Wow... I never got so many reviews so fast. I guess more people like Shinichi than Kaito
*sigh* it's understanable...
But for all the Kaito fans he shows up next chapter!

ANYWAY KEEP REVIEWING AND I'LL POST FASTER!

And all glory goes to my betareader The Jelly Bean Ninja for making my terrible mistakes run in fear!

Chapter 2: Delusions

Hattori wouldn't let up and Shinichi didn't feel like dealing with him every day, so the detective did the only thing he could do and told Hattori the truth.

The good thing about using the phone was that Hattori couldn't run to Tokyo whenever he wanted and, if he tried, Shinichi could always lock the Osakan out of the Professor's house if he had to. On the phone he didn't have to deal with the other's emotions either. His own were hard enough to control.

After telling him everything he simply hung up. There was no need to hear any false reassurances or ideas that Hattori may have had. If there was a way to stop it, Haibara would have figured it out.

"Conan-kun, your friends are here."

Shinichi turned to look at Mouri's closed door. The Shonen Tantei were as impossible to throw off as Hattori was but he didn't feel the same… need to deceive them. Children didn't like to see bad things and their minds would purposely make any disturbing thoughts into something bearable. It was one of the reasons they believed that Conan only had a cold. He coughed more around them and he had to rest more when they would want to run around, but those things could easily be attributed to the minor disease as opposed to one they never knew existed, and so had no reason to ask about.

"Conan-kun," Ayumi ran in and put a hand up to his forehead with no self-control. "Are you feeling better?"

"Aw, Conan's still sick?" Genta complained. "Going outside will make you feel better. The fresh air and ice cream always works for me."

"Saying you're sick is not an excuse to eat ice cream Genta-kun. You shouldn't do that." Mitsuhiko scolded him.

"Hey, I don't do that! I didn't say I didn't eat ice cream when I wasn't sick too!"

"You guys should stop fighting. You know that Conan-kun isn't feeling good."

Shinichi smiled at their antics now that he had time to think of a world without them. They really weren't such bad kids.

"I'm fine Ayumi-chan." Conan got off the bed and put his hands behind his head to stretch. "I'll go outside with you."

"Yay, we can go play soccer!" Mitsuhiko shouted. "That will make you feel better!"

There was a field right down the street and Shinichi had no trouble humoring them. Soccer was fun only when you could breathe correctly. Shinichi couldn't do more then sprint a few yards and even that was pushing things.

To make things fair he had Mitsuhiko on his team. Conan usually paired with Ayumi, who was the weakest soccer player, but Conan was now in that position. It made the game fun when no one knew who would win and it didn't give the kids time to wonder any more about Shinichi's health.

And it was fun. Shinichi ran after the ball like he always would and was happy when he was able to sidestep Genta and score a few goals. He'd had a few coughing fits afterwards but he was smiling.

In the end Mitsuhiko and Conan won by only a single goal. They were all bushed afterwards and the kids made their way home sooner then they normally would have. Shinichi bid them goodbye and tried to contain the happy mood the game had put him in so his darker thoughts wouldn't take over.

His hopes died when Ran showed up with Dr. Araide.

"Conan-kun, you've had a cold for over a week and – well, Hattori made me worry. Araide-sensei can you make sure that he's ok?"

"That's what I'm here for," the brunette man said. He bent down and Shinichi couldn't escape before the doctor's hand latched onto his arm.

"It's ok Conan-kun. I'm just going to give you a check up."

Shinichi swallowed hard. He wasn't sure what the poison was doing to him exactly besides shutting down his organs. If the doctor noticed anything – he'd end up spending the rest of his time in a hospital while they tried to figure out what was wrong with him. And they never would.

The cold metal of the stethoscope passed over his chest and Shinichi held in a breath at the sudden temperature change.

"Deep breaths Conan-kun."

Shinichi had no choice but to let the doctor do what he wanted. He breathed, hoping that it would help his body sound more normal then not breathing would.

"Ok, keep breathing." The scope was moved to his back but it had lost most of the chill to it. Shinichi complied.

"Well," he put the scope down and removed it from his ears. "He's breathing doesn't sound too good but it could be because he's congested. If it is a cold, it could last a while."

Shinichi hid his smiled. If the doctor was willing to say that his 'cold' was going to stay, then he didn't have to make some excuse when he still had it a few weeks from now.

"Is there anything I can give him?" Ran asked.

The doctor shook his head. "No. The best medicine is to let the cold take its course. If it gets worse, call me."

"Thank you Araide-sensei," Ran bowed to him.

"Conan-kun?" The doctor turned to face Shinichi who looked up at him with glassed eyes, trying to keep everything he could from showing so that he wouldn't give himself away. "Can you come her a minute? I wanted to check you're eyes but the light is too dark. I was going to go in the bathroom."

"Is something wrong?" Ran asked. She was going to make dinner but Shinichi knew that she would drop everything if she thought there was something wrong with him. It only made him hurt more. Before everything was over, he would have to tell her.

"No, nothings wrong. If I'm going to do a check up though I'll update his records while I'm at it."

The smile that he gave her convinced her that he was telling the truth. "Do you want to stay for dinner? I'll make extra."

"That would be wonderful, thank you."

Shinichi followed him into the bathroom and sat on the toilet seat. The doctor's smile vanished and he grabbed Shinichi's wrist in his own.

"What are -"

"Shush, I can't count."

Conan remained quiet while the doctor checked his watch a minute later.

"You're breathing is too shallow, you're heart rate it too fast, and your skin isn't the best color. I didn't want to worry anyone so I wanted to talk to you first. Did anything happen? You're heart is beating so fast that you'd think you'd run a marathon."

"I was playing with my friends," Shinichi lied with a smile. "Maybe that's why."

Araide shook his head. "It's too fast for that. You're hearts beating over 120 a minute. That could cause all sorts of medical problems let alone the risk you're put at for a heart attack. Did you swallow something? I've seen this a few times in children who have swallowed dish soap. Anything?"

Shinichi shook his head. "No, I haven't touched anything."

True enough.

Araide shook his head again. "I'm going to bring you to the hospital then. I'll talk to -"

"Don't!"

The pleading look in his eyes stopped the doctor from continuing. "Why on earth not?"

"I – I know I'm sick. Please don't tell Ran-neechan." Shinichi looked away, ashamed at himself. "I'll call you if it get's bad."

"I can't ignore a patient who obviously needs my help. You'll have to tell me more than that if you want me to stay silent."

It was bad enough to get an outsider involved and a doctor at that. If the he told him about the Black Organization it would get him killed and any clues their poison could hold would, again, be found by its creator.

But there was no choice. Shinichi would have to pick and choose his words.

"My friend is a professor. I know I'm sick. It's nothing that's curable so you can't take me to the hospital. Telling Ran-neechan will only make her scared." Shinichi paused. "I said I'd call you if it got worse."

The doctor left his hand resting on the doorknob as he thought about what he was going to do. He closed his eyes and turned it without looking back.

"I won't say anything."

Shinichi kept his voice closer to his own then the one he used as Conan. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me."

The doctor stayed for dinner and he made up lies to tell Ran that Shinichi contributed too. Together they made it hard for her to doubt that nothing was wrong. The shadows that had been growing around her eyes the past week started to disappear to be filling with common worry that Shinichi was used to seeing.

When the doctor left and the dishes were washed, Shinichi was ready to fall asleep. A lot had happened in one day and his energy was running low.

Ran caught him before he could get to Kogoro's room and she picked him up in her arms. Shinichi couldn't say he wasn't embarrassed but he enjoyed the feeling of comfort it brought. He only wished it could have been the other way around.

"What are you doing Ran-neechan?" Conan asked when she brought him into her room.

"You're sick so I don't think you should be sleeping on the floor. Until you're better you'll be sleeping in bed with me. Is that alright?"

Shinichi blushed at the thought. Ran's bed wasn't that large and it would be hard for them to fit, though his smaller body made it possible.

"I'll just sleep with Ojisan," Conan told her, wishing that he could stay with her. He was still lying to her though and it made it hard for him to accept her kindness when he didn't deserve it.

"Nonsense Conan-kun, my bed's a lot nicer than the floor."

Ran held him in one arm as she got under the covers. They'd both already changed into their pajamas some time ago. The way that she held him reminded Shinichi of the time that he and the Black Organization had crossed paths. They were hundreds of feet in the air and she was about to risk to life to save both of them.

"I love you Ran-neechan." Shinichi felt his heart constrict in betrayal when he had to add the suffix. He'd told her that he loved her before, as Conan, and regretted that he hadn't done it when he still had his body. There was always 'next time' in his mind. There wouldn't be any next time anymore.

"I love you too Conan-kun," she smiled down at him. Shinichi hid his face in the covers. He was crying. He couldn't stand how much he was hurting her. Ran put a hand on his head when he didn't poke it back out, thinking he had gone to sleep. "Good night."

"'Night," Shinichi whispered back long after Ran had fallen asleep next to him and he head his voice under control.

They were both hurting so badly. Shinichi was about to vanish from her life and he couldn't even tell her. An idea occurred to him but he'd have to talk to Haibara to see if it would work. If it didn't – Shinichi didn't think he could ever live with himself for bringing so much pain upon the one he loved.