Again, I'm putting in new Author notes that'll give a basic description of the chapter. Here we see Vlad getting into the picture once he learns that Danny's ill. I also though that Foreman wouldn't be as easily accepting of the ghost hunting profession as the others, because that's just his personality. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
::IMPORTANT:: The reviewer responses have all been moved to a separate chapter at the end, following the Medical Reference Guide.
Disclaimer – House isn't mine. Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman. You know the drill.
Chapter 3 - Ghosts and Differentials –
Deep within the swirling green vortex of the ghost zone, Skulker was working diligently on remaking his mechanical battle suit. His previous one had been destroyed, yet again, by Danny Phantom. He now owed many favors, but the result was worth it to him.
"Finally Finished!" the tiny green blob shouted in a strangely high-pitched voice, standing ever-so-proudly on the shoulder of his brand new high-tech battle suit. Grinning with thoughts of revenge running through his mind, he hopped into the top of the finished suit and closed the top hatch over him.
"You'd better be prepared, ghost child. It's time for payback!" Skulker laughed maniacally in a much deeper voice than before, still grinning at the thought as he flew off into the swirling green mist of the ghost zone. "Yes, revenge will be sweet," he said. His plan was guaranteed to work. If he couldn't catch the ghost child, he knew just the ghost who could. Hopefully he'd let Skulker keep the pelt as a trophy.
He flew through the ghost zone for about an hour. He passed a few unfriendly ghosts on the way without incident, but he couldn't pass by the opportunity to catch a very rare shape-shifter that he spotted. He was still a hunter, after all. But finally he arrived at his destination. A large purple football was in front of him, floating in midair. Few ghosts knew that it hid one of the two stable portals that led from the ghost zone into the human world. Most assumed it was just another ghost's lair. Entering quietly, Skulker soon found himself in a science lab filled with anti-ghost technology.
"What is it that you want this time, Skulker?" a voice said, echoing through the seemingly empty room. A second later a blue-tinged ghost stepped out of the shadows in the corner of the room. "I don't recall having asked you to be here. Before you ask, I don't have any more upgrades for your suit," He said, clearly annoyed at having been bothered by Skulker during his precious free time. Skulker didn't know that there was a Packers game on that day.
"I'm not here for any of those reasons," Skulker said with a grin, facing Vlad. "I have some information for you that you may find quite interesting. You see, I was in a battle with the ghost child today…" He started out.
Vlad raised a questioning eyebrow at Skulker's statement, then said, "I'm listening. Go on…"
Skulker smirked evilly and said, "When I was fighting the ghost child, I noticed that he was weaker, and also much slower than normal. He seemed to be in pain as well. I assumed at first that he'd already fought a ghost and was tired, but I asked around. He hadn't fought any other ghosts that day that I know of. I placed a tracker on him during our fight, and he's now in a hospital in New Jersey," Skulker reported.
Vlad though for a second, then said, "That is interesting news indeed. I had doubted you usefulness before, but I think you earned this," He said, throwing a folded net-like object at the other ghost, who caught it with surprise.
"The phase-proof netting?" Skulker questioned, "Was the information really that valuable to you?"
Vlad smirked, "You have no idea. I think it's time I visited an old friend. After all, what kind of a friend would I be if I didn't visit when his son is in the hospital?" He laughed darkly.
House's office
"We have a14-year-old male presenting with muscle weakness, fatigue and diminished reflexes along with Pericarditis. Let the differential begin," House said, writing down each symptom on a dry-erase board that stood in the center of his office. Three other doctors sat around the table, looking at it.
"I can't believe I got called in on my day off for this. Even you admit this case is diagnostically boring, why did you even take it?" Foreman said as House turned towards them.
"Because I care," House replied sarcastically, "And I can't believe you're still complaining about it. Less talking, more medical stuff!" He snapped, taking a bottle of vicodin from his coat pocket and taking one.
"It could be any number of autoimmune diseases, but it's progressing too slowly to be any of the more severe ones," Cameron spoke up finally. "There's no sure sign of paralysis, whether temporary or not, so I can't be sure."
"It could be degenerative. Lupis, MS, ALS. All of them can cause muscle weakness, too. The symptoms are too general to be sure of anything," Foreman argued, then added, "He should also be tested for any Neuromuscular condition that matches his symptoms."
"No, he's progressing too quickly for it to be degenerative. Something like that would have been building up for months, not a steep decline like he had. An acute onset makes me think it's autoimmune," Cameron argued back.
"Of course you think it's autoimmune, you're an immunologist," House pointed out. He enjoyed watching the three others argue.
"It could also have been caused by a chemical imbalance," Chase said, "We should check for a build-up of any toxins in his system, and test to see if there's an electrolyte imbalance. If he has either of those it could be kidney or liver failure.
"In a 14-year-old?" Foreman asked skeptically, "Highly unlikely."
"But still likely," Chase defended. "Check if he has low sodium or potassium levels. If he does, we'll know I'm right."
"You're forgetting about the heart problems!" House stated, bringing their attention back to him, "Ya know, the thing that brought him here in the first place?" Putting his cane down on a nearby desk, he walked over to the white board and wrote down all the various possible diseases. Despite his objections, House also included electrolyte imbalance.
"If the imbalance is drastic enough, it can cause Idiopathic Pericarditis," Chase stated, "We should still test for it."
"It could be neurological," Cameron said. "We were listening in on a bit of their conversation before we left…" She explained, but before she could say anything else House cut her off.
"Let me guess, the topic of Ghosts came up?" House smirked, clearly amused at the topic. Cameron and Chase looked shocked.
"Yeah, how…?" Cameron sputtered. He was always uncannily accurate in his observations. Things any normal person would miss were glaringly obvious to him.
"His parents are self-proclaimed Ghost Hunters that I knew on college. Or I'm psychic. Pick you favorite," House said while throwing a tennis ball into the air. Seeing their doubtful faces, he continued, "Seriously, they've invented some pretty interesting stuff."
"Cameron, did they say that they saw ghosts, or just believed in them?" Foreman said, surprisingly interested in the topic. "And was it just the kid, or the rest of the family, too?"
"Well, they mentioned something about running drills incase a ghost attacked…" Chase said, trying to remember the exact wording. "And I think it was all of them that claimed to have seen ghosts."
"Because if they have seen ghosts, we can add either delusions or hallucinations to the symptoms, which indicate a neurological problem. And if it's the entire family, it's either contagious or environmental," Foreman said smugly. "Unless of course you believe that crap."
"Come on, a lot of people believe that ghosts exist, Foreman. That doesn't automatically make them delusional," Cameron said, defending the Fentons.
"There's a difference between believing in ghosts and seeing them, Cameron," Foreman said, "The fact that they hunt ghosts proves my theory even further."
"I don't think it's just them. They said that the entire city ran ghost drills, which means that they aren't the only ones that believe that ghosts attacking is a possibility," Chase remembered. "Maybe there's just been a lot of unusual activity where they come from."
"They probably just mistook a fire drill for a ghost raid drill or something," Foreman said, nearly laughing at his two colleagues.
"As much fun as it is listening to you two children bicker, we have a patient to cure," House chastises. He suddenly smirked, getting an idea. "Foreman, I want you to go and get a detailed family history. Ignore nothing, you know how much I care about family history," House's smirk only grew. He enjoyed the look of anger that Foreman gave him. "When you're done with that, I want you to get an electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and a stress test. I want to see if this kid's heart is still functioning the way it should. Cameron, I want you to get a full blood panel and work-up. Test for any bacterial infection that's known to cause an autoimmune disease or Pericarditis. Also get a spinal tap as well. If this kid has an autoimmune disease I want to know which one. Chase," He said, turning to the final member of the group, "I want you to test for any toxins that can muscle weakness or fatigue. And once you done with that, you'll be with Foreman on the CT machine. Check the liver and kidneys, as those are the most likely to be damaged if this is caused by a toxin."
All three nodded, and Chase and Cameron headed out of the room to go do the tasks that House assigned them.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Don't you have tests to run?" House said with a grin to Foreman.
"Typical. I think they're crazy, so make me spend more time with them. Fine!" Foreman said, leaving the room. He turned in the middle of the doorway and said, "Don't think that this is over," he then turned back around and left.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun," House laughed to himself before taking another vicodin and sting back on his chair. If Cuddy was going to force him to take this case, he'd at least torture the other three as well.
Danny's hospital room
Meanwhile, Danny was fast asleep in the hospital room. He wasn't aware of it yet, but his parents and Sam were there as well. Sam sat by the side of the bed, listening on her headphones to some band or another. She was dealing with her worry in the only way she knew how – ignoring the world. Jazz had gone down to get some breakfast, and both Maddie and Jack had been standing next to the bed for a few minutes, clearly worried. They hadn't left the hospital since they'd gotten there.
"Ahh!" Danny yelled as he woke up, startled to see two people standing right next to him, even if they were his parents. He silently thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't gone invisible or intangible on instinct. That would have raised some awkward questions.
"Are you feeling okay?" Maddie asked, acting like the protective mother that she was. Scientist or not, she still cared deeply for her two children.
"Just a little freaked out," Danny said half-heartedly to both his parents, relaxing now that he realized that there was no danger. "I'm really not used to people watching over me while I sleep," He said, yawning. Anyone waking up to someone standing directly over them would react the same way.
Someone opening the door got the attention of all of them, and they watched as an unfamiliar doctor walked in, closely followed by Dr. Cameron and Chase.
"Hello, my name's Dr. Foreman, and I'm one of the doctors that's trying to figure out what's making you sick," he introduced himself as he shook the hands of all four of them. He then took out a medical chart, and looked at the three Fentons. "I'm going to need you to answer a few questions about you and your family's medical history, if that's okay," He looked up from the chart and saw the parents nod in response. The look on his face suggested that he'd rather be anywhere else at the moment.
"And we're just going to take a few blood samples, and then we'll be out of your way. We'll take it from the arm that doesn't have the IV in it," Chase said, getting some vials and preparing them. Soon it was over and Chase was putting caps on the vials.
"So…what are you testing for?" Danny asked, coughing a bit as he spoke.
"We're going to be testing to see if you have an autoimmune disease, neuromuscular disease, or something else entirely," Cameron explained as she checked Danny's pulse and put a thermometer in his mouth. "Those are some of the possible causes of muscle weakness and fatigue. Your other doctor ruled out some of the more common ones already before you came here," She said. She took the thermometer and said, "Well, it doesn't look like your running a fever, so that's good news."
"Those things you mentioned, are they treatable?" Maddie asked, concerned for her son's health.
"It depends on what disease it is. Some are very treatable, and some aren't, but we promise that no matter what we'll try our best to get your son better," Cameron explained, hoping that her words might comfort or help them in some way. In all honesty, they had no idea which disease it was.
"Anyway," Foreman interrupted, getting their attention. He looked annoyed that everyone kept interrupting him. "I'm going to need you to answer a few questions to get an accurate medical and family history. Now, have you had any viral or bacterial infections over the past two months?" he asked, looking up at Danny.
"No, I haven't been sick at all," Danny replied, watching as Cameron and Chase left the room.
"Any history of degenerative diseases in you family? MS, ALS, that sort of thing?" He asked.
"No," Danny replied, but then looked up at his parents, "At least I don't think so."
"No, there isn't," Maddie answered for him.
It continued like this for about a half hour. After what seemed to Danny like 10,000 questions or more, Foreman finally reached the last few.
"Do you have any history of mental illness in the family?" He asked with a barely perceivable smile on his face, and looked up at the family.
"Your sister's pretty crazy. She nearly chopped my hands off for using the rhubarb," Jack said to his wife, shuddering at the memory.
"No Jack, she's not mentally ill. She just likes her country lifestyle…" Maddie trailed off.
Foreman looked at them with a raised eyebrow, "Okay, I have to know. What's with the jumpsuits?" He asked them.
Ignoring sniggers from both Danny and Sam, Jack proudly responded, "What do you mean? These are stylish. And comfortable."
"You got a problem with jumpsuits?" Maddie asked defensively, and Foreman shook his head no.
By this point Danny and Sam were laughing outright at Danny's parents.
Foreman sighed. "Danny, you're scheduled for a CAT scan tomorrow morning. Until then we'll be looking at the test results to try and see what's causing this, or at least narrow it down. Dr. Cameron is going to take you to get a stress test, electrocardiogram and echocardiogram this afternoon. We need to see if your heartbeat is being effected by the Pericarditis," He said, then left the room as quickly as he came in.
"Cat Scan?" Jack asked his wife, confused, "But Danny's not a cat…"
"Have a cookie, Jack," Maddie sighed, handing him a chocolate chip cookie to distract him. "Let's go find Jazz and get some breakfast. You'll be okay, right Danny?" she asked, looking toward her son.
"I'll be fine," Danny said, watching as his parents left the room. As soon as they did, he turned to Sam and asked, "Do you think my secret will stay safe?"
"Come on, no doctor's going to check for something like that, and I'm pretty sure it won't show up on any normal test," she said in a reassuring manner that was quite different from her usual tone.
The peaceful moment they shared was broken by a blue mist coming from Danny's mouth.
"Great, I don't get a moment's rest," Danny sighed. Resigning himself to a fight, he said, "Going ghost!"
Sam gasped as he did so, causing him to turn toward her.
"What?" He asked, confused.
"You're still normal," She said, holding up a pocket mirror.
"I'm going ghost!" Danny tried again, he looked at Sam and she shook her head, indicating that he was still normal.
"This is really bad, Sam," Danny said. "I can't go ghost."