Back, and glad I pumped this one out; the story has been moving quicker then I expected, and I had fun writing this one. Soon, we'll get to the juicy stuff!

Standard stuff: Don't own DP, but I have multiple OC's. (Shelly's Mom, Sean, Derik, Mac, and a few others.) Please respect my rights to them and this story.

Chapter 2: Seriously Pranked.

(POV: of Shelly Makamoto.)

My Mother and I were in the car and out the driveway before we knew it. I ignored my protesting head; we were driving to the hospital to see Mac, and I wasn't going to let a little pain stop us. Mom made a phone call to my brother, telling him to meet us at the hospital since it was his lunch hour, and he was only a few blocks away.

Our drive lasted only ten minutes; but seemed so much longer. Mom parked the car, and we headed towards the hospital, and towards the ICU. The automatic doors slid open, and we entered the standard hospital. My Mother approached the counter and asked about Mac. She got a floor, and room number the rest was on us. Had my Mother been as hasty as me, she would've taken the stairs with me, on impulse. Thankfully, she was still composed enough to keep me from climbing up three flights worth of stairs in my condition.

Thus, came the awkward silence between strangers on the way up. You know what I mean. The kind that keeps you from talking to anyone, and leaves you feeling like you have no to room to breathe. I ran a hand through my hair, why couldn't I get my priorities straight? My Mom snapped me out of my thoughts. Apparently, I was spacing out again. I looked at my Mom as we filed out of the elevator; Mac usually kept me from spacing out like that…

My Mom pulled me down various hallways by my wrist since I'd proven that I still wasn't functioning normally yet. She asked for directions once or twice, and counted door numbers as we passed them. Finally, we came to room #423 and stopped. My Mother confirmed Mac's name on a tab hanging next to the door.

I took a few breaths, leaning my head back and straining my ears for any sign of Mac's voice. A glance was exchanged between my Mother and me; then I opened the door and walked in.

I took a single step forward, "Mac?" My Mother slid past me, and walked up hesitantly to the bed. I looked away, jumping slightly when I noticed my brother, Sean standing over Mac at the opposite side of the bed. He must've arrived a while ago.

Gathering my strength, I walked past the bed syncing my steps with Mac's heart-rate monitor. I slipped open the curtains, and joined my Mother on the side of the bed closest to the door.

My Mother was tense as she looked over Mac's sleeping form. I found my wits, and spoke to Sean, "Did he even wake up at all?"

Sean nodded solemnly, "Yeah, he woke up and said a few things…talked to the doctor too…"

I took a deep breath, "And?" My heartbeat faster and faster in my chest, I half-listened to Mac's heart-rate monitor beep faster, and faster as well. Why would it do that, he was sleeping?

Sean hid his face from me, "Well...he's…"

Mother audibly gulped.

Sean looked me in the eye with a straight face, "He's pregnant."

I blanched, the heck?

I heard giggling from below me, and then Sean burst into laughter. I snapped out of another trance and looked between Mac and Sean. They were laughing! Well, Sean was; Mac was giggling in a way that wouldn't hurt him too much.

Sean pointed a finger at me, "YOU should've seen the look on your face!" He laughed some more. I stood frozen, my brain not quite catching up to the fact that my Mother and I; had been duped. Duped in a very cruel and unusual way by two loved ones.

Mom acted before I could, stampeding around the bed, and tackling my brother to the ground. She started slapping him everywhere she could. Sean, on the receiving end, protected his face and still managed to giggle.

She kept slapping rapidly, "Why you no-good little!"

My face paled even more, and Mac stopped laughing, his face turned terrified. My Mother, the last person I would ever think of was (of all things) cursing out my big brother.

Mac and I flinched in sync; we didn't even think she knew how to swear. Mac gave me a pleading look, I smirked, 'Hey, you know he had it coming' written all over my face.

Seconds later, it stopped and my Mother stood up and glared daggers at Sean. Sean by the way, looked paler then a polar bear by this point. I couldn't help but feel that yes, justice had been served that day.

He got up, "Um, heh-heh don't you think that was-"

"NO, that was NOT a little too much, young Man." My Mother said firmly, "That was inexcusable, BOTH of you." She looked at Mac.

"Don't hurt me," Mac squeaked quietly, "I'm imfirm."

"That's infirm, nitwit." I corrected harshly, Mac smiled at me.

"Thanks; but anyway, the doctor said I'll be out in two, maybe three weeks. It wasn't as bad at they first thought."

I sighed, "But how long until you fully recover?"

"Oh," Mac stuttered, "six to eight weeks." He smiled up at me tiredly, "Don't worry, I can handle it. Plus, the station pays me to sit here and recover; they're also covering the bills too, since these were 'on the job' injuries."

My Mother nodded, "Good thing then, I'd rather the station take care of you then some insurance company."

"Yeah," Sean snorted, "the station doesn't label 'on the job injuries' as 'preexisting conditions.'"

We all laughed together, if we hadn't been in the hospital, things would've been the same as always…

…

The next two and a-half weeks were spent visiting the hospital, recovering, and getting back into life again. Mac and I, were surprised with a welcome back party at the station. Even though Mac could've gotten away with staying away from work, he decided to hang around and do office work and camera maintenance. Three weeks of that, and he was finally ready to go back out into the field, with some therapy sessions as his only medical procedures to expect.

Time passed by, and Mac was almost completely recovered when we were both called to the Boss' office.

We entered the office of Mr. Derik Anderson, and sat down in front of his desk…

"Hello Shelly, Mac." He said politely, smiling towards up with brown eyes, shinning beneath his neatly cut chestnut hair.

"Hello, Sir." Mac and I took turns saying, respectively.

He looked at us cautiously, "Look." He began, "I know that you've still got some problems Mac; but I need you out in the field again with Shelly." Mac gave our Boss an excited and slightly hesitant smile. "Listen, just relax, and ease yourself back into the game. Heaven knows all this drama about Danny Phantom, had ruffled your feathers enough as it is. Just try and avoid anything ghostly for a while; I won't send you out to meet up with anything directly involving ghosts for quite some time."

We nodded, "So, what's the job?" Mac asked.

"Halloween is only a weak away, so back in Mall Town Main St. they've decided to hold a kind of festival-event. Apparently, with all the ghosts running around, Halloween has become the second most popular holiday in this city. Your job, is to go out there and film the festival goers, and get a few mini-interviews when you can."

Mac shifted in his chair, "That's it?"

Derik nodded, "It'll be you, Shelly, the usually Ghost-Watch crew. Not an important story; but the world's watching Amity Park closely these days." His eyes darkened, "The world has spoken, they want to know as much about Amity Park as possible."

Derik turned his computer around, showing us an article on the screen, "Which reminds me; take a look at this…"

Mac blinked reading ahead of me, "Are you serious?"

I stood up, and leaned closer to the screen; the article read.

"According to the top four largest cable providers, a new station will be provided to their customers. Abbreviated PHAN; the 'Paranormal Hotspot American Network' is compiling footage of the paranormal to broadcast nationwide."

"This, along with it's sister radio station, APGS ('Amity Park Ghost Station' which; after being demolished has been rebuilt into a studio, and is currently creating programs to broadcast on PHAN.) The programming will consist of: history, paranormal, reality, and lesser subjects that have some link to the paranormal."

"The rising of the network has spurred up plenty of controversy. Both from religious groups, and concerned civilians who believe that the reward for ghostly footage will tempt children, and teens into doing something dangerous."

"My son is fascinated by ghosts, and wouldn't mind lining his pockets if it meant all he had to do, was film them." –said a concerned Mother."

"The second biggest concern from all around, is what has been labeled a 'bounty-system,' by many. The broadcasting company will pay for footage, according to: the quality/quantity, the ghost on the film, and the scenario the ghost is involved in."

"A dangerous ghost such as the infamous Danny Phantom; would fetch a high price for his popularity, and battle powers. Due to recent events concerning Danny Phantom (see- "Phantom's Wrath" by Cindy Archwall) many Amity Park parents have expressed deep concern, and anger towards the bounty system. Weather the PHAN will get on its' feet and high in the ratings, is a toss up of curious sorts."

I sat back down in my chair, "Are they really going to do this?"

Derik nodded, "Hey, if it makes money…"

Mac sighed, "So, why are you showing us this now, Boss?"

"Because, you two need to know what's headed our way; don't be surprised if Phantom has a much harder time keeping people form getting hurt."

Mac and I exchanged a glance, "That would mean bad news for Phantom if some kid decided that, a good video was worth more then his safety."

Mac nodded back to me, "Then guess who'd be left to take the blame?"

Well all nodded knowingly.

Derik's eyebrow quirked, "I wonder if Phantom would blame himself? I mean, he gets distracted when someone's in danger; but would he actually blame himself if someone got seriously hurt or killed?"

I stood up recalling the injuries Mac and I received, "Let's hope that's a question, we'll never get to answer." Mac and Derik nodded in union, "If that's it Sir, Mac and I need to get back to work."

"That is all Shell, be careful you two."

We exchanged goodbye's and resumed the work day with heavy mind's…

PHAN; I'm going to say it right now. I am SO glad I could figure that one out! I was only thinking for about two-minutes and BAM, I got it! I guess that somehow, though the TV I wound up with the Fenton's ability to create crazy names!

He-he, on a calmer note: Shelly's turn is over. Next week, we get to team Phantom, in Danny's POV. Hopefully, I'll be able to start posting longer chapters, (these are a little short by my standards for a weeks work; but I wanted to end it soon anyway.)

R&R, or just, &R cause you've gotten the first one down already. ;)

See you Sunday!