Sponge Bath

There were many visitors for Kyle, though most had been screened thoroughly.

The first visit was, of course, by the police.

There were two police officers that came the next day to collect their statements. They were trying to get information from Kyle concerning his 'adventure' and how he actually managed to escape. All areas that they searched reached a dead end.

The lift compartment was not completely destroyed from the impact, but it did make any gathering of forensic evidence be minimal. There were no fingerprints and only Kyle's trenchcoat and black tie were pulled out from the rubble.

The security camera showed Kyle making several attempts to contact help when he finally sat down, his hair wet from sweat. After that, the camera had problems and a black screen was shown. Nothing could be retrieved from then on. They tried to retrieve the data from the mainframe, to see whether there had been any power surges or tampering but nothing turned up.

It was frustrating.

"Are you sure you don't remember what happened? How did you, from the lift, end up hanging by your fingers on the ledge?" insisted one police officer for the umpteenth time.

Kyle rubbed the back of his neck and said exasperatingly, "Believe me, officer, if I knew, I'd tell you. I'd like to thank my rescuer for saving my life."

"So you DO remember something! Someone came to take you out?" another officer jumped on Kyle's choice of words.

Kyle looked at him as if he was an idiot, "Well, if it wasn't someone, then who? Me? Are you saying I managed to open the doors and grab the ledge? If that's the case, wouldn't the lift had pulled me down when it fell?"

"All I remember was that I was stuck and it was getting stuffy in there," Kyle said. "Everything else after that is a blank until I was pulled out. If you want to get something, then why not investigate why the lift malfunctioned?"

"Ah-hah! So you DO know that the lift was tampered with!" the same officer jumped on Kyle (figuratively speaking, of course)

Kyle gave him that 'are you stupid' look again then said, "I said malfunctioned, not tampered with.

A lift that suddenly stops - isn't that a malfunction? So you're saying this wasn't an accident?"

"Ah.." stammered the officer.

"So what caused it to stop? And if this wasn't an accident, why are you asking me what happened? Why aren't you asking me whether I have any enemies? Why I would be targetted if I was the target?" Kyle pressed on.

"This must be your first case?" Kyle pressed on, "A tip for you. I may be young and you may think I won't have any enemies, but dismissing it and focusing on something else just means you will just remain a police officer and never get promoted to a detective."

The officer bristled and was about to retort when his partner put a hand on his shoulder. He closed his mouth then, for his partner was his senior and he had allowed him to do the questioning in order to gain some experience.

Obviously, he had failed and he bit his bottom lip in frustration. He could only step back and let his partner continue the questioning.

"Our apologies. He's still learning but is sincere," the senior officer said.

"That's fine, but I hope you're not going to keep asking me the same thing," Kyle replied, "No matter how many times you ask it, or how different you phrase it, the answer will remain the same. I. Do. Not. Remember."

"I understand," the officer said, putting away his notepad, "If you should remember anything, don't hesitate to call us."

He handed Kyle his card, which had his name and direct number. Kyle took it graciously and thanked them, watching them go out. He could hear the younger officer grumbling about the whole 'questioning' bit.

Kyle was left alone again and he preferred it that way. It wouldn't be for long, so he leaned back on his bed. He had adjusted it so that it was at a70% angle and he switched on the television just to have some noise inside the quiet room.

He looked at his ankle that was propped up on a pillow and wrapped up in bandages. For good measure, it was in an ankle brace as well. That was at his mother's insistence. Unlike most ankle braces that were designed like a sock with the front part cut off, his ankle brace could be strapped on.

His ankle brace was partially of durable plastic that supported his ankle and the sole of his foot. This heel and top part of the feet, as well as his toes, were exposed. The strap was around the ankle and five inches above it, which could be tightened or loosened as he wished.

This was an unexpected injury. Well, so was the mild concussion but this was worse. Kyle needed his ankle to be healed quickly as the rock climbing competition was in two weeks. Luckily, it was only a slight sprain but it would still take up to 4 weeks to heal properly.

He didn't have the luxury of time.

Luckily, he did manage to convince the doctor to do all that was necessary to speed up the healing process. That meant he could not put any weight on his foot for the first three days. During these three days, his ankle would be iced for about 30 minutes every 2 hours. It was due for its 'ice' bath soon.

Right on time, two nurses came inside. They were carrying a basin in which there were some towels, washcloths and several small bottles. Kyle raised an eyebrow.

"Good morning, Kyle," the first nurse said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Ma'am," Kyle said politely.

"Oh, don't call me Ma'am," the nurse chided him, then pointed at her name tag, "I'm Zara and this is Wendy."

"Nurse Zara, Nurse Wendy," Kyle replied with a smile.

"We're here to give you your sponge bath," Zara said as she put down the basin.

Kyle's eyes shot wide open at that.

"Er, what? I don't need a sponge bath," Kyle protested.

"No, no, no," Zara said as she started to arrange the towels and bottles at the bedside table, "This is a hospital and it's full of germs from other patients. You need to bathe everyday but since you are not allowed to move, we will need to give you a sponge bath."

Zara was on Kyle's right of the bed while Wendy was on the left. Wendy started lowering the bed so that it would lie flat down again.

"Wait! No!" Kyle said frantically, "I'm fine enough to do it myself."

Zara smiled and said, "That's fine, but we still have to get everything ready first."

"Okay, but can the bed be put up again? It'll be easier for me rather than having it down like this," Kyle said with relief.

Wendy adjusted the bed again and said, "The mattress already has a plastic cover, so there is no danger of it getting wet. We'll change the bedsheets after you're done."

After the water basin, soap and towels were laid down where Kyle could get them, the two nurses stood by his side expectantly.

Kyle looked at both of them and said, "Em, I can do the rest myself now?"

"Of course, but we need you to help you undress first," Zara explained, "Since you can't move your ankle, you won't be able to take off your pants."

Kyle cursed inwardly. He had forgotten about that part.

Thing is, he shouldn't have felt uncomfortable stripping in front of the nurses. He had to go through so much more in his past life when he had been pregnant. The examinations normally entailed doctors examining her most private part and modesty hardly came into the picture. They were medical professionals so the human body wasn't something foreign to them.

Still, this would be the first time he, as a guy, would actually get naked in front of women. He was wearing the hospital outfit, which comprised of a shirt and pants that were fastened by ties rather than buttons or waistbands. The issue wasn't that he had to have them help him strip his pants ...

The problem was, he had gone commando.

One of the things Kyle discovered as a guy is that it's rather tough when it came to his little brother. Before puberty, it wasn't much of a problem but since then, it became a small issue. The added testosterone made him feel hotter than normal. Hot, in the body temperature sense, and not hot as in feeling like he is good looking.

Added to that mix was that Kyle Jr - and his two little buddies - were growing. Kyle found it extremely uncomfortable and hot, and having the whole area sticky with sweat was extremely icky. So he would be going commando whenever he could. The freedom of having them breathe was fantastic.

It's different when you go commando if you're a girl. He had tried it once as Kylie. It felt like he was exposing himself. To be crude, since the woman's private part was basically an opening, it felt really weird to be walking and having nothing underneath. With a guy, there's no such visible 'opening' and it just felt great to have it free from restraint. Underwears were like shackles to him.

He couldn't go commando when he goes out as it was far better to have them protected within the barrier of his underwear than to have it accidentally scrapped when he pulls his pants zipper. At home, though, it's different. Same with the hospital shirt and pants.

So, right now, he was in a dilemma.

He did need help to take off his pants but he didn't want Kyle Jr to greet them either. What is he going to do now?