Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Viacom International.


Sick

Chapter 4: Danny's Birthday Part 2

Previously

"Star, you gotta go lie down or something..."Danny tried but she shook her head.

"No way! I'm fine..."Star said, still being stubborn as she got him more of his "gifts".

Danny sighed at this.

"Please listen..."He tried but Star ignored it.

"I keep telling you I'm fine..."Star said before pulling him along. "Now come on there's so much more to see..."She said, sniffling loudly before she sneezed again.

Danny didn't like this at all.

The more they walked, the more sick Star got and the more she pressed. Danny wanted to voice his concern but every time he brought up his worries, Star told him that she was fine and resumed.

"She's too devoted for her own good..."He thought as he found himself being dragged through all sorts of classic video games as his sick girlfriend keeping sneezing and going forward.

Oh boy.


Present Time

While Star dragged Danny all over town for the birthday date and ignoring her cold, Team Phantom was busy trying to deal with the horde of ghostly animals that were currently rampaging in the backyard, wrecking anything they could get their paws on.

The same beast that were sent by a certain petty Fruitloop who seems to love causing trouble for Danny.

Well...Jazz, Sam and Tucker were not exactly having fun but they were not going to let these beasts run amok.

"GET OUT OF MY YARD, YOU CREEPS!..."Jazz shouted, blasting a ghostly moose and knocking it into a ghostly bear.

"What she said! We've been preparing for this party all day!..."Sam shouted as she used the Jack o' Nine Tails and snared a ghostly eagle that was trying to get to the buffet table. She managed to toss it into a two headed ghost-beaver.

Unfortunately, it avoided the attack. Fortunately, Jazz and Tucker gave her the back she need with a well coordinated move, allowing her another shot. They kept fighting the swarm of ghostly animals, trying to get them to go. They weren't too powerful, but there were plenty of them.

Tucker fired at a large skunk ghost, which snarled at him.

"Uh… would it help if I showed you a skunk that's not a cat with a stripe?..." He asks as he ran for it.

Meanwhile, Jazz noticed some ghostly chipmunks heading to the direction of the cake and panicked.

"Don't touch the cake!..."Jazz yelled as she blasted at them.

The family already had to make sure one big, hungry guy wouldn't eat it. They didn't need another.

They needed to rid of these party crashers, so with well-aimed blasts, they knocked out many and the ghosts' numbers dwindled significantly as some were sucked into the thermos.

The ghosts seemed to realize they were losing and decided to pull a strategic retreat. Even if they are animals, they seem to be smarter than the vultures under Vlad's employ it seems.

"They're gone..."Jazz said in relief.

"Good riddance..."Sam said but she had a feeling that they'd be back.

If Team Phantom could say anything about Vlad, it's is that he was stubborn. However, right now, they saw that the backyard is a wreck but miraculously, the cake, the buffet table, and presents were unharmed.

"Look at this place..."Jazz complained.

"Let's just clean this up before your parents get here..."Sam said.

"Aw, man..."Tucker complained at this extra work.

Unknown to them, more was yet to come.


Meanwhile

Valerie Gray was on her way to Fenton Works, due to today being Danny's birthday.

Since they made their truce, Val has tried to be friendlier to Danny and his pals. Sure, Sam was still didn't exactly trust her...and made it clear that she didn't (as in the whole time they've known each othe) and Tucker still occasionally flirted with her but things were better then before, especially since a certain Fruitloop STILL didn't know about their truce.

Besides, it'd be nice to spend time around people who aren't evil lunatics with delusions of grandeur, as well as teens that she can talk with. Particularly one ghost teen whom she wishes to make amends with.

"I sure hope he likes it..."Val said as she carried her gift.

She was passing by main street, when she passed a familiar face.

"Mr. Strong?..."Val asked upon seeing Star's dad.

"Oh, hi Valerie..."Johnathan said nicely to his daughter's friend.

"Hi, what are you doing here? Don't you have work or something?..."Val asked.

She knew Star's dad was very busy, what with being a top lawyer and all.

"Oh, I have an early day today because of my client had an out of court settlement. Plus, Star told me that today is Danny's birthday and I just wanted to drop off his present..."Johnathan said in a nice way.

Val raised a brow at that. Usually dad's don't come to their daughter's boyfriend's birthday parties with gifts but it seems like Mr. Strong was making an exception.

Then again, Danny is quite exceptional.

"So, I guess we are heading to the same place?..."Johnathan said as he gestured to the present in her hands.

Valerie nodded.

"Yeah, small world..."She said.

"I was just on my way to The Fenton's to drop it off. Need a ride?..."He asked.

"Sure..."Valerie said as she got in the car.

Once there, the two began talking.

"You know, Star told me that she is taking Danny on a birthday date today and she wants everything to go perfect..."Johnathan said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, she does..."Valerie said as she headed to Fenton Works with her best friend's dad.

Danny was probably having the time of his life right now with Star and the blonde girl was making sure of it.


With Danny and Star

Danny was not having the time of his life right now.

The more Star lead Danny around, the sicker she got and no matter what he says, she refuses to go home and get some rest. She just kept dragging Danny all over Amity Park, all for this birthday date.

"Come on..."Star said as took his for the next activity.

She was sneezing even more and Danny was getting worried as his girlfriend seemed to be getting worse.

"Star...seriously, it's fine if we end our date early..."Danny said.

"No, I'm fine..."Star said, before sneezing again.

Danny was really starting to get worried for Star. She wasn't just sneezing now, but also coughing.

"Star, please. Maybe we should stop and take a rain check on this date..."He tried but was was ignored.

"No way, we're not done yet!..."Star said in a congested way but didn't bother hearing herself.

"Star-..."The ghost boy tried but she stubbornly resisted as she held a hand up

"Danny, it's your birthday and that means we're going to celebrate it and have fun together!..."Star said insistingly.

Danny cringed.

While Star is MUCH nicer now than she used to be, she is still a stubborn gal and while he was attracted to how fierce she can be, right now, she was really sick and getting worse.

"There's got to be a way to make her want to go home..."Danny thought as his sick girlfriend kept going.

While he appreciated what she was doing, he was more concerned about her health.

"I still think you might need some medical attention..."Danny said, but Star waved it off.

"I'm fine..."Star said, waving it all off...and ignoring her own pounding head and her boyfriend's pleas.

Danny frowned as she kept walking and sniffling, no matter how much she denies it.


Elsewhere

Vlad was finishing up signing the papers while some of the town council members sat tight and watched. He was almost done when he noticed a beep on his watch.

He knew he had to deal with these fools but he needed to know what's going on too. So, he made an excuse to get away.

"Ah, excuse me... I promised to call an old friend to wish his son a happy birthday..." Vlad said to his guests with a grin.

As he got up and walked around the corner, he spoke into his watch.

"Have you completed your task?" A growl at the other end sounding somewhat like a no was heard.

Vlad frowned upon hearing that.

"Then get back to work!..."He ordered to his minions.

He frowned when they growled at that.

This new batch of ghostly minions was suppose to be more ferocious than his old one, as well as less likely to turn on him, so he didn't have to deal with them attacking him again.

Anyway, he kept giving orders to his minions.

"Just keep it up and make sure to ruin the party, and possibly destroy either Daniel or his fat father!..."He ordered to his minions to go finish their mission.

Once done, he turned away from his wrist communicator and returned to resume mayoral duties.

"This cannot go fast enough..."He thought as he returned and pretended that he actually cared about the signing.

He didn't even remember what it was for anymore but he didn't care. He just wanted it to be over and go back to plotting.


Back with Danny and Star

They passed by a pharmacy and Danny decided to take her inside to get something.

"But we're going to be late for your next surprise..."Star whined.

"I think we'll live if we're late by a few minutes..."Danny said firmly as he brought her inside the pharmacy.

"Hello, can I help you?..."The salesperson said.

"Achoo!..."Star sneezed in a vampire style and Danny sighed.

"Do you have something for a cold?..."The half-ghost teen asked the man.

"A cold, huh? It's been going around lately. I have just the thing..."The salesperson said as he brought some medicine.

"No thanks..."Star dismissed it as she walked away from the counter.

"We'll take it..."Danny whispered as he took the medicine and went to pay for it.

Star didn't notice as she still wanted to take Danny to the next stop of the birthday date but while Danny was busy paying for the medicine, Star quickly took her handkerchief and blew her nose, before shaking her head.

"I can't be sick. Not today!..."She thought before sneezing again.

She can't sick on Danny's birthday, she just can't be!

It won't do.

Today is suppose to be a special day for Danny and it will be, if she has anything to say about it!

She will not settle for less!

Once she walked out of the pharmacy, Danny followed, with the medicine in his hands.

"Star..."Danny began but the blonde girl cut him off.

Again.

He lost count of how many times she's done that.

"Danny, I love you and I just wanna make your birthday perfect..."Star said, as she doesn't want to ruin his birthday.

"I love you too but-..."Danny was cut off by Star let out another massive sneeze into her handkerchief.

Danny held out the bottle of medicine he bought and offered it to her.

"Here, please take some of this..."He urged but Star shook her head.

"I'm fine, Danny-Boo...Really..."She said unconvincingly, ignoring the pounding headache and sore throat right now.

"Star, please..."Danny said but she refuses and grabbed his hand again.

"Come on, we are going to have fun...fun...fun..."She said as she leading the way.

Unaware that things were not exactly going as planned and were just getting worse.


Meanwhile

At Fenton Works

Tucker, Sam and Jazz managed to clean up the entire place from the ghost animal's attack, just in time for Danny's parents to come back, having captured the Box Ghost.

Anyway, they had finished decorating and were now waiting for Star to bring the birthday boy.

"Everything looks perfect..."Maddie said, pleased with the party right now.

The decorations are done, the buffet is ready and the cake is out. All that's left is waiting for her son to come with his girlfriend.

It was also time that the guests arrived.

The small handful of guests were talking to each other. Valerie and Johnathan had arrived only a few moments ago with gifts and well wishes. However, there was one unexpected "party crasher" here. Stella Bevier had came by with a present for Danny and to also see her daughter too.

"Bonjour, everyone..."The fancy woman said upon arrival.

"Oh, hello Stella..."Maddie said upon seeing her.

"This is quite a nice party you've put together for Danny. It's so...how you say...quaint..."Stella said.

"Thank you..."Jack said, though he wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not.

Johnathan shook his head at this.

"I guess that's the nicest she can say..."He thought to himself.

"So, why is she here again, anyway?..."Jazz asked, at the sight of Stella.

"I might have accidentally mentioned that today was Danny's birthday when she was visiting Star..."Johnathan said in a somewhat guilty way. "I didn't think she'd come..."He admitted as his ex-wife kept chatting with Maddie.

Still he was surprised about her appearance here, since she has never done that for Star's boyfriends in the past. Jonathan did wonder if it was just her being polite, trying to earn Star's forgiveness quicker or if she actually liked the boy.

Either way, he'd keep his distance when the birthday boy and his daughter got here, since he didn't want a repeat of what happened the last time both their families were together.

"So, where shall I place my gift?..."Stella asked Maddie.

"You can put it on the table with the others..."Maddie said, not wanting to be rude.

The woman was trying to be nice and she did bring a gift for Danny's birthday, so she would be a good hostess.

"So, where is the caviar?..."Stella said as she glanced at the buffet after placing the gift on the table.

Jack and Maddie sighed.

Sure, they had agreed to let bygones be bygones with Stella after the country club incident and yes, she has made an effort to be nice to their son, but they had very little in common with the blonde woman. Still, it was better than before the dinner and that was saying something.

Stella soon returned and sat down before turning to the Fenton parents again.

"Where is Danny? I wanted to wish him a happy birthday..."Stella said.

"He's still out with your daughter. They should be here any time now..." Jack answered before going to speak with Johnathan.

Maddie found herself making small talk with Star's mother once more.

"You have put together such a lovely party..."Stella said.

"Thank you..."Maddie said. "So, um...you came alone?..."She asked as Stella used her fan to keep herself cool as she spoke to the other woman.

"Yes, Pierre is currently with Georgia's sister for the day and the rest of my family could not come..."Stella said. "Unfortunately, Jean-Luc had a meeting and Colette wasn't feeling so well. The poor thing has a cold, she wanted to come but I had to refuse her since she was not feeling well but she is in good hands, my husband hired a medical staff to take care of her..."Stella said in a sympathetic way as she thought about her stepdaughter.

Tucker, Jazz and Sam rolled their eyes at that. They knew that the reason Colette didn't want to be cooped up in her room and it was due to her obsessive one-sided crush on Danny, one of the many reasons they did NOT invite her.

"I am so glad that witch is not here..."Sam muttered to Tucker as she shook her head as she thought about that spoiled brat.


With Colette

The fake redhead was pale, sneezing and sickly looking as she was bundled up in her bed. She had a thermometer in her mouth and even had an ice pack on her head.

She sneezed, coughed and sniffled as she was in her fancy looking canopy bed, being tended to by the medical staff her father and stepmother hired to care for her, which include a doctor and several nurses and they even had a heart monitor, despite the fact that it was only a cold.

"Achoo!..."Colette sneezed loudly. "Zis is so not fair!..."She whined. "I demand to be let out at once!..."Colette said, only to sneeze again.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Bevier, but your parents insisted that you stay home while we take care of you, you cannot be allowed to leave..."The doctor said, sterilizing his hands.

Colette pouted as her temperature was checked yet again.

She is angry!

She wanted to go to Danny's party to spend time with her and upstage her stepsister, as well as take him out to fancier place to celebrate and give him a gift, such as her presence as well as a kiss. She is certain that he has gotten over that little "incident" by now but she was confined to her room with no one but these doctors and nurses, who were doing everything in their job for a speedy recovery.

Though it wasn't fast enough for her.

"Zis is outrageous! It is just a stupid cold! I demand to be free now, you fool!..."Colette said as she tried to get up, but the nurses held her down to ensure she got plenty of bed rest.

"With all due respect Ms. Bevier, you have no authority as your parents are paying us to keep you in bed and get you better..."The doctor said before he brought out a chart, one that Mr. and Mrs. Bevier had provided.

Colette let out an angry huff as they continued checking up on her. The penthouse was becoming more of a prison than a hospital, but she couldn't tell the difference.

She was sweaty, shivering, bedridden, and even worse, she was away from her darling Danny who was stuck with her stupid stepsister.

"How could this get any worse?!..."Collette asked out loud.

"CLEAR!..."One of the male nurse came in, with a defibrillator in his hands, much to Colette's horror.

She slunk deeper into her covers, hoping it wouldn't come to that.


Back at Fenton Works.

"I was hoping she got the hint and she'd take off..."Sam said.

"You'd think the green hair thing would have made her take a hint and move on, maybe go out with some other guy..."Tucker muttered to her but kept it down so Stella couldn't hear them.

He was of course talking about the time they got their revenge on Colette by messing with her shampoo and dyed her hair green.

They knew that the only reason she never tattled to her mama and papa about her unwanted hair job that time was because since Danny claimed to have been the only one involved, Jean-Luc probably would have forbidden him from ever going around his daughter...which Danny would NOT have minded but Colette would.

At the very least, she's not here to ruin his party, so thank goodness for small miracles.

Anyway, Stella kept talking to Danny's parents about various things, such as fashion, vacation spots and other things that didn't interest Maddie.

"You know, I spoke with Eleanor last weekend and she has been to Peru, she's bringing a bit of their culture for a weekend..."Stella said.

"I see..."Maddie said, trying not to be rude.

"You really must come to the upcoming gala at the country club next month. It will be simply marvelous and I am sure Danny and Jasmine would enjoy themselves..."Stella said in her usual way.

"I'll see what we can do..."Maddie said with a strained smile. "At the very least, she treats Danny better than Sam's mother does..."She thought as Stella continued to talk to her.

"Excuse me, but I really should call and check on Colette. Oh, I left my purse on the table. Pardon me..."Stella said.

"Of course, go right ahead..."Maddie said as the fancy woman said as she went to get her purse and phone.

Unfortunately, once she got there, the fancy woman saw something that terrified her.

It was the horde of ghostly animals that have returned, no doubt to cause more trouble and wreck the party, as per Plasmius's orders. They phased through the walls and from the lawn, hovered towards them.

"ROAR!..."They all snarled.

"AHH! GHOSTS!..."Stella screamed as she stepped back, tripping on a rock and ended up knocked out when her head hit the picnic table.

"Stella!..."Johnathan exclaimed while running over her.

"Oh boy!..."Val said, ready to fight.

"GHOSTS!..."Jack and Maddie both yelled upon seeing the ghostly beasts.

"Not again!..."Jazz, Sam and Tucker all thought in the same time as they pulled out their weapons for safety.

The Fenton parents began blasting anything with ectoplasm as they gathered everyone. Jack and Maddie turned to Johnathan, Valerie and the unconscious Stella.

"You all go hide in the house. We'll deal with these spooks!..."Jack said, holding out a blaster.

Johnathan nodded as he and Valerie carried the still unconscious Stella into the house for safety.

"Glad that Danny and Star aren't here for this..."Johnathan said as he placed his ex wife down on the couch.

"Somehow, I get the feeling Vlad is involved in this..."Valerie thought, annoyed and more frustrated than usual.

She needed to help without the Fentons being aware but how?


Back with Danny and Star

Danny had been right since Star was getting worse. She barely seemed to even be able to stand on her feet now but she kept going.

"Come on..."Star said as she pulled Danny along, not seeing him looking more and more worried.

She kept going and she took him to the observatory to use the telescope to see his favorite constellations. Danny liked the idea but he was still worried about her.

She sneezed, coughed and sniffled as they made it to the steps of the observatory, sounding worse and worse with each step.

"Now we climb!..."Star said in a somewhat dazed way as she made it to the stairs.

"Star, that's too much. You need to rest..."Danny insisted.

"No way, Jose. We're here for more stars and not just me..."Star said with a giggle. "Besides, we need to get to our birthday chills...I mean thrills..."She corrected herself, still looking a little loopy now.

Danny was still worried as he watched Star climbed the stairs, looking more and more tired with every step.

He followed after her, just to keep an eye on her.

"We gotta go this way. Go...go...go...go!..."Star said in a dizzy way as she kept going up the stairs

Danny cringed as he followed her closely until they made it to the room with the telescope. He was in awe at the marvelous device, but was more concerned for his sick girlfriend.

"Star..."Danny said in worry but she getting loopier and sicker by the minute.

"WHAT?! I'm fine..."She said in a half-awake way as she kept going up and towards the top.

She was so out of it that she was even starting to wobble as she walked now.

"We're gonna climb...we're gonna see...follow the stairs...to the thing..."Star said in a daze as she no longer made any sense.

She just kept walking and almost tripping as she took another step, nearly slipping.

"Star..."Danny tried but she didn't seem to be listening now.

"Almost there…" She said in a sing song voice but she was now completely red faced, sneezing, and delirious as she danced around.

She barely seemed conscious as she moved. She even started giggling and singing now!

"Happy Happy Happy~..."Star began to sing, unaware of the worried look her boyfriend was giving her.

"Man, she's really out of it..."Danny thought watching her do a pirouette and twist.

"Merry merry merry~..."She kept singing as she danced around, singing a tune only she knew.

"Oh man, she's definitely getting worse!..."Danny thought until he noticed that Star was dangerously close to the railing...and could fall!

"Hot! Cold! Haaahh!...Brth...day!~..."Star slurred as she almost fell over the side of the railing.

One that had a large, steep drop!

"STAR!..."Danny yelled as she managed to catch her before she fell and hurt herself.

Once out of danger, Star collapsed in his arms, shaking and looking even sicker now.

The ghost boy was freaking out now.

"Star, look at you. You got a fever..."Danny said as he felt her forehead.

She's burning up and being outside wasn't helping one bit.

"D-Danny..."Star tried but the ghost boy stopped her.

"We can't go on like this..."Danny said.

"But..."Star tried but Danny cut her off.

"Let's just put this day on hold and get you home with some soup and rest. Please..."Danny said, not wanting to keep seeing her like this.

Star, while she wanted nothing more than to make Danny's birthday perfect, realized that he wasn't having fun and was really worried about her. It made her realize she's ruining his birthday, the opposite of what she wanted.

"Come on...just admit it...please..."Danny pleaded.

Despite her feverish state and coughing, Star realized that she was indeed sick and couldn't deny it anymore.

She conceded.

"Alright...I have a cold..."Star said in a defeated way.

Danny smiled as he picked her up and changed into his ghost form.

He soon took off, flying through the air with his sick girlfriend in his arms, flying away from the observatory and through the sky.

"Don't worry Starlight, everything will be just fine..." He told her, caressing her cheek with care as he held her tight against him so she can relax.

He just wanted her to get better.

-To be continued-

Next time on Sick

SURPRISE!


A/N(1): I dedicate this chapter to my family, my friends and my love for God :)


A/N(2): Special thanks to BeConfuzzled Writer, 61394 and NeoMark for their help. You guys are the best ;)


REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:

RonaldM40196867: Uh-Huh.

Invader Johnny: Yeah, it's a new batch of animals. The old Fruitloop never learns.

Dragonrule: Thank you :)

Jebest4781: Hmm...I'll think about it. Also, thanks :)

GothGhostQueen: Not here, at least.

Anthony Ruiz: Nope, she has a cold.

DJ Rodriguez: Thank you :)

Jay The Average Fanboy:

1) Can't say for certain yet.

2) I am not sure.

3) Yes, Star has had her share of boyfriends before Danny and Kwan but as she mentioned, Danny is special.


:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)