Hey, guys. So I know you're all probably super psyched that I'm updating but I have to warn you that the ending to this chapter is going to make you hate me. Even more than you already do for the slow updates. I apologize again but that's how things have to be. I can only write when I have the time and when I'm in the mood and that's not too often. Sorry : / I'm going to keep trying though. Enjoy this small offering and sorry about the cliff hanger. Also I should warn you that I use a curse word in here... I don't know if that means I have to change my rating... but whatever. I'm sure you guys can handle it. Enjoy!
"Absolutely not. Out of the question."
The hospital room of doctors sighed in frustration at the teenage boy who sat straight up in his bed, arms crossed and a frown on his face.
"Danny, if anyone else were to try operating on you… it would be too great a risk." Dr. Cameron had her sympathetic face on. "We don't know anything about your physical make-up, aside from what little we've researched over the past 48 hours."
"Which is nothing compared to the years of research your mother has done," Foreman put in.
Chase rounded out the argument. "I've done thousands of surgeries, Danny, and even I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it."
The three doctors now stood in a semi-circle around the bed. House sat quietly, watching from a stool in the corner.
"Guys, I don't think you get it." Danny leaned forward, resting his arms in his lap. "Even if my mom were awake, there's no way she would agree to help cure me. I'm Danny Phantom. In her eyes, public ghost enemy number one of Amity Park who threatens the safety of her family and neighbors on a daily basis."
The doctors shifted uncomfortably.
"Heck, forget that she has a personal beef with me. The fact that I'm a ghost, in her terms, means I am, by nature, untrustworthy, indecent, and just plain evil. You hand her a scalpel… she'll dissect me."
"Can't argue with that," Chase said, turning to House in a gesture of surrender. The other two doctors turned as well, clearly feeling the same way.
"You all are weak," House spat. He stood. "Stand back and take notes."
The team shuffled to the side as House took the place directly in front of Danny's bed. He gave his patient an intense stare before speaking.
"You don't really believe your own mother would kill you for the sake of science," House declared.
"Well, no," Danny admitted, "but she wouldn't know it's me. I have to be in this form in order to have the surgery, right? And if I change to my human self, I doubt I will have enough energy to change back."
"So you agree she won't really hurt you if she knows it's you. Good. Now we're just figuring out how we could convince her it's really you."
"Wait, what?" Danny tried to keep up, but the crafty doctor was too good. "No, I never agreed to telling her it's me. That's the part that's out of the question."
"Why?" House shot back.
"Because she hates Phantom," Danny reasoned. "Why would I want her to know that her own son is someone she hates?"
"You really think she'd continue hating you? C'mon, she's your mom. She loves you. Finding out you're half ghost isn't going to change that. It may take some getting used to but over time she'd accept it. And you know it."
Danny merely glared in response.
"So what's the real reason behind not wanting to tell your mom, hm?" House bunched his eyebrows together in mock consideration. "Ooh, I know! Maybe because if mom finds out you fly around putting yourself in danger on a daily basis she would make you stop and then you have to say bye-bye to your super hero status."
Danny's eyes were glowing, but he kept his mouth shut. This did not deter House.
"It's not your mom you're trying to protect. It's yourself. Your freedom, to be more precise."
The sheets on Danny's bed were pulled taut as he balled his fists around them. He looked ready to explode, but Sam did it for him.
"Are you kidding me? Danny's 'freedom,' as you call it, involves him having his butt handed to him on a regular basis by freaking ghosts! He does what he does to protect the town, not because he likes the feeling of the wind in his hair or whatever crap you're trying to feed us."
The room was silent, as the residue from Sam's outburst seemed to echo off the walls.
The tension was broken when Danny let out a small snicker. "Well," he casually admitted, "it's not all about the wind in my hair."
Foreman, Chase, and Cameron gawked at their patient's sudden mood swing, but House's expression did not change.
"Look," Danny continued, looking straight at his doctor, "I don't want to fight about it. You can think what you want about me. But whether it's my freedom, my safety, or my parents' safety that I'm worried about, the answer is still no. I refuse to tell my mom that her son is Danny Phantom. Especially under these circumstances."
House finally nodded. He then gestured to his team to leave with him. "We'll let you know when we come up with something then," he said as he followed them out.
A few hours later, Danny was jolted out of a light sleep by the sound of House's cane hitting the side of his bed. He squinted up at the doctor hovering over him.
"Cameron said you were feeling nauseous." House held out a small blue pill and cup of water.
"Thanks," Danny replied, taking the offering with his gloved hands. "You think it's a sign of something?" he asked, popping the pill in his mouth and draining the cup of water.
"Probably just bad hospital food."
Danny gave a weak grin and nod. "How's my mom?"
"The same."
Another nod.
"If you want, I can take you to go see her. There are a lot of nurses around at this time of day though so we'd have to sneak you in…"
"Right, don't want everyone freaking out over the white-haired kid in a jumpsuit." Danny laughed but it was without humor.
"It wouldn't be all bad. You get to ride in one of these babies." House pulled over a wheelchair.
"That supposed to look like fun?"
"It is when I drive." House smiled devilishly.
Danny beamed. "What are we waiting for then?"
"That was lame," Danny said as House wheeled him into his mom's hospital room.
"I told you there would be a lot of nurses around," House countered. "And the story of you being a cancer patient who used to race go-karts and just wants to 'go fast one last time' can only get us so far."
"I guess that's understandable." Danny shed the hospital robe he had been hiding his appearance under and approached his mother's bedside.
"Hey, Mom," he said quietly.
House appeared behind him with the wheelchair when he realized he had nowhere to sit.
Danny thanked the doctor with a nod as he sat and took Maddie's hand. He moved his thumb over the back of her hand as he gazed down at her peaceful face, marred by several scratches.
"Oh, Mom," Danny sighed, "What did that creep do to you?"
Suddenly, Maddie's eyebrows knit together and she moved her head to face her son as if she could hear him.
"Danny?" she asked in a raspy voice.
"Mom?" Danny's face brightened at first, but then quickly fell when he realized what form he was in. "Oh cru-ah!" A sharp pain cut the exclamation off as Danny grabbed his stomach. He turned to see if House was still around and was surprised to see the doctor standing oddly close to him.
"House, she's awake! I gotta-" Danny attempted to stand and head for the door, but the pain surged and he had to stay seated. His eyes pleaded with House for help.
House said nothing and showed no expression as he simply held his cane over the arm rests of Danny's wheelchair, barring the teen from getting up.
"House, what are you-?"
The doctor spun the chair so that it faced Maddie directly and tightly held his cane in place.
Maddie opened her eyes just as Danny realized what was happening. He could feel his energy leaving him; his body ached to change back to his human form.
"Danny Phantom?"
Danny saw his mother's horrified face just as blue light engulfed him and all his ghost energy left him.
"No… it can't be…"
Re-opening his eyes practically against his will, Danny took in the shock and puzzlement on his mother's face. The pain had left with his powers but he couldn't seem to catch his breath. Beads of sweat lined his forehead.
"Wh-? How-?" Maddie couldn't form a complete question.
"Mrs. Fenton, I'd like for you to meet your son," House said, returning his cane to his side.
Danny turned weakly to glare at the doctor.
"Danny Phantom."
"Bastard," Danny managed to say before fainting.
