Notes:
Thank you very much for all your comments. I really appreciate your support.
Chapter 2: All you ever wanted
I try to let it all sink in. This has been such a weird day. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up any moment now from all this.
I mean... I've been fighting ghosts for a year now. You can't simply make all that up. It can't be something I just imagined while I was in a coma. It can't be...
I can't believe everything that had happened today -or was it yesterday? I think it's already past midnight and I'm still awake. It's funny if you think about it: after spending months asleep I now suffer from insomnia.
One of the reasons I find it so hard to get some rest now is because of everything my parents told me just a few hours ago...
'We stopped our research on ghosts when you had that accident'.
'We blamed ourselves for everything. After all, we're the ones who made the portal that sent you to a coma'.
'It had to be destroyed'.
'We came every day to see you... lying on that bed'.
'Your condition didn't seem likely to change'.
'Several doctors examined you, but they said you would never wake up'.
'We began to lose hope until Dr. Masters came with an experimental medicine. We decided to give it a shot'.
However, all the things they said before they headed home a few hours ago were blurred by something I never thought my parents would say:
'After all those years of research and nonsense, we came to the conclusion that ghosts don't really exist'.
I wanted to tell them everything that happened the past year, about me being half a ghost, about how they were trying to hunt me because I never told them the truth...
...but then I remembered that was just some weird dream I had.
Now that I think about it, I don't know how I didn't notice this before. Ghosts being real? Me, Danny Fenton, a hero? Yeah, right.
I now feel stupid for trying to turn my hand invisible during the past hour and for trying to change into Danny Phantom by whispering (yeah... I'm not going to shout something like that in a hospital) 'Going ghost!'.
I even feel bad for thinking that the doctor who helped me to come out of unconsciousness was some evil cheesehead in my made-up world.
It's still strange to think that it was all in my head. Although, being a normal teenager is all I ever wanted.
Yeah, Danny. All you ever wanted. Why are you complaining now that your life is finally the way it's supposed to be?
No more ghost fighting, no more danger, no more secrets... just a regular life.
And with those final thoughts, he went to sleep without dreaming a single thing.
The sun was trying to crawl into the room through the courtains when Danny woke up. He rubbed his eyes and took a look to his surroundings as if he expected everything to be different. As if he hoped to be in his bedroom and not some unfamiliar clinic.
So, I'm not waking up from some weird dream in which I thought I was at the hospital after spending months in a coma. Ghosts really don't exist.
He sighed. Seconds later, the same nurse from the day before walked into the room. "Good morning, how are you feeling today?" she asked in a gentle tone. Her voice reminded him of the Lunch Lady Ghost for some weird reason.
Yeah... It's going to be hard to let that life go.
"I'm...fine," he said with a weak smile.
"I just came to tell you I will be the one to check on you during this shift. If you need anything, my name's Bertha".
"I'm Danny".
"I know. I've been one of your nurses for three months now," she replied with a smile.
"Oh," the boy exclaimed softly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I still find it hard to believe I was in a coma for a year," he added with a shrug.
"And I still find it hard to believe you woke up".
Danny chuckled.
"Oh, Danny! You're awake!" a girl's voice came from the door. It was Jazz. She dashed to his side and embraced her little brother.
"I'll leave you two alone," Bertha said as she walked out of the room.
"I'm so happy to see you. You have no idea how much I missed you," Jazz exclaimed, still hugging him.
"Jazz... need... air," Danny said, faking a gasp.
The girl released her brother, looking at him alarmed. He chuckled when he saw her expression. "You'll never change," she said smiling.
"Seriously, I'm glad to see you too".
"So, tell me. How do you feel? Do you even remember what happened?" Jazz asked as she sat on the chair next to his bed.
"I feel weird. It's just that..." He paused.
Should I tell her? She did know about my secret, and she knows so much about psychology that she might even help me understand what happened in my head.
"...I don't know if I should tell you this, but..."
What are you doing? She's going to send you to therapy or something. She's not the same Jazz you remember from your dreams.
"What is it, Danny?" the red-headed girl questioned with a frown, noticing her brother's hesitation with whatever he wanted to say.
"Nothing. I'll tell you some other time," he replied, brushing the topi off.
Liar.
Jazz's frown remained on her face. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"
"I know," he answered, lowering his gaze.
"And you know I'll always love you no matter what".
"I know..." She is the same Jazz I remember. "I'm just not ready to talk so soon about it. I'm still kinda confused".
Jazz now had a sympathetic look on her face. "Hey, don't worry. You have all the time in the world." She smiled at him and ruffled his hair.
Yeah... that's the same old Jazz.
She looked at her watch and then turned to Danny. "Wow, uhm... listen... I have to go back to school".
The boy raised an eyebrow. "You skipped class?"
"No! Of course not. I skipped lunch".
"Still, it's strange to know that you left Casper High while you have classes left".
"I wanted to see you. Mom and dad told me about your awakening when they got home, which was past visiting hours, so I couldn't come yesterday".
Danny smiled once again to his sister. "Thanks, sis."
"Oh! And before I forget... Tucker said he would see you once you're home."
"He's still afraid of hospitals?"
Jazz nodded.
"What about Sam?"
"She'll come by later today".
Should I tell Tucker and Sam? They are my best friends. I don't keep secrets from them. Not even in my dreams.
"Tell her I can't wait to see the both of them".
"I will". She kissed his forehead and left the room.
I have to tell someone... I can't just keep this to myself. If I do, I might go crazy.
"Hello, Daniel. How are you feeling?" Dr. Masters asked later that day as he entered the room to check on the boy.
Danny had spent most of the morning with nothing much to do. He tried watching TV but it became boring soon. Even talking to either nurses or interns had turned out to be dull after a while. So, watching his former archenemy walk into his room was the one thing that promised to be interesting up to this point.
Vlad... I'm still not used to his presence. Not like this.
"Like I fell from a building and hit my head while trying to fight against two mysterious ghosts only to discover it was just a dream I had during a coma," Danny replied dryly after some hesitation.
Dr. Masters blinked. A brief silence filled the room.
"I'm just kidding. I feel fine," Danny added with a smirk.
"Quite an imagination you've got there, young man," the doctor said with a chuckle.
"I was just trying to come up with a different answer this time. I've been asked how I feel at least ten times today".
"Well, it's nice to see you're in condition to make jokes. That means you're better. If you keep recovering like this, we might send you home by the end of the week".
"Really?"
Seriously, how could I ever think that he was a-
-wait a minute... if everything that happened to me after the accident was just a dream, how could I know what he looked like?
"Of course. I know you're a fighter. I knew it since that day a few months ago when you opened your eyes".
"Opened my eyes?"
"It's not common, but you did. You probably don't remember about it. It lasted a couple of seconds and then you were gone again. You even saw me directly in the eye before you resumed your slumber".
Oh... so that's how I know him. How come my parents didn't tell me about that yesterday?
"Bertha and I didn't tell your parents because we didn't want to keep their hopes up. After all, we were just testing a medicine to see your reaction. In order to regain full consciousness, you needed a complete treatment and that required months for it to work".
A little too convenient if you ask me. His answers, I mean.
But what the hell do you know, Danny? You're the one who imagined a bizarre world for a year.
"I guess I should thank you, then, for not giving up on me," Danny said with an akward smile. He was trying to be as nice as possible but it was hard.
It's weird, that's all...
...Yeah. Says the boy who thought he was half a ghost.
"You're most welcome. Well... I have to keep going. I just came to see how you were doing. I'll see you tomorrow, Daniel".
"Sure, but call me Danny".
Dr. Masters chuckled. "I'll try." As he was heading for the door, he bumped into someone who was coming in. Startled, he exclaimed (much to Danny's surprise) "oh, cheese logs. I'm sorry young lady". He then picked up a couple of books the girl had dropped.
"Oh, you don't have to. Thanks," the black-haired girl said as she finished gathering her scattered belongings. The doctor smiled and left.
Danny then realized who the newcomer was...
"Sam!"
"Danny! I'm so happy to see you!" she said as she hugged him. Then, she punched his arm lightly. "Don't you ever scare us like that again!"
"Ow", he complained as he rubbed his arm, though it didn't hurt. It was just a playful punch. "I'm glad to see you too. You have no idea how weird these two days have been".
"And you have no idea how horrible this whole year was to us".
"Sorry".
"Don't apologize. I'm the one who should do it," Sam said softly as she turned her gaze to the ground.
"Why?"
"For convincing you to go into the portal. None of this would've happened if it weren't for my not-so-bright ideas".
"Sam... it wasn't your fault. I'm the genius who decided to listen to you," he added with a smile.
"I'm serious. I'm sorry. You know I would never do anything to hurt you on purpose".
"I know, Sam. It's alright, really".
Sam took a seat next to Danny's bed. "So, what was it like?"
"What?"
"Waking up. Duh".
"Actually, there's something I think I should talk to you and Tucker about."
Sam's expression changed into one of concern. "What is it? Can you tell me now or do you want to wait for him?"
Danny stared at the floor and then sighed. "It's about what happened while I was asleep this whole year".
Notes:
I was going to continue, but I decided to end this chapter there. Sorry for the cliffhanger.