Author's note: The idea for this part came from The gangsta of love. Thanks!

Planned

The front door opened. Jack and Maddie sat on the living room sofa and looked up as Danny limped into the room clutching his middle.

"Hey, honey," said Maddie. "Done working on that project with Sam and Tucker already?"

"Oh." Danny straightened and dropped his arm down to his side. "I thought you said you and Dad were gonna be working in the lab today."

"We'll be going down soon," said Jack.

"Oh."

A red splotch stained the lower part of his shirt. Danny turned his body away from them so it was hidden.

"I just have some more homework to do." Danny pointed to the stairs. His voice sounded strained. "I'll be in my room."

"Okay, sweetie. I'll bring you up a snack later," said Maddie.

"No!" shrieked Danny.

Jack and Maddie stared at him. Danny folded his arms against his body and smiled, a thin film of moisture brimming along his lower eyelids.

"I don't need anything," he insisted, turning his face away and discreetly wiping his eyes. "I'm not hungry."

"You sure?"" asked Maddie. "I could make you a sandwich."

Jack studied her expression, her innocent, sweet smile as she clasped her knee.

"No. No, I'll be fine," said Danny, gasping just a little.

"Well, do you need any help with your homework, then?"

Danny gritted his teeth but forced another smile. "No, I think I'm good."

"Your dad and I are happy to help if you need us, you know."

Danny kept his face away as he stared at the floor. "I… Yeah, I know you are."

His hand moved to hover over the red stain on his shirt, clenched and then loosened as he lowered it back to his side with shaky, labored motions.

"Go ahead upstairs to your room," said Jack. "Before you lose the motivation to do your homework."

Danny nodded. "Yeah. Right."

Jack and Maddie watched Danny climb the stairs. He gripped the rail tightly as he took each step one at a time. He disappeared out of sight down the hall.

"He's really hurt," said Jack in a low voice.

"He must've encountered a ghost while he was out," said Maddie. "He's probably going up to his room to dress his wounds."

"Do you think he knows how?"

"Well, I imagine he'll learn pretty quick, won't he? We know he has a first aid kit in his room."

"His side seemed to be bleeding quite a bit." Jack stood. "Maybe we should make sure he knows what he's doing."

Maddie grabbed his arm and pulled him back down onto the sofa. "We can't, Jack."

"Why not?"

"You know why not."

"We can feign ignorance, we can just pretend we believe any story he comes up with to explain it."

"We need to see how Danny deals with this on his own. No interference from us."

"We've stopped ghosts from hurting him too much or ghost hunters from catching him before. How is this any different?"

"He's safe here. He's under our roof. He's not in any danger."

Jack glanced up the stairs toward Danny's room. "But he really looked like he was in pain, Mads."

"He has exceptionally good healing abilities," said Maddie. "He'll be all right."

Jack stared in the direction of Danny's room a little longer before giving up.

Later that evening, Jack hid and watched Danny come down the stairs, tenderly nursing one side of his body while putting all his weight on the other leg. He paused at the base of the stairs to catch his breath, bending over slightly.

Jack wished he could offer Danny his arm as a crutch.

"You coming to dinner, Danny?" called Maddie from the kitchen.

"Yeah," said Danny. He stood tall and walked forward, putting more weight on his injured side but wincing with each step.

Jack followed behind, pretending he didn't see anything.

The following day, Jack took note of Danny's walk. He did not seem to be limping as much but he would place a hand on his side every time he turned too quickly. He slowly lowered himself into his chair at dinner, flinching as he settled into it.

At the end of the night, Jack watched Danny take the stairs one ginger step at a time.

"He's still hurt," said Jack down in the lab.

"He is healing quickly," said Maddie, writing down notes about her observations. "He's amazing, isn't he? Just wish I could lift his shirt to see how he's healing under there."

Jack agreed but knew it wasn't for the same reasons she had.

The next day, Danny walked in through the front door slumped over and shivering.

"How was school, Danny?" asked Maddie from where she sat on the living room sofa.

"Fine," Danny stammered. He stopped at the base of the stairs and folded his arms, tucking his hands under his armpits.

"Lot of homework?" asked Maddie.

"Yeah. Gonna do it right now," said Danny through chattering teeth.

Jack studied him, noting the flushed color in his cheeks and the droop of his eyes.

"You feeling okay?" asked Jack.

Maddie shot him a scolding look.

"Mmm hmm." Danny nodded and massaged one side of his head. "I'm just feeling kind of tired. Long day at school."

"Maybe you should take a nap before tackling that homework," said Maddie.

"Yeah. Okay. Good idea." Danny nodded again, swaying on his feet. "I'll just—um—okay, I'm going up. Let me know when dinner's ready."

Danny gripped the handrail hard as he climbed each step. Jack watched until he was out of sight.

"Jack, remember we don't want to influence Danny too much," said Maddie. "Let him tell us on his own if he's not feeling okay after a ghost-related incident, don't ask him."

"So I was just supposed to pretend I didn't even notice how terrible he looked?" asked Jack.

"Yes. You were."

"So if he comes in with a hole blown through his shoulder or a missing arm, we're just supposed to act like we don't see it?"

"No, of course not." Maddie spoke evenly, as if she were explaining something that should've been obvious. "If we see that he is trying to hide an injury or condition from us, we go along with what he wants."

"But Maddie, what if he has an infection from that injury he sustained a couple days ago? You saw him shivering, that's clearly a fever."

"I did tell him to go take a nap. I don't usually approve of him napping right after school."

"You think he's going to just sleep off this infection?"

"No. I didn't say that." Maddie sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "He does seem to be exhibiting signs of an infection. I wonder why his body is having trouble healing. I wish I could know what sort of injury it was. Or perhaps Danny did not dress it properly. Or—"

"I told you he might not know how."

"Well, you're the one who wouldn't let me put a camera in his room."

Jack stared at her. Almost in disbelief. Almost.

"None of this matters now," said Jack, more calmly. "We need to do something. We can't let that infection get any worse."

"I'll get a prescription for some antibiotics and get him to take them somehow." Maddie tapped a finger to her chin. "I'll tell him they're vitamins. Or maybe break them up and slip them into his dinner each night. Supplement them with probiotics at breakfast so he hopefully doesn't notice the side effects."

"Are you joking?" asked Jack.

Maddie looked as serious as always.

Over the next few days, Danny stopped shivering, the color returning to normal in his face.

Maddie flashed Jack a triumphant smile as she broke apart the last antibiotic capsule and mixed it in with a serving of mashed potatoes on Danny's plate. Jack turned away from her.

Danny entered the kitchen. No limping, no gasping with each step.

Healthy again. For now.

Later, around midnight, Jack walked past Danny's room after sneaking some fudge from the kitchen downstairs. He could hear Danny crying on the other side of his closed door.

Jack stared at the door for a long time. He imagined Danny lying on his bed. Or perhaps curled up on the floor.

"Don't," Maddie whispered from down the hall.

Jack tore away and went to join her in their bedroom.