Synopsis of Sail Away
Written by TK
Sydney is ice-skating on a deserted rink and urging Kyle to join her. Kyle thinks it might be a little too soon for something like this. Syd says it's time to take a little risk. Syd's mom skates by doing triple axels. As always, she brings Syd's subsconscious to the surface, explaining that the risk of ice-skating is a metaphor for Kyle getting back out there into the job market. Syd admits to Kyle that she was thinking it was time for to get a job again. Kyle is annoyed and leaves as Syd falls through the ice. Syd wakes up falling out of bed.
The family is in the kitchen in the morning. Robbie talks about his big network meeting where he's pitched "Ask the Vet" to become a real show. Sydney will be interviewing a new nurse practitioner for the clinic today. Jim is reading the paper and notices that an old acquaintance of theirs, Alan Adelman, is now the head of the Big Brother program. Syd seems so interested that Joanie asks her if she's thinking of giving up medicine. Syd laughs it off and says of course she isn't.
When Syd gets to the clinic it's a mad house, with everyone trying to shove in front of everyone else. She asks everyone to sit down and calm down but no one listens. A woman standing quietly suddenly yells at everyone to follow the doctor's orders and she'll be with them in three minutes because she has an interview to do. This, of course, is the nurse practitioner, Isabel (Izzy). Izzy and Syd talk for a little while and get along, then they're pulled into an emergency because a teenage boy is bleeding all over the floor. He says he stepped on glass, but Izzy knows a gun shot when she sees one and scolds the kid and gets him to give up the gun he still has tucked into his pants. Syd hires Izzy on the spot.
Heather is upset because Charlie is leaving for Oregon to be with his ex-girlfriend. He is apologetic, but determined to go.
Syd meets with Alan Adelman to talk about getting Kyle a job. Alan says that he was looking to hire someone to set up team sports in the Providence area. Syd says that would be perfect for Kyle, so Alan gives her his card to give to Kyle.
Jim comes into his office and bids Heather good morning, but she barely responds. He asks her what's wrong, and she says nothing she can't fix, but she's going to be late coming into the office tomorrow. Jim gives her his blessing.
Robbie is meeting the with slimy network guys regarding "Ask the Vet." They definitely want to sign the show, but they want to recast the vet with a "Jim Hansen type" whose name is Jack Hudson. He's an actor, not a vet. Robbie says there will be no new host. The network guys say that then there will be no deal.
Syd is over at Kyle's house. She talks about the Big Brother job, but Kyle doesn't seem interested. Syd asks if she can crash on his couch tonight if she makes him breakfast in the morning. He says of course, but he'll crash on the couch and she can take the bed. She wakes up in his bed in the middle of the night to hear him channel flipping in the living room. She joins him on the couch and asks him if anything good is on. He goes into a tirade about the Weather Channel and how it shouldn't be warmer in Anchorage than it is in L.A. She tries to calm him down, but he just flips out and takes off for a walk with his dog at 3am.
In the morning, Syd comes outside with a cup of coffee and finds Kyle sitting on a bench looking out at the water. They both apologize for the night before, and Kyle says that maybe it is time for him to get a job.
Jim is working in the morning without Heather, and the waiting room is full, particularly of flirting middle-aged women.
Robbie comes into the kitchen, sees Joanie there with Hannah, and asks her why she's not at work. She says Hannah wasn't feeling well, and asks Robbie why he's acting so suspiciously. Robbie tells Joanie that he got steamrolled into replacing dad on the Vet show. Joanie is furious and says that if Jim isn't the host, then she's pulling the Barkery too.
Heather comes into the office. Jim says that Charlie called. Heather starts ranting about the endangered fish in Oregon, and how Charlie went back to help rally to save them, but the rally is being run by his ex-girlfriend... and then she faints.
Heather is being examined by Syd. Heather tells Syd that she went to see her shaman this morning, and her shaman told her that she's being haunted by an evil spirit that's keeping true love away. Heather said that she ingested some herbs during the ceremony she did with her shaman this morning. Syd asks if she's allergic to anything, and Heather says she did have a reaction to the anaesthesia a few years ago when she had her appendix out. Syd says she needs a sample of the herbs. Heather says her shama, Yeng Lore, won't talk to Syd on the phone, so Syd says she'll stop by Yeng Lore's nail salon later today and ask her herself.
Robbie goes down to his father's office to talk to him and gets roped into helping his dad treat a Rottweiler. Jim is frustrated because he doesn't know the dog's name. Robbie tells Jim to just look at the chart, but Jim wishes he didn't have to. Jim resigns himself that these are some of the problems with fame, since his clientele has recently tripled. Robbie tries to tell his dad that he's been replaced on the Vet show when suddenly Jim remembers that the dog's name is Fredo, like in the Godfather, the son that betrayed his father. Robbie lies to his dad and says everything is all set for the show.
Syd stops by Yeng Lore's nail salon and asks for a sample of the herbs. Yeng Lore doesn't seem to understand why, so Syd explains that Heather might be allergic, like when she had her appendix out... Yeng Lore interrupts, saying that that explains it. Heather doesn't have an evil spirit, she's missing part of her soul. People lose part of their soul when those hasty doctors remove something. Syd says that sometimes things have to be removed to save a patient. Yeng Lore goes to get Syd the herb sample she wants and says that she'll also do Syd's nails 'cause her cuticles look awful.
Syd and Kyle are waiting to go skating when they run into one of Kyle's old friends from high school, Eddie. Eddie is now working at a company that sails boats down the Caribbean. They have a friendly chat, and Kyle grins and bears it when, as Eddie and his wife walk away, his wife comments just a little too loudly on what a shame it is about Kyle's arm.
In a dream, Syd takes Kyle to see the Healer of Hearts (Heather's shaman). However, the shaman has the flu so Lynda is filling in. Lynda uses tarot cards and tells Kyle that something very traumatic has just happened in his life, and he is about to embark on a great journey. Then she reads Syd's fortune with cards, and every card she pulls is the card of death. She tells Syd that the death card means there is about to be a huge upheaval in her life, or she is about to experience great loss.
Izzy wakes up Syd who was sleeping at her desk to tell her that Heather's test results are back. Syd asks Izzy to get Heather back into the clinic so she can talk to her.
Kyle meets with Alan about the Big Brother job. Alan is enthusiastic about hiring Kyle, but Kyle doesn't seem to be excited about getting the job.
Jack Hudson, Jim's replacement on the vet show, comes over to Joanie's Barkery and introduces himself to Joanie. When Joanie finds out who he is, she immediately starts railing on him, and when she finds out he's not even a vet she gets even harsher. Jack gets really down on himself and admits that he doesn't think he's qualified for the job and he's going to quit. Joanie finds herself picking up his spirits and reassuring him that he'll be great at doing her father's job.
At the clinic, Syd tells Heather that the herbs didn't make her sick, it's this evil spirit thing. Because Heather thinks she's being haunted, she's making herself sick. Heather insists she's not making it up, and Yeng Lore is the only one who understands. Syd says the shaman is making up at she goes along, and now she's saying Heather lost some of the soul in her appendix. Heather takes this as gospel, and says she has to go back to see Yeng Lore and Syd should come with her to see how good the shaman really is.
Syd and Kyle are playing Monopoly at Kyle's house. Syd starts to ask about Kyle's job interview when Eddie comes by. Eddie offers Kyle and Syd a ride down to St. Bartz on one of his boats, leaving in the morning. Syd says thanks, but no thanks, she's got to run the clinic. Kyle says he couldn't possibly. Eddie says if they change their mind to just show up in the morning.
Syd and Heather are at Heather's shaman's. The shaman performs an intricate ceremony and says that she's gotten that piece of Heather's soul back. She puts a string bracelet on Heather's wrist to keep her soul where is should be. As Syd and Heather are about to leave, the shaman looks at Syd suspiciously.
Joanie and Robbie are trying to figure out how they're going to break the news to Jim that he's been replaced. Jim comes into the Barkery and says he's been thinking, and he doesn't like how his clientele has grown so much, particularly with people who just want his autograph, and he doesn't have time to give the animals proper examinations anymore and... he thinks he wants to quit the show. He's incredibly apologetic, but of course his son and daughter take the news very well.
Syd goes to Kyle's house and says that Alan's been calling her, saying that he keeps calling Kyle and Kyle doesn't call back. Kyle admits he doesn't want that job, in fact, he's decided to leave town. He's going to St. Bartz where he can be just him instead of a shadow of what he used to be.
Heather is cheerfully closing up shop at Jim's office. Robbie comes to say hi and see how she's doing since she was sick and Charlie left town. She feels great, and says that she can feel true love coming. Robbie is astounded.
Yeng Lore comes to the clinic and tells Syd that her soul is in danger of leaving. She has to know when to let love go. Syd asks how she is supposed to know when to hang on and when to let go. Yeng Lore says she'll know she made the right decision when the tiger dances on the water. Syd is amused when Yeng Lore gives her a string bracelet to keep her soul from leaving.
Syd is on the dock saying goodbye to Kyle. She gives him a present of a one-way ticket back to Providence, but tells him that he's making the right decision. They kiss goodbye and she watches his boat as it pulls away from the dock. Suddenly she sees an empty party boat go by that's an advertisement for Tiger Tom's Cantina. On it is a solitary dancing tiger (a man in a tiger suit).
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