Danny sat impatiently on the doctors office exam table. He drummed his fingers on his knees and sighed, eager to get his fifteen year old check-up over and done with. He sighed again and cast a glance at the plain, black rimmed clock mounted on the wall. It had been sixteen minutes science the perky nurse dressed in bright purple scrubs had told Danny the doctor would be with him shortly.
"You know," Danny said to his mother who sat in a worn chair in the corner of the room reading an out of date magazine. "'The doctor will be with you shortly' is probably the most frequently told lie in America."
Maddie gave her son a half smile. "They're busy today."
"They're always busy," Danny deadpanned.
Maddie let out an exasperated sigh. "Danny-" But she was cut short by the door (finally) opening up to reveal a tall, average looking man with brown hair, green eyes, and ears that stuck out just a little too far; Danny's doctor.
"Daniel, Madelyn, good to see you," he said with a smile as he washed his hands. "It's been a while." It had been- the last time Danny had been to the doctors was his fourteen year old check-up. (Minus the time ghost bugs infected everyone at Casper, but that had been a ghost hospital, not his regular doctors office, so Danny decided to overlook that.)
"Good to see you, too, Doctor Hart," Maddie said politely. Danny, however, stayed quiet and let out another long sigh.
"Alright, Daniel, we're just going to start with the basics: I'll listen to your heart, take your blood pressure, take your temperature, look in your eyes and nose."
Danny tensed and his eyes widened. "You can't do that!" he blurted. It hadn't occurred to him before that he hadn't been to the doctors since he acquired his ghost powers. His temperature and maybe even heartbeat or blood pressure were sure to be drastically different from the last time he was here; especially temperature.
"Why not?" Maddie asked, furrowing her eyebrows together in confusion. Danny was never one to get nervous around doctors- that was Tucker's job.
"I-I," Danny stuttered, trying desperately to think of an excuse. "I feel really cold right now, so I don't think my temperature will be accurate," he finished lamely. In an attempt to make it more convincing, he crossed his arms and faked a shiver.
"You were fine a minute ago..." Maddie stated, not sure what her son was playing at.
Doctor Hart raised an eyebrow at the boy's antics and turned toward his mother. "Mrs. Fenton," he addressed. "Have there been any changes or oddities in Daniel's behavior recently?"
Maddie bit her lip. "Actually, he's been awfully tired for a while now. His teachers have even called home a few times to complain about him falling asleep in class a couple times."
Doctor Hart smiled kindly at her. "Well, I'll just schedule for Daniel to have a quick blood test once we're done here to see if it's anything that needs medical attention, or if he's just been up late playing video games."
Danny tensed and stopped his fake-shivering. If the doctors took his blood, they would see his blood. And his blood had ectoplasm in it. "No! No blood tests!" he shouted.
Doctor Hart laughed lightheartedly, mistaking Danny's jitters to be caused by the needle rather than the blood. "Don't worry, son, it doesn't hurt. Some people have even say it hurts less than shots do." Danny's mind was frantically thinking of an excuse to get out of here, wishing that these problems had dawned on him before he came to the doctors.
"I'm..." Danny started, but he didn't know what to say. Needle intolerant? Allergic to blood? Every excuse he came up with was automatically shot down and categorized as stupid.
"Alright, Daniel. Let's get started," Doctor Hart said. His tone of voice was stern, and left no room for argument. Danny shot Maddie a worried look, hoping his mom would step in and reschedule his doctor's appointment so he could have some time to talk to Sam, Tucker, and Jazz about a solution. However, Maddie just cocked her head to the side and gave him a bewildered expression.
Doctor Hart took his stethoscope from around his neck and placed the nob in his ears. He reached up Danny's shirt and rested the end of the stethoscope on Danny's heart. "Take a deep breath in," Doctor Hart instructed, and Danny, seeing no way to escape this check-up, obeyed.
"And let it out," the doctor continued. Danny exhaled, and Doctor Hart pulled the stethoscope away, and returned it to its standard home around the doctor's neck.
"A little slower than the average heart rate for boys your age, but the heart beats slower if you exercise a lot. Do you play any sports?"
Danny looked at his mother, and saw that her focus was directed at the crinkled magazine resting on her lap, rather than at Danny. "I run a lot," Danny lied, looking once more at his mom to make sure she didn't here his lie.
Doctor Hart nodded and moved on.
The rest of the check-up went rather smoothly. Maddie stayed absorbed in her magazine, giving Danny the freedom to cover up any abnormalities with little white lies that wouldn't have gone unnoticed by Maddie had she been paying attention. Doctor Hart was also rather gullible and believed almost anything Danny told him. As far as Doctor Hart knew, Danny was an average teenage boy who ran track, and got cold often because he never got enough sleep due to his vigorous study habits. (Lucky for Danny, his on-the-spot lie about no sleep leading to low body temperature was an actual, true medical fact.)
By the end of the check-up, Danny felt quite triumphant. Tucker would be proud. Sam on the other hand would probably scold him for lying to a doctor, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
"Well, Daniel, looks like we're all done here," Doctor Hart said with a pointed, one time nod. Danny's heart leaped; he was relieved he had made it through this check-up with his secret still in tact. Unfortunately, Doctor Hart kept talking. "I'll just send you on over to the blood lab. They'll take your blood, and prescribe you any medication if there are medical issues that need tending to."
Danny's heart deflated. It was like he had been floating, then someone turned the gravity back on. He'd been so preoccupied with the matter at hand, he had forgot to think of an excuse for the blood test.
"Although, after talking with you it seems your sleepiness is because of those study habits of yours," Doctor Hart continued. Maddie, who had put he magazine away after hearing Danny was finished, looked confused- Her son was never one to study. In fact, he had frequently grumbled about his dislike for school and homework.
"Good luck at your next track competition," Doctor Hart finished with a smile, unaware he was shredding Danny's accomplishments to pieces. Danny cringed. Would he just shut up all ready? Maddie looked even more confused than before.
Doctor Hart, purely oblivious to the confusion and horror he's causing for each of the respective Fentons in the room, smiled kindly at each in turn, then walked out of the room.
"Tra-?" Maddie started. But before she could even finish the word, Danny jumped down from the examination table, declaring it time to start walking toward the blood lab. Maddie just shrugged and followed her son out of the room. Over the past year, she had become accustomed to her son's (and occasionally daughter's) odd behavior.
The two made there way to the blood lab, both lost in their own thought. Maddie, thoughts of confusion and bewilderment, Danny, thoughts of worry and apprehension.
How in the world, Danny wondered, am I going to get out of this.
Soon, they were in the waiting area for the blood lab. Minutes passed fleetingly, and Danny still had no idea how to explain why he could not be subject to a blood test.
After fifteen minutes of waiting, he knew he had little to no time left, and he decided to go with an old favorite. "I have to go to the bathroom," he announced.
"Okay but hurry back," Maddie said with a kind smile. Danny smiled back, then left the room as fast as he could without running.
As he turned the corner, he heard a nurse call his name, and his mother politely tell her he had just left for the restroom.
When Danny arrived at the men's room, he went in and immediately whipped out his phone to make a three way call to Tucker and Sam.
"Help," Danny said curtly when the two had answered.
"Ghost?" Sam asked. "Where are you? We're on our way."
Danny shook is head even though he knew neither one could see him. "No ghost," he told them. "I'm at the doctor's."
"Th-the d-doctors?" Tucker squeaked.
Danny rolled is eyes and smiled slightly. "Relax, Tuck, I don't need you to come here." Tucker let out a sigh of relief. "I need ideas."
"Ideas?" Sam inquired.
After a quick scan of the bathroom to make sure it was empty, Danny quickly explained about the check-up, and the lies, and his mom, and the blood test. As expected, his getting away with lying to the doctor's earned him a "Way to go, man!" from Tucker, and a disapproving "Danny..." from Sam. The blood test, however, resulted in the same reaction from both his friends: A nervous gulp.
"Alright so here's what you'll do," Sam started. "Try..." Silence.
Danny's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Sam?" he asked. "Sam?" He pulled his phone away from is ear and glanced at the screen. It had ran out of battery. Was the universe trying to ruin his chances at keeping his secret?
Panicking, and not knowing what to do next, Danny let the familiar rings of light travel up and over his body and transform him into his ghost self. Biting his lip and running his options through his head one more frantic time, he made his decision. He would probably get grounded, but he was without another idea. He went intangible and invisible, then flew through the ceiling, away from the doctors, and away from that dreaded blood test.