the time Jim rested his little head on Tyler's shoulder with a quiet huff, Tyler almost couldn't even remember what that pain had felt like before.

"Whoa," Josh whispered in bewilderment after a moment, his fingers touching the front of Tyler's throat tentatively. "Ty, how are you feeling?" He asked a bit uncertainly.

Tyler let out a contented huff just like Jim's before mouthing, "Good."

He stopped though, having to force his eyelids open to look at Josh, who was staring at him with wide eyes. It took a moment for Tyler's mind to process what had happened, but it had finally clicked by the time Josh said it out loud.

"Ty, you just talked," Josh whispered, not seeming like he was even sure if it had actually happened or if he'd just hallucinated it.

Tyler had heard it too though. For the first time in years, he'd just heard his own voice while he was awake. He blinked in surprise.

"Did I really?" He asked quietly, his eyes widening as he heard his slightly hoarse voice once again.

Jim's ears rose at the sound, and Tyler and Josh stared at each other in absolute shock. Tyler had just talked. He'd spoken out loud. The pain in his throat was gone, and he'd just spoken out loud.

"Ty, your scar's gone too. I don't...." Josh's voice trailed off before he looked at Jim, who cocked his head in confusion. "Did Jim just...fix your throat?"

Tyler touched the front of his throat, searching for the ridge he was used to feeling beneath his fingertips. All he felt was smooth skin though, and he couldn't wrap his mind around that. He looked at Jim too, feeling like he was losing his mind completely when the little dog with blood matting the fur around his mouth winked at Tyler.

"What the fuck is going on?" Josh mumbled, allowing Tyler to grab his hand beneath the blankets.

"The pain in my throat is gone, my scar is gone, and I can talk," Tyler thought out loud. "Jim literally just licked my throat and healed it completely, and then he winked at me. Are we even awake right now, or is this a really weird dream?"

Josh pinched Tyler's side like they usually did to wake each other up when they were in the dream place, but nothing changed. Tyler pinched Josh too, but nothing changed. They were still lying in the cellar with Jim, and Tyler's throat was still healed.

"Is this why Gefjon was losing her voice? Because Jim was giving it back to you?" Josh asked quietly.

Tyler looked at Jim, who was starting to drift off to sleep atop the two boys. "I don't know. All I know is that I'm not letting Jenna touch Jim ever again," he replied.

Josh nodded. "Me neither. I think he can handle himself pretty well though."

"Why exactly is he trained as a protection dog?" Tyler asked quietly, glancing timidly at Josh.

"We were living in a sort of scary apartment complex for a while so my parents could write one of their books there. My anxiety got really bad though, so they used the money from that book to get me a service dog, and they decided we should have him trained to protect me too in case we wound up in a place like that again. He's never actually had to use that training in real life before, but I guess he thought Jenna was worth breaking the streak for."

Tyler nodded, still pressed against Josh's side. "For the record, I still don't want you sleeping with Jenna."

"For the record, I still don't want Jenna sleeping with me," Josh retorted. A gentle kiss was pressed to Tyler's forehead before he added, "Maybe there won't be any problems in that department now that you're miraculously healed by dog slobber."

A blush coloured Tyler's cheeks as he buried his face against Josh's shoulder. "Why is my life an episode of the Twilight Zone?" He mumbled, making Josh laugh.

"I have no idea, but I can't believe I'm a part of it," Josh replied amusedly.

After a moment, he started laughing again. He was laughing so hard that he wasn't even making any sound, and Tyler didn't know why. That didn't stop Tyler from smiling widely though as he watched Josh laugh.

"What's so funny?" He asked curiously.

"He's a golden retriever," Josh managed to get out before he was laughing even harder.

"I see that," Tyler replied, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

It took Josh a full five minutes to calm down enough to tell Tyler, "He retrieved your voice," and then he was laughing all over again.

Tyler snorted. "Dude, that's so lame."

Josh was still laughing as he pulled Jim over to press a kiss to the dog's little nose, making Jim's tail wag cheerfully. "Good boy, Jim," Josh told him happily. "You're the best boy."

Jim panted, looking like he was smiling right back at Josh as his tail wagged furiously. Tyler smiled, scratching Jim behind the ears gently.

"Good boy, Jim," he agreed, earning a sloppy kiss to his nose from the happy little dog.

Josh grinned at Tyler then, and Tyler practically melted into a puddle when Josh pressed a soft kiss to his lips before telling him seriously, "Your voice is literally the best sound I've ever heard in my entire life."

Tyler blushed as he smiled timidly at Josh. "Thanks," he replied quietly.

The delighted expression on Josh's face didn't fade as he ran his fingers through Tyler's hair again before telling him, "Sorry my dog bit your girlfriend."

Tyler laughed, making Josh's eyes light up. "Fuck, dude. I'm not."

Josh snorted, pulling Tyler closer against his side. "I lied. Your laugh is the best sound I've ever heard."

"That's definitely not true," Tyler insisted timidly.

"Best sound I've ever heard," Josh reiterated.

Tyler rolled his eyes, burying his face against Josh's shoulder. "You're only saying that because it's part of the Hufflepuff code for you to be nice to me."

"Bullshit," Josh replied simply, but he was still beaming.

"Fuck off, badger boy," Tyler mumbled against Josh's shoulder, closing his eyes as the drowsiness washed over him once again. "Either fuck off or play with my hair so I can sleep these drugs off."

"I will take the second option," Josh decided easily, sliding his fingers into Tyler's hair and gently scratching at Tyler's scalp as he twisted the short locks around his fingers. "See you in your dreams, dude."

Tyler smiled as he yawned. "See you," he mumbled in return. "Lemme know if I talk in my sleep again. I used to do that."

"You got it," Josh agreed amusedly.

Tyler held on loosely to Jim's collar as he allowed the drugs to pull him under. Absolutely nothing hurt right now for the first time in ages. The feeling was surreal, and Tyler had no idea how to cope with it. He settled for simply snoring and mumbling nonsense against Josh's shoulder as he walked through the meadow in the dream place with a smile on his face. Gefjon was nowhere in sight, and Tyler had never been happier.