Author's Note: I decided to write what happens after the events of the last chapter! I do not think I will be continuing anymore after this, so enjoy this bonus scene. :)

(after being) Condemned (bonus follow-up)

Jack's driving was as erratic as usual. Each bump and swerve flipped Danny's stomach as he lay in the back of the GAV, stretched out across a whole row of seats.

"Just tell me how it happened." Maddie knelt beside him on the floor. "I need to know. When did you first become a ghost?"

Danny groaned and turned his face from her. "Mom, please, not right now."

His body hurt. His face and his shoulder and his arms and his chest. Everything throbbed and ebbed with so much pain that dizzied and nauseated him. And the GAV swerving and rocking didn't help.

Jazz sat alone on another set of seats, arms crossed and fuming.

"Can't you tell me anything?" asked Maddie. "Something?"

"Mom, I am in a lot of pain right now, okay?" snapped Danny, turning back to her. "Can all your questions please wait until later?"

Maddie leaned back, looking startled. Danny sighed and softened.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "This just really hurts and I don't want to do anything but lie here right now."

"It's all right, sweetheart." Maddie applied an ice pack to his eye. "No need to apologize."

The car lurched into a turn, causing Danny's upper body to rise and then fall back on the seat with a hard thud. He clenched his teeth and clutched at his stinging shoulder.

"Jack, can you be careful up there?" shouted Maddie.

"You can drive if you want, Mads," said Jack.

"No, someone needs to be back here with Danny," said Maddie. "And preferably not the person who just beat him up."

"I—" Jack hit the steering wheel. "All right. Fine. I'll drive slower. It's just this hotel is like three hours away, so I thought you might want to get there faster."

"Danny is in bad shape back here and all this jostling isn't good for him. Do you understand that?" Still on her knees, Maddie turned her body toward the front cabin. "Like do you even realize how badly you hurt him?"

"I don't know what you want from me, Maddie. Nothing I do or say is going to change what happened."

"Obviously not, but you just need to understand—"

"I know what I did to him," roared Jack. "I was there."

Maddie pursed her lips. "Then drive more carefully."

Jack's grip tightened on the steering wheel. "I already said I will."

Maddie turned back to Danny. "You doing okay? How's your shoulder?"

Danny swallowed and tried to get comfortable. The sharp pain in his shoulder had already dulled into a deep ache. "Hurts. A lot."

Maddie stroked his hair. "I packed some painkillers. Do you think you could sit up to take some right now?"

"No!" shrieked Jazz, uncrossing her arms and gripping the edge of her seat. "I just told you Danny has a problem with painkillers and opioids earlier today. Weren't you listening?"

Danny raised his head just enough to scowl at her, but Jazz paid him no attention.

"Jazz, the situation has changed," said Maddie. "I mean, did you see his shoulder? And his face? You really want him to tough out that pain on his own?"

"Yes!" cried Jazz. "Because he has a drug problem and throwing more drugs at it won't solve it."

"I do not have a drug problem, Jazz," said Danny. "Is that really what you said to Mom?"

"You've been stealing opioids from Mrs. Manson, Danny," said Jazz. "That's a drug problem."

"What? Danny's been what?" Jack called over his shoulder. "You've been stealing drugs?"

"No!" cried Danny, sitting up a small ways and supporting himself on one arm. "Sam's the one who took them. She just gave them to me."

"So Sam's been your drug dealer?" asked Jack.

"No! That's not—"

Danny's shoulder spasmed and he yelped, lying down flat again as the pain radiated and burned out through the rest of his arm.

"Danny, take it easy," said Maddie, rubbing his arm with one hand and caressing his cheek with the other. "And Jack, I don't want you talking to Danny again without my permission."

Jack scoffed. "What? So I'm just not allowed to talk to my son now? Really?"

"Yeah," said Maddie, matching his tone. "Really."

Jack grumbled but made no retort.

"And Jazz, I don't want to hear about how Danny shouldn't be taking painkillers right now." Maddie turned to Jazz. "Right now, that is the least of my concerns. Once Danny is all healed up and we figure out this whole Danny Phantom thing you two have been hiding from us the past couple years—"

"But he doesn't need painkillers to help him heal—"

"—then we can address his possible substance abuse." Maddie shook her head. "But not right now. I just can't right now."

"But right now is the perfect time to—"

"I said no, Jazz," yelled Maddie.

Jazz shut her mouth and folded her arms, fuming. Danny's head rang and ached with all the shouting.

Painkillers sounded heavenly.

Maddie began rummaging through one of the packed bags nearby. "What works best for you, Danny? Ibuprofen or Tylenol?"

Danny caught Jazz staring at him, watching him, her lips pressed into a thin line. His mind screamed for pills to numb this pain but he wasn't an addict, he knew he wasn't. He had to prove that to her.

"I don't need anything," said Danny, trying to hide the weakness in his voice. "I'm okay. I think I just need to rest and not move for a while."

Maddie looked up from the bag. "But doesn't your shoulder hurt? And your face. Your eye is starting to look really bad."

Danny's shoulder zinged and the left side of his face pulsed. But he shook his head. "Maybe later tonight."

Maddie closed the bag and pulled down his shirt collar, exposing his shoulder. Danny held back a wince as she gently touched the skin surrounding the wound she stitched up earlier.

"You'll probably need some antibiotics," said Maddie. "Just to be safe. I'll see if I can get you some when we're at the hotel."

Jazz huffed. "And how exactly are you going to get him that prescription? Gonna call up our family doctor? What are you going to tell him, that Dad shot Danny in the shoulder and you just want to make sure it doesn't get infected?"

"Jazz, you're really not helping," said Maddie, her tone stern. "I get it, you're upset and you don't think we're making the right choice by covering this up. I really need you to just get over it now, okay?"

"No, it's really not okay," said Jazz. "None of this is okay. Running away to a hotel three hours away just so we can hide Danny while he recovers from Dad beating him up—"

"I didn't know it was him," yelled Jack. "Quit saying it like I did it on purpose."

"Didn't you?" asked Maddie.

"Well—yes—but I didn't know who he really was. You didn't know he was Phantom either!"

"But Jazz did." Maddie shot Jazz a glare. "Didn't you?"

Jazz shrank back. "Yes. I did."

"How long did you know?" asked Maddie, sounding accusatory.

"Since…I don't know." Jazz looked up, her eyes narrowed in thought. "I guess it was maybe a couple months after it happened?"

"After what happened?"

"After he…" Jazz looked at Danny. "Became a ghost."

Maddie scowled. "You knew for that long and didn't tell me?"

"Don't try to turn this on me! You're the one trying to cover this up and give him more painkillers when I just told you he has a problem with them!"

"Jazz, I'm not talking about that anymore. I'm talking about Danny being a ghost right now."

"I didn't tell you because he didn't want me to tell you. It wasn't my secret to tell."

"I'm sure he didn't want you to tell me about the painkillers either, but you did anyway."

"Because he needs help with that! He's going to hurt himself if he keeps doing it. It's dangerous!"

"And you think secretly fighting ghosts as a superhero isn't dangerous?"

"Mom, Jazz," moaned Danny, draping an arm over his eyes. "Can you not do this right now?"

Nothing was said for some time. Danny kept his eyes covered.

"Sorry, sweetie," said Maddie in a soft voice.

He heard her stand and move somewhere else. Danny's mind started clouding with exhaustion, his thoughts slipping into darkness and his pain fading into sleep.

When he woke later, the sky was dim with dusk. He could see Maddie sitting up front in the cabin with Jack. Beside him still in the back, Jazz was holding a flashlight to read a book.

Danny gingerly pulled himself up into a sitting position, wincing at all the new pain throbbing through his body. Jazz looked up at him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Like I was run over by a truck," said Danny. "How long was I asleep?"

Jazz set her book aside and turned off her flashlight. She checked the time on her phone. "A couple hours. I think we're almost there. We're not on the freeway anymore."

Danny looked out the nearest window and could indeed see buildings and traffic lights at intersections.

"I told her," said Jazz.

Danny looked at her again. "Told her what?"

"I told Mom about how you became a ghost," said Jazz. "The portal incident. While you were asleep. I hope that's okay. She just really wanted to know."

"Hmm. How did she react?"

"She wasn't happy about it."

"Hmm."

"She doesn't know why you didn't just tell her and Dad what happened. She says it was dangerous and reckless for you to just assume you were okay. She says you're lucky you survived and that your ghost side appears to be stable and hasn't mutated any further."

"But she understands why I didn't want to tell her, right? She gets why I maybe would be hesitant to reveal what really happened?"

"Yeah." Jazz nodded. "I told her that telling two ghost hunters you're the very thing they hunt wasn't something you wanted to test. But of course that only offended her. Because she's your mother and why would you think she'd hurt you? But then I reminded her that she and Dad both attacked me when they thought I was a ghost. They don't have the best track record with these things."

Danny chuckled. "No. They don't."

He looked up front and watched his parents for a moment. Maddie was pointing and giving directions while looking at a map on her phone.

"I never planned on keeping it secret forever," said Danny quietly. "I waited too long to tell them, didn't I?"

"Maybe," said Jazz. "But there's no point in having regrets about it now. What's done is done. We just have to move forward from here."

Danny looked at her, the yellow street light from out the window catching the golden tones in her hair. She kept her eyes down on the GAV floor.

He thought about demanding why she told their mother about his use of opioids. Why would she do that to him? How could she?

But he decided against it and looked away from her.

What was done was done.

The GAV pulled up to the entrance of a hotel. Maddie switched on the back interior lights and turned around to look at Danny and Jazz.

"Dad's going to check us in," said Maddie. "We'll just wait here until he gets back."

Jack glanced behind him just once, making brief eye contact with Danny before hopping out of the GAV. Through the window, Danny watched him open the front door of the hotel and disappear inside.

"Danny." Maddie stood and approached him. "How are you feeling?"

Danny looked at his shoulder. "Same as before. I guess."

"But not any worse?"

He shook his head.

Maddie stood right in front of him with her hands on her hips, looking down at him with a frown while he remained seated looking up at her. She then placed her gloved hands just in front of his ears, turning his head as she inspected his face from all angles. Danny grimaced, allowing her to study him but hoping it would be over soon.

"Your face is starting to show a lot more bruising now," said Maddie. "Does it hurt when I touch it?"

She pressed her fingers right under his left eye. Danny shuddered.

"Yes, actually," he said somewhat indignantly. "It kind of hurts a lot when you touch it."

"Sorry." Maddie promptly let go of him, but she continued studying him a moment longer. "We can't let anyone see your face like this."

Danny looked at the hotel through the window. "Isn't that why we're here? So that no one sees it?"

"We're here so no one in Amity Park sees it," said Maddie. "But we can't let the hotel staff see you like this either. We can't have any potential witnesses anywhere."

"So what, do you wanna put a bag over his head?" asked Jazz with a bite in her tone. "Or stuff him in a suitcase and roll him in?"

Maddie shot her a disapproving look. "Obviously not, Jazz. Please don't be difficult about this anymore. We need everyone in this family to work together if we're going to get through this without your father going to jail."

Jazz rolled her eyes and shook her head but said nothing more. Maddie sighed and turned back to Danny.

"I think you turning invisible is our best bet," she said. "The rest of us will walk in together and you can just walk next to us but invisible."

Danny looked down at his body, his shoulder. "I'm not sure if I can do that right now."

"Why not?"

"Um. Well. Using my powers requires some concentration and strength. So I might just be a little too injured right now to keep my invisibility engaged for long."

Maddie groaned and massaged her temple with two fingers. "Could you maybe just try? Please?"

Danny shrank back and looked down at himself again. He mumbled a small "okay" and focused on his cells, willing them to change, vanish. His fingers and toes started tingling, the electrical pulses traveling up his skin and through his veins and sinking into his bones.

"Oh, my God," whispered Maddie, taking a step back, her hand covering her mouth.

Then something snapped in his shoulder, something else throbbed in his eye. The pain jolted the rest of his body, bringing all of his cells back into visibility with a crackling sizzle. Danny fell over on his side, clutching at his aching shoulder and face.

"Danny!" Maddie knelt before him. "What happened? You had it!"

"I told you," Danny hissed through the sharp ebbing pains. "I'm too weak and hurt right now. My powers aren't magic, I have to actually put in some effort to use them."

"I know it's not magic. I study ghosts, you know," said Maddie a little irritably, standing again. "But I've personally seen ghosts do amazing things with their powers even during more invasive or painful experimentation."

Torture. That was the word Danny knew she was avoiding. She tortured ghosts.

"Well." Danny used his elbow to prop himself up and sit up straight again. "I'm not like other ghosts."

They stared at each other for a moment in silence.

And then the GAV door opened and Jack appeared.

"We're all checked in," he said. "Room two forty-nine."

"We have to sneak Danny in somehow," said Maddie.

"Why?" asked Jack.

Maddie huffed. "Why do you think, Jack? What's the whole reason we're here?"

"Yeah, Dad, don't you remember?" Jazz stood, her tone tinged with sarcastic disapproval. "We're covering up what happened. Instead of doing the responsible thing."

"Jazz." Maddie rounded on her. "Letting you and Danny get taken from us is not what I'd call responsible."

"But that doesn't mean we have to—"

"Enough. This isn't negotiable. I decide what's best for our family." Maddie closed her eyes and breathed in long and deep, her shoulders shaking a little less as she did so.

"Well. If we really want to sneak him in." Jack pointed to one side of the hotel. "The lady at the front desk was telling me there's a back door we can open with our keycard. We can park there and go in that way to get to our room faster."

"That's perfect." Maddie turned to Danny again. "But we still need to make sure no one sees him on the way there."

Danny shrugged and looked down at the floor.

Maddie rummaged through a suitcase and tossed Danny a jacket. "Put that on. To cover the bruises and burns on your arms. Zip it up all the way. Jack, go ahead and move us closer."

Jack moved and parked the GAV near the back door, taking up multiple parking spaces. Maddie had Danny wait in the GAV until everyone else had unloaded all their luggage and was ready to go inside.

Danny leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. God, what he wouldn't give for some hydrocodone right now. Just one pill to make this whole situation a little more bearable.

But he'd settle for some ibuprofen. Maybe he could sneak some later when Jazz wasn't looking.

Outside, a couple and their two young children approached and gave their hulking strange-looking RV a curious look before hurrying past them through the back door. Maddie checked that they were definitely gone before bringing Danny out. She put her arm around him, draping it over his uninjured shoulder.

"Just keep your head down, Danny," said Maddie quietly. "There's one camera right there, so just bury the left side of your face against me as we go past."

Maddie walked him across the parking lot and toward the back door that Jack was holding open for them. Jazz was already inside, arms crossed and waiting, scowling. Danny hid his face as they walked under the security camera just outside the door and entered the hotel. Jack entered right behind them, shutting the door.

"Do we have all the bags?" asked Maddie, her arm still wrapped around Danny as she looked around. "Okay, elevator's this way."

Danny tried not to listen, tried not to think too hard. He stared blankly ahead as he followed Maddie's lead, Jack in front and Jazz trailing behind. In the elevator and down the hall. He only had to hide his face in Maddie's jumpsuit one time as a man walked past.

When they reached their room at last, Jack unlocked it. He did not meet Danny's gaze at all as Maddie hurried him inside.

"All right." Maddie closed the curtains over the only window. "Two beds, so Dad and I will take this one. Jazz and Danny, you can share that one."

"You're making me and Danny share? Really?" Jazz groaned and set her bag on the bed.

"They didn't have any rooms with three beds available this short notice."

"Couldn't we just get two rooms?"

"Jazz, if you would like to pay for your own room, you can go right ahead."

Jazz grumbled and pulled her phone charger out of her bag. "Fine. But I'm taking this side of the bed." She plugged her charger into the wall next to the bed.

Danny wasted no time lying down on the unclaimed half of the bed. On his back, even though he had just napped on the way here, he was suddenly overcome with new drowsiness.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Maddie took off her gloves and placed a hand on his forehead.

"Just tired," murmured Danny, closing his eyes.

"How's your pain?" asked Maddie. "Do you want any pain medication now?"

Danny opened his eyes just enough to see Jazz frowning at him.

And behind her, Jack was also staring at him.

"It's fine," said Danny, closing his eyes again, his face and shoulder throbbing. "I feel okay for now."

Maddie sat next to him on the bed. Danny opened his eyes and looked up at her, not sure what she was trying to find in his face.

Maddie turned to look back at Jack and Jazz. "Can you two go get dinner and bring it back?"

"Just us?" asked Jack. "You don't want to come with us?"

"Someone has to stay here with Danny," said Maddie. "And it definitely can't be you, Jack."

"I wasn't about to suggest that," said Jack through clenched teeth.

"I can stay with Danny," said Jazz.

"I want to stay with him," said Maddie firmly. She waved a hand toward the door. "Go. Both of you. Order whatever you think we'd like."

Within a few moments, Jack and Jazz were gone. Maddie waited until the door was completely closed before turning back to Danny again.

"How are you feeling?" She gently touched his arm.

"You already asked me that," said Danny. "I said I'm fine, just tired."

"Oh. Right."

Several moments of awkward silence. Maddie stayed seated on the bed next to him, looking off toward the closed curtains.

"Jazz told me what happened," she said softly. "About when the portal shocked you and you got it working."

Danny stiffened but tried to keep his voice calm. "Yeah. She told me she did."

"But I don't understand why you didn't tell us the truth." Maddie turned to look at him. "I asked you that day if you were okay, if the portal hurt you. And you looked right at me and lied to me. You said nothing happened, just a small shock but you were fine, the same as always."

Danny lowered his eyes.

"Why did you lie to me, Danny?" asked Maddie in a shaky whisper.

"I didn't want to." Danny struggled to get the words out. He cleared his throat to give his voice more strength. "That first day, I just… I was afraid you'd be mad. You were already mad that I was messing around with your portal and could've broken it. I was worried you'd be even angrier if you found out that it…changed me, too."

"I wouldn't have been mad," said Maddie. "I would've been worried. Concerned. I would've wanted to run some tests on you—"

"Tests? Like experiments?"

Maddie's lips pressed together.

"I didn't tell you that first day," Danny continued. "There was so much going on that day. And I was really shaken and afraid of what was happening to me. So I thought I'd just…wait until the next day to tell you. My plan was to pretend that my new ghost powers just suddenly showed up the next day. But then the next day came and…I was still scared. So I thought okay, tomorrow for sure, I'll just say my powers showed up for the first time tomorrow instead. And then tomorrow came and I still didn't have the nerve. And then a week passed. And then a month. And then a year."

Maddie moaned and pulled her hand down her face. "Danny, Danny…"

"Sometimes I would get close to telling you." Danny's bruised eye throbbed as his tears welled up. "And then you'd interrupt me, saying how excited you were to find and dissect a ghost. Or how you just completed a new invention to trap and torture a ghost. And then I just wondered…what if that ghost ended up being me?"

"We would never do that to you, Danny," said Maddie, placing a hand to her chest. "How could you possibly think such a thing about us? We're your parents and we love you."

"Dad hates me," Danny hissed through his teeth.

Maddie froze and did not answer right away. "No. We talked about this. Your father does not hate you," she said with a slow shake of her head.

"He hates Phantom." Danny gestured to his face, his shoulder. "Look what he did to me."

Maddie pursed her lips but said nothing.

"He did this because he hates what I am," said Danny, trying not to cry. "This—all of this—this is why I was so afraid to tell you the truth."

Danny draped an arm over his eyes to hide his tears because damn it he hated crying in front of anyone, let alone his mother. He breathed in deep, in and out, attempted to calm himself.

"I'm sorry, Danny," said Maddie softly.

Danny lowered his arm. "Don't be. You're not the one who did this to me," he muttered.

"But I didn't mean to make you feel like you couldn't be honest with me." Maddie's voice quivered. "This didn't have to happen. What your father did to you, that didn't have to—that shouldn't have happened."

"Yeah. Well." Danny looked at the foot of the bed, not at her. "It did happen."

Several beats of pregnant silence. Maddie was staring at him but Danny pretended not to notice.

"Do you have accelerated healing?" Maddie suddenly asked.

Danny looked at her. "Do I what?"

"It's one of the standard abilities most ghosts have. The ability to heal from injury quickly. Do you have that, too?"

"I… Yeah. I mean, it works best when I'm in ghost form, but I think it might be a little faster when I'm like this, too."

"So can you become a ghost now, then?"

"Can I…what?"

"Become a ghost," repeated Maddie. "Become…Danny Phantom." She placed her hand over his. "Can you do that right now?"

Danny gaped at her a few stunned moments. "You want me to transform right now? Right here?"

"Yes. Can you?"

"But why?"

Maddie blinked and looked down at the bed. "Just so you can heal faster. Your shoulder and face look painful. And the sooner you heal, the sooner we can go back home, you know."

Danny stared, first at her and then through her. "That's the only reason you want me to transform? So I can heal faster?"

Maddie bit her lip. "Well… I do also want to just…see him for myself."

"See who?"

"Phantom."

Danny could not think of a reply and let the silence linger.

"I'm sorry." Maddie sighed and caressed the back of his hand. "It's just still so hard for me to believe that…Phantom is you. And I guess I just want to see for myself that it's true."

Danny slowly shook his head and said in just above a whisper, "No."

Maddie's face fell. "Why not, sweetie?"

Jack's words from earlier that afternoon came back to him. A few mere hours ago.

I told you my wife invented this specifically for you, didn't I?

He was talking about the Fenton Solidifier, the serum that prevented him from using his powers.

All so she can keep you powerless without the use of expensive machinery or devices. All so she can freely do anything and everything she wants to any and every part of you.

What did Jack mean? Danny didn't even want to know.

My wife is obsessed with you.

Danny knew this already, had known it for a while now. He could see the obsession in his mother's eyes even here as she pleaded with him to show her Phantom.

But how could he tell her the truth? That he didn't want her looking at him like a research experiment? A specimen?

"I can't," Danny managed to force out of his tight throat. "I, uh… I just don't have the strength right now."

Maddie sighed. "Right. Of course. If you can't turn invisible, you probably can't completely transform right now, can you?"

Danny nodded. He was sure he wasn't even lying to her anyway. He was in far too much pain to go ghost, let alone maintain that form for any length of time.

"I'm really tired," said Danny, his head swimming with fatigue. "I think I might go to bed early. Right now."

"No," said Maddie with a stern tone that surprised Danny. "Dad and Jazz will be back soon. I'm not letting you go to bed without dinner."

"But I don't want to eat," muttered Danny.

Maddie stroked the side of his face. "I know you don't. But it won't do your body any good to skip dinner."

The thought of eating made his stomach churn. But Danny mumbled his compliance.

"Let me get you some water," said Maddie, her fingers brushing his forehead. "You're feeling a little warm."

She stood and entered the bathroom. Danny heard the sink faucet switch on.

"I need to get you some antibiotics," called Maddie from the bathroom. "I'll have to call Vlad and ask him about hooking us up with any physicians who'd be willing to keep it secret."

"Vlad?" echoed Danny.

The faucet switched off, and Maddie returned holding a glass of water. "Yes. He's the only one I know who'd be willing to help us out with this."

She handed Danny the glass. He carefully sat up and took a sip.

"Did Jazz tell you about Vlad?" asked Danny, speaking into his glass.

Maddie didn't reply right away. "She did," she said simply.

Danny nodded. "Okay, good." He took a bigger gulp of water.

"Would you like anything else right now, sweetheart?"

"Um." Danny swirled the water in his glass. "I think maybe I could take some painkillers now."

Maddie did not hesitate in heading over to one of the bags on top of the main dresser. "Do you have a preference?"

"Probably ibuprofen," said Danny, glancing at the hotel door, hoping he could get the pills before Jazz came back. "Four of them."

"That many?"

Danny looked at her wearily but said nothing.

Maddie rummaged through the bag a little longer before finding the correct bottle and shaking a few pills into her palm.

"We do need to talk about your painkiller problem eventually, you know," said Maddie, handing him the pills.

Danny winced as he sat up straighter to take them, pain stabbing his shoulder. "Well. Hopefully now that you have more context for why I started taking them, maybe you'll see my side of that story."

Maddie sat on the bed beside him again. "You shouldn't have been doing all that, Danny. Fighting ghosts. It's dangerous."

"Yeah. Well." Danny looked down at the four brown pills in his hand. "Ended up being a human who hurt me the most."

Maddie pressed her head into her hand, shaking. Danny popped all four pills into his mouth and downed them all with the last of his water.

The door to the room unlocked and opened. Jack and Jazz entered carrying plastic bags. Maddie shot up from the bed and wiped her eyes.

"There wasn't a lot nearby, so we just got some sub sandwiches," said Jazz.

"That's fine," said Maddie, sniffling. "Just put them on the desk here."

Jazz frowned, first at Maddie, then at Danny. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course not," said Maddie. "You said so yourself earlier, Jazz. Nothing is okay right now."

She took the bags from Jack and Jazz and pulled out the wrapped sandwiches and chips, tossing the bags off to the side.

"But we're going to get through this," said Maddie. "As a family."

As Maddie and Jazz sorted through the sandwiches, Danny caught Jack staring at him. His body ached with the memory of their fight, dull pulses of pain in his arms and shoulder and face.

His father nearly killed him. Just a few hours ago.

And then held him in his giant arms, against his enormous chest.

Danny had felt so small. And in that moment, he remembered that he was still a child.

Jack's child.

Jack was still staring at him. Danny lay back on the bed and closed his eyes, hoping the painkillers would kick in soon.

Maddie was right. Nothing about this was okay.

But how Danny wished he could just ignore it and pretend it was. Just like he used to.