A/N: You guys are soooo lucky I'm making tea right now. Cause if I wasn't, I wouldn't have updated this. I am so exhausted and ugh. This is a special update because Icedragon really really wanted it. XDD' I might not update on Monday's. It's kinda a wildcard.
Danny's day passed by exceptionally slowly, thoughts of Valerie and Sam passed through his mind constantly. Valerie was beautiful and nice, she was in his classes and he was immediately attracted to her when he saw her.
But then there's Sam. Sam, she was the one person who had stood up for him when he was trapped in the facility. She had convinced Tucker to help her get him out of the prison they'd thrown him in. She was his first friend, and Danny had emotions for her he couldn't place. But she wasn't interested, and Danny didn't know if she'd ever respond to his advances.
But then there was Valerie. She didn't have a past with him. She wasn't his best friend. She wasn't the one who knew his secret. He could make advances towards her without risking his friendship with her as dramatically as what could happen with Sam. And, eventually, when she was ready, he could show her his ghost powers.
Danny sighed as he waited for Sam by their locker at the end of the day, his mind still running all over the place. He was playing with the locker door by slowly opening and closing it as he stared at his shoes. He shivered and rubbed his arm, trying to warm up as Sam approached him.
"What's wrong, Danny? You look like you're freezing." She observed, stuffing the books she didn't need into the locker.
"I-I am." Danny shivered, hugging himself to try to keep some heat in. Danny sneezed, and then muttered, "Are you almost done, Sam? I just want to go home and curl under my blankets."
"Geeze… maybe you should go to the doctor, Danny. This doesn't seem normal." Sam closed the locker and began walking out of the school. "If this continues at least tell your mom?"
Danny shivered, rubbing his arms fiercely. "Alright," Danny said, "I'll see how I am tomorrow, but I'll talk to my mom."
They began walking down the sidewalk when a car pulled up beside them. The passenger side window rolled down revealing Valerie driving the car. "Hey, Danny!" she said, leaning over to look at him, "Do you and your girlfriend want a ride?"
"H-hey Val," Danny shivered as Sam scowled and muttered something about not being his girlfriend. "S-Sam's not my g-girlfriend. She's my b-best friend."
"Oh. Are you okay, Danny? You look like you're freezing."
Danny smiled and waved her off. "D-don't worry about me," He said, "I'll be o-o-okay" he sneezed right after this than smiled at Val, "Sam and I don-don't live f-f-f-far from here, we'll walk."
Val looked worried, but then straightened in her seat. "Okay, Danny, well, I'll see you next time we have Lab then." She said before rolling up her window and driving off.
"T-th-that was Val." Danny said to Sam, as if the girl needed to be told.
Sam rolled her eyes, "Yeah, got that, dude. Thanks." She said crossing her arms and looking at him. He was getting paler and paler with each passing minute.
"… okay, Danny, we're not waiting for you to see if you're okay. We're going to see your mom. You really don't look well." Was Sam's voice getting deeper? And slower?
Why was she fading?
Sam watched as Danny started to squint at her, then her mouth fell open as Danny himself fell over. Sam caught him, but barely. "Danny!" she cried, whipping out her cell phone and calling an ambulance.
Danny wasn't in a coma, he was just unconscious. Sam sat with her elbows on her knees; her chin was on her clenched fists. She watched the IVs dripping into him, his heart monitor slowly beeping in rhythm with his actual heart. He was lying on a heating pad, and was under an electric blanket and several comforters, with a hot water bottle placed under his neck.
The doctors said his symptoms were like hypothermia, but that it was very hard to get that condition at this time of year. Sam was worried beyond belief, and had come here every time she had a break. His parents were here more often than not as well.
The nurses fluttered in every so often, taking his temperature and tsk-ing in worry every time they noticed it hadn't gone up. Sam sighed, watching Danny lying comfortably under all the blankets. He had finally stopped shivering and a small smile came to his face.
Sam finally gave up and pulled out her laptop, hoping that Tucker was online as she logged onto her chat. Luckily for her, he was, and his conversation popped up shortly after the program had loaded fully.
"Sam!" Tucker said with a grin. "What's up?" Sam hadn't had time- or have even thought about going online in the last few days, so Tucker was in the dark about Danny's condition.
"Are you and Danny having fun without me?" Tucker winked teasingly at the Goth girl, who shot him a deadly glare, before turning the laptop around so that he could see Danny lying in the bed.
"Well, if you call this fun, then sure." Sam said sarcastically. "Danny collapsed the other day, he's been suffering from cold spells and I guess they caught up to him." She spun the computer around and saw that Tucker's face had gone exceptionally pale. "They're choosing to believe it's hypothermia. I don't think it is. I think it's his ghost powers." She whispered the last part after looking around to make sure no one was around.
Tucker was still pale and his mouth was slightly ajar. "Sam… are you… in a hospital then?"
Sam's brows fell down to hood her eyes as she stared at the electronic image of Tucker. "…Yes. That would explain how I just showed you Danny."
Tucker gulped. "You know I don't like hospitals, Sam."
"Ugh Tucker! Danny's in danger and that's all you can think of? You're not even near the hospital!"
"Fine… I'll try to tolerate it." Tucker said, taking off his barrette and wringing it in his hands. "What's your theory on his condition?"
"Well, do you remember when Vlad was around and he was able to do all sorts of powers Danny couldn't? Like the ghost shield that Danny was able to copy?"
"Yeah…"
"Do you think this might be a new manifestation?" She asked, glancing up at the bed where Danny had shifted slightly.
"It might be. Might be worth looking into, I remember you mentioning those books you had been reading. The ones about the supernatural; continue that, and maybe you'll come across something that describes Danny's condition…" Tucker said, placing his index finger under his chin while he was thinking. "I'll poke around here, and see if I can't come up with something."
Sam bit her lip and asked quietly, "What if we can't find anything and Danny gets worse and worse?"
"We'll find something." Tucker assured her. "And…" he looked unsure of what he was about to say, "…Last case, we ask Vlad. He's done all that research, and he does have ghost powers as well."
Sam looked like she was actually considering it. "I doubt Danny would go for it." She said, thinking it over. "He's trapped in the thermos contained in a ghost-proof container in the Fenton Works lab." She explained, "Danny's terrified of that lab."
"I know," Tucker sighed. "Remember how he reacted when we were exploring the house with him?"
Sam sighed; the poor guy had broken down into hysterics, claiming that the lab felt like death, that he could hear spirits calling for help. "I remember."
"Remember what?"
Sam looked up sharply at the bed. The quiet voice had been Danny, who was now staring at her with his eyes half open. "Danny!" Sam turned the computer around so Tucker could see. "Hey dude!"
Danny smiled "Tuck!" he said, "How's it going with your girlfriend?"
"Great! But we'll talk about that later, how are you feeling bro?"
"Better." Danny said, sitting up in the bed. "The cold's subsiding." He looked at his hands. "I don't understand it." He said, not looking up at his two best friends. "It's like this… ice cube is just growing inside of me."
Sam couldn't stand it. Danny looked so scared and confused as he looked up at Sam and Tucker, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "What's wrong with me?"
"Hey, man, calm down…" Tucker tried to help him, leaning as close to the webcam as he could, "Sam and I are on it, we'll figure it out."
Danny stared blankly at Tucker before looking back at his hands. "Thanks, guys…"
Danny was released from the hospital a few days after that, his temperature had risen and the doctors were baffled. They made him promise to get plenty of bed rest and to dress warmly if he felt a chill coming on.
Danny was sitting in his lab class, playing with a pencil on his desk dressed in a thick, warm sweater waiting for his teacher to come in. Valerie came in and sat next to him, "Hey partner." She greeted him, "Long time no see, are you alright?"
Danny looked up at her and saw guilt in her green eyes. "If I had driven you home that day, maybe things would have been better…"
Danny put his large hand over one of her petit ones, "Hey, Val, don't worry about it." He said, smiling at her and noticing how warm she was compared to him. "Things turned out how they did, and I'm okay now."
"…You're freezing, Danny." Valerie said quietly, looking down at his hand.
"…I know," he whispered, pulling away from her. "I'm sorry." He looked away from her. The tension built until Ms. Ardelle came in and announced that today would be a lecture class.
Danny refused to look at Val as he took notes, but she kept watching him from the corner of her eye as the class worse on. Something was off about him. But she couldn't place what. Then again, she hardly even knew him.
Danny finally looked over to see her watching him intently. "Uh, Val? You're kinda creepin' me out." He said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at his paper out of the corner of his eye.
"Sorry, Danny," Val said, looking away again. "I just feel like there's something wrong with you, is all. You're really cold and… you're white as a ghost." Val narrowed her eyes and looked at him. "Are you sure you should be at school?"
Danny, if it was possible, went even paler as she mentioned he was as white as a ghost. Did she find out? "N-no, I'm fine." Danny said, rubbing his hands together to try and get some warmth. Just then Ms. Ardelle let the class out and Danny jumped to his feet. "Um okay! Bye Val! I'll see you next time!" he picked all his books together and ran out of the room.
Valerie was a little hurt and confused. Why would Danny act the way he did towards her just now? Did she do something? She picked up her books and slowly made her way out of the class. She'd have to do something to make up for it.
Danny threw his stuff next to Sam under their normal meeting tree and sat down heavily.
"What's up, ghost-boy?" Sam asked without looking up from her laptop.
"Valerie's confusing me," Danny admitted sheepishly, rifling through his bag for something to snack on. "She's really concerned about me, and then mentioned that I was as white as a ghost." He pulled out an apple and buffed it on his shirt before taking a bite. "She doesn't know, as far as I know. But it freaked me out."
"You're way too sheltered, Danny." Sam said furiously typing on her laptop, "People use that expression all the time in the real world, you don't have to be so shocked by it."
Danny shrugged and took a large bite of the fruit as Sam continued, "She was just expressing concern over your wellbeing." Sam muttered grudgingly. "She thought you still looked sick." Finally she looked up at Danny. "How much did your tutors teach you?" she asked, "Cause from where I'm sitting, you don't know much."
Danny shivered and rubbed his arms as he swallowed his mouthful. "I don't know, they taught me whatever." Danny murmured.
Sam's computer let out a ping noise, and Tucker's icon flashed on the toolbar at the bottom.
"Tuck's on, do you want to chat?" Sam asked Danny, gliding the cursor down to it.
"Sure, why not." Danny bit into the apple again.
"Hey Sam! Hey Danny!" Tucker waved at them from his side of the internet.
"Hey Tuck," the two of them said together. "When do we get to see this girlfriend of yours?" Sam asked, repositioning herself so it was easier for the two of them to see Tucker.
"Soon, I promise." Tucker said, waving it off. "What's new with you guys?"
"The usual, I guess." Sam said, glancing at Danny. "Lover boy over there's swooning over his latest crush, Valerie."
This gave Tucker pause, who glanced at Danny's side of the screen quickly. "…Valerie? Danny… What's her last name?"
Danny had his apple up to his mouth, ready to take another bite, but paused and looked down at Tucker. "Gray. Valerie Gray. Why?"
Tucker glanced uneasily at Sam. "You guys don't know?" he asked, adjusting his glasses on his face.
"Know what?" Sam asked, crossing her arms over her chest and letting her legs support the laptop.
"Valerie's mom was a ghost hunter," Tucker began, looking more and more uneasy as he spoke. "Her mom and my mom were friends, way back when. We used to hang out all the time. Anyway, her mother, as I said, was a ghost hunter. She was killed by a ghost on one of her missions…"
Suddenly, Danny didn't like where this was going. "She hates ghosts with a passion. Once her mom died, I only saw her occasionally- in the grocery store or something," Tucker said, rubbing his arm uneasily. "She had begun to carry around ghost trackers. I think she's following in her mother's footsteps." Tucker glanced at Danny with worry clearly etched on his face. "I'm surprised her equipment hasn't gone off around you."
Danny shrugged, taking a bite of his apple. "I don't know if it's the same Valerie, Tuck."
"Dark skinned, likes to wear orange, big and beautiful green eyes?" Danny's stomach sank and Tucker could see the look on his face. "Same one."
Danny suddenly wasn't hungry. He tossed the rest of the apple into the garbage can that sat a few metres away. "Maybe she gave up ghost hunting…" Danny suggested as he shivered and his teeth clacked together.
"Dude… you sure you're okay? You look extremely sick."
Danny's lips were blue as he rolled his eyes, "I'm fine." He insisted, "W-why won't you g-g-g-guys stop wo-worrying?"
"Maybe it's because everything from your waist down just went invisible?" Sam suggested, pointing down.
Danny looked down and yelped in fright before looking around to make sure no one saw it. "Ugh," Danny hid his face in his hands. "W-w-why is this hap-happening to me?" He forced his legs to become visible again.
"Danny, maybe you should go to see your mom…" Sam suggested and Tucker nodded his agreement. "This is making me suspect more and more that it's your ghost powers. Your mom might have something in that lab of hers that will help."
"The LAB?" Danny exclaimed, "I can't go down there S-Sam, you know that!"
"I don't think you have much choice, dude," Tucker interjected, "You look really sick, and people in school are going to notice eventually."
Danny sighed, folding his legs up to his chest and leaning against them. "I g-g-guess." He muttered rebelliously, "But you have to c-c-c-come please." Danny gave Sam his pleading look, wrapping his arms around his legs. "I d-d-d-don't want to go down there alone."
"You'll have your parents, Danny." Sam said, splitting her laptop's screen so she could talk to Tucker while doing some homework. "You won't be alone."
Danny closed his eyes as he started to shiver uncontrollably. "P-p-p-please, Sam?" Danny begged while trying to tighten the ball he was in. People walking past gave him curious looks, seeing him shivering and miserable.
Sam reached over to rub Danny's back and try to calm him down, only to recoil in shock at how cold he was. "Danny, you're even colder than last time you had an attack." She observed, "We're ditching school and getting you help."
Danny closed his eyes as another shiver overcame him and made a noise that Sam could have sworn was the beginning of a protest, if Danny could muster the energy to complain. "You don't want Valerie to be worried about you, do you Danny?" Tucker's voice piped in.
Danny turned his head and opened one eye to look at his two best friends before sighing and saying, "Alright… I'll go to the lab…"
"We'll see you later, Tucker." Sam said, logging off of chat when Tucker said goodbye, and closing her computer. She stuffed it into her bag and got to her feet. "I'll call your house so your mom knows we're coming." Sam said, taking out her cell phone.
Danny looked up at her before stiffly getting out of his position and standing up. He swayed a bit but soon regained his balance. Sam gasped as she looked down at his feet. "Yeah, we have to definitely get you checked out."
Danny furrowed his brow, unsure of what she meant before he looked down and groaned. His shoes and the grass around where he had been sitting were covered in frost. Danny sighed, hugging himself as he shivered again. "Let's go, Danny…" Sam gently put a hand on Danny's shoulder, ignoring the stinging cold that radiated off of him.
Danny finally let Sam guide him off of school grounds and made their way back home.
"Report."
"I've gained his trust, sir." The room was very dark. A small, florescent lamp swung on a thin wire from the ceiling, making the scarce light shift eerily. There was a small table with two people sitting at it; the first one who had spoken had their hands clasped together in front of their face. The other was a woman, sitting up straight and watching the man warily. "He's clueless."
"Good. You know what you have to do, correct?"
"Of course, sir, I've got it all down."
"Good. Continue your surveillance until the right time." The man said, lowering his hands and getting to his feet. "I'm looking forward to your next report."
