Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Note: Only one chapter left. I kind of started this story on a whim and don't really feel like putting much effort into it any more. I'm just going to wrap everything up and then leave it. I apologize to anyone who was expecting something longer, but I've kinda of lost interest in this plot line. Sorry.

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Agony
by Kalika

Chapter 6

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When Danny woke the following morning the first thing he noticed was the intense pain in his chest. He groaned out loud and tried to shift to a more comfortable position on the bed. He stared at the white ceiling and figured that he must be in a hospital. The last night was rather hazy. He remembered the fight and an intense pain. He thought he recalled talking to his father, but he couldn't quite remember what it had been about.

He felt absolutely exhausted. He groaned again and was just closing his eyes to go back to sleep when he heard a rustling beside him.

Danny? Honey are you awake?

Danny opened his eyes and looked up to see his mother standing over him with a concerned look on her face. She reached out to brush the hair off of his forehead letting her fingers trail across his brow. He smiled slightly and would have happily been lulled back to sleep by her fingers, but figured that he should say something to her.

Mom . . . His voice trailed off as he began to cough harshly from the pain in his chest.

Shhh. Don't push yourself honey. The doctor is coming to give you a quick check up and then, when your father and sister get here we're going to take you home. She continued stroking his brow with soft fingers. I'm so glad you're okay. We were all so worried. We all wanted to stay but there just wasn't enough room for all of us. And there was absolutely no way that I was going to leave my baby boy all alone in the hospital overnight.

Danny smirked slightly as he once again closed his eyes. He dozed lightly while his mother sat beside him. After a few moments the doctor came in and gave him a brief exam. The doctor said that he was fine to go home and left the two alone to wait for Jack.

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Jack walked into his son's hospital room around mid morning. His wife looked up at him and gave him a small smile. He looked over at Danny and saw that he was fast asleep. Has he been asleep the whole time?

Maddie shook her head, No, he woke early this morning. The doctor has already checked him over. We can take him home anytime we want. She paused to glance behind him. Isn't Jazz with you?Yes, she went to get us a wheelchair so that we could get Danny out to the car. Jack sighed and sat down in the chair across the bed from Maddie. He took a closer look at his son and winced. Danny was unbelievably pale and his hair hung limp on his forehead. Jack couldn't recall ever seeing his son looking this bad before.

When Jazz came in with the wheelchair Jack stood so that he could lift Danny into it. Just as he began to lift Danny the young boy woke up. He let out a sharp gasp of pain from his cracked ribs. Jack apologized and gently set his son into the wheelchair. Jazz ruffled his hair lightly before taking the handles of the chair.

When the reached the car Jack lifted Danny into the back seat and Jazz handed off the wheelchair to one of the hospital attendants. Maddie crawled into the back seat with her son and pulled a warm blanket around him. He rested his head on her shoulder and was asleep before his father had even gotten back into the car.

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Sam was standing near the entrance to the school waiting for her two best friends. If they didn't hurry they were going to miss the beginning of the math midterm. She growled under her breath and turned to stare out over the school field. She could see Tucker coming towards her but still didn't see Danny anywhere.

Tucker came running up gasping for breath. I. . . missed. . . my. . . alarm, he gasped out harshly. He looked around slightly confused and he got his wind back. Where's Danny?I don't know. I haven't seen him come through. Maybe he ran into some ghost trouble. Sam looked worried. If he doesn't get here soon he's going to miss the beginning of the test.

Tucker frowned, Don't worry about Danny. If he gets here late he can just phase into his seat and hope that nobody notices.

Sam shrugged slightly and nodded. They both turned and headed into the school.

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Maddie walked into her sons room with a bowl of soup. Jack was sitting with him. It was rather foolish but none of them felt right leaving Danny alone for any length of time. Jack stood and kissed his wife on the cheek as he headed out the door.

Danny had been asleep ever since they had gotten into the car. He hadn't even stirred when Jack had lifted him out of the back seat and carried him up the stairs to tuck him into bed. She hated to wake him but he needed to eat.

Danny? Sweetie, time for lunch.

Danny groaned and opened his eyes. He saw that it had been his mother who had spoken to him and gave her a weak smile. She gave him an bright grin and set the soup on the bed side table beside him. She helped to sit him up and placed some pillows behind his back to support him.

Maddie sat down on the edge of his bed and held up the soup so that he could reach it. He was so weak that he ended up just drinking the soup while his mother held the bowl to his lips.

Before Maddie had even laid him back on his pillow he was fast asleep. Maddie kissed him on the forehead and sat down on the chair beside him. She reached over and picked up the phone. She dialed the high school and quietly informed the secretary that Danny was going to be missing for the rest of the week if not longer. She then hung up silently and settled back in her chair.

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To Be Continued