Hurting You, Killing Me

Chapter Seventeen:

Danny's POV:

"Danny, something's wrong..." At those words, I could literally feel my heart rate increase and my stomach drop.

"What happened?" I asked. Sam sat beside me; we'd been in my bedroom since my parents were away on a vacation together for the weekend.

"She's...vomiting ectoplasm."

"What?" I asked, feeling my panic rising.

"I don't know why, Danny. She's really sick!" Kitty sounded as though she was about to start crying, if she wasn't already.

"Call Frostbite," I instructed, then I took one glance at Sam, giving me a death stare, and continued. "I'll be right there." I hung up and stood up, going ghost

Sam jumped up, standing in front of me with her arms crossed. "You'll be right where?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Danielle is really sick, Sam. I have got to go."

"Danny, please," she said, holding up one hand and pressing the other to her forehead, "Stop pretending she matters to you. We both know you just feel guilty; she's nothing to you."

"Sam...I-"

"Come on. Stay here with me." She took a step forward and tried to plant a kiss on my lips.

I pushed her away, "No, Sam. I've got to do this."

"She's just a stupid clone! She needs to just dissolve or whatever, so we can all just get on with our lives!"

That was when I snapped, "You know what, Sam?! You've become a selfish, hateful bitch! I've sat here and done everything for you for the past three and half years and all you've done is treat me like shit! It's your fault that I don't have Danielle in my life! And you know what else? From the moment I first met her, I've loved her more than anyone else in my life, including you! But I didn't realize it! I'm done with you, Sam. Danielle is my daughter and I'm going to start acting like her father! Get the hell out of my life!"

Sam stared at me with a blank expression, then snorted, "You're kidding me, right? You can't be serious."

"Oh, I am serious and I think it's time for you to leave." I placed my hands on her shoulders and guided her to my door. "And for the record, in case it hasn't been made clear enough, this is me breaking up with you." With that, I slammed the door shut in her face.

I listened for a second, until I heard the thud of Sam slamming the front door shut, then I phased down to the basement and opened the portal. I threw myself into it without a second thought, and rushed to Kitty and Johnny's lair.

When I got there, I didn't even bother to knock, I just let myself in. I saw Kitty standing in the hallway; she was on the phone with tears running down her face. She didn't seem at all shocked to me bursting through their front door. She seemed to be listening intently on the phone, so I just pointed to the door she was standing beside. She nodded, wiping under her eyes with one hand.

I pushed open the door and walked in, shutting it behind me. Johnny was sitting next to Danielle on the bed and she seemed like she was asleep, her eyes closed.

He stood up and walked over to me, glaring, "What are you doing here?" he whispered, his voice dangerously sharp.

"I came here to check on her," I said. "I dumped Sam, about five minutes ago. You guys were right."

He looked at me, opening his mouth to speak, but Danielle sat up, grabbing a trashcan, and began to throw up again. He rushed to her side, holding back her hair as she retched. It hurt me to watch.

Finally, after what felt like a very long time, she stopped and leaned back. Johnny pushed back her hair and gave her a small sip of water from a glass on her nightstand, then he kissed her forehead and she closed her eyes. I don't think she even noticed that I was there.

Kitty walked back into the room then, her eyes still red, but no more tears. "Frostbite is going to do some research and call me back..." she explained. "He said not to let her get dehydrated and if she gets much worse before he calls, then we shouldn't hesitate to take her out there."

Johnny nodded, still glaring at me. "I think we need to talk before she wakes up again," he said in a low voice that, quite honestly, kind of frightened me.

I swallowed, "Johnny, I only wanted to come check on her."

"You broke up with that psycho?" he asked.

I nodded, "You were right. I should have listened."

"What are you wanting to accomplish here? She's been hurt enough by you. You think suddenly showing up is going to fix all that?"

"No... I just want her to know that I love her. I made a mistake...a lot of mistakes."

"You know, Danny, there was a time when I had a lot of respect for you." he said. "I honestly respected the fact that you went out of your way to protect your town, I was even impressed with you. But now? No way. You're a coward and you don't deserve another chance to fix things with Danielle," he said. I started to say something, but he continued, cutting me off completely, "But you got me and Kitty back together and I owe you, so I won't make you leave. We'll just have to see what Danielle thinks."

Even though I was scared to know what Danielle might think, I was thankful that Johnny was going to at least let me try. "Thank you," I said. Kitty sat down on the chair at the vanity mirror and I sat down on the little bench at the foot of the bed, finally taking the time to look around.

The room was incredible, designed completely in white and dark red. She had her own television and her own bathroom, that seemed to be decorated in white and pink. Her closet door was ajar just a bit and I could see a bunch of white dresses, things I would never have thought that Dani might like...then again, she wasn't Dani anymore, it seemed. She was Danielle.

And, even though the room was only lit by her bedside lamp and the lava lamp on her dresser, I could still see the ice crystal heart I'd given her, sitting on dresser. Somehow, the simple fact that she'd kept it, made me feel so much better about being here.

Kitty crossed her legs and cleared her throat, seeming as uncomfortable as I felt. It was awhile before Danielle woke up again, and in that time, no one spoke. I felt awkward, just sitting there, as Johnny hovered protectively over Danielle, as though my very presence in the room could hurt her...which, maybe, wasn't so far from the truth.

Johnny's POV:

I didn't dislike the fact that Danny was there; I hated it. I didn't want him anywhere around Danielle. I didn't want him to speak to her. I didn't want him to sit there and act like he had no idea what he was doing for the past few years. It made me sick to think about it.

She may have been created by his genes, but it was me who'd been by her side. I was the one who comforted her after nightmares, I was the one who spent every day with her, making sure she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I loved her. He had done nothing but treat her like something he could just drop and walk away from.

Despite all that, I didn't hate Danny. I couldn't hate him; it was because of him that I had Danielle in my life. Kitty and I were complete now that she was with us. Kitty and Danielle were my entire world.

When Danielle woke up again, none of us were prepared for the words that she said. "Daddy?" she asked.

At first, I thought she was talking to Danny. I honestly did. But...she was looking straight at me. Of course, I'd heard her slip up earlier, when she'd said Dad instead of Johnny, but I honestly thought it was just that, a slip up, a mistake.

I didn't hesitate to scoop her into my arms, noting that she was still wearing the Daddy's Girl necklace I'd given to her. I glanced at Kitty, who smiled at me lovingly. Then...I looked at Danny, catching as envy and pain flashed in his eyes.

Danny's POV:

When Danielle woke up, she asked for her daddy, but I knew she wasn't talking about me me... She wanted him. She wanted Johnny.

I'd lost my chance to be her father nearly four years ago. Don't get me wrong, I was thankful that Johnny and Kitty stepped in, but I envied them greatly. There wasn't a second that went by in the past four years that I hadn't thought about Danielle, about my daughter.

It was when Johnny scooped her into his arms that I noticed the necklace she was wearing. Daddy's Girl, it said. It was silver and sparkled in the dim light. I didn't want to think about it, the fact that she was wearing that necklace, or the fact that she'd just called Johnny daddy, but I couldn't forget what I'd just heard and seen.

I was so jealous, as I watched him hold my daughter. My heart felt like it was being torn out as I watched her look up at him, at how, even being so sick, she seemed to light up just by being in his arms. My eyes darted around the room as I tried to find anything else to look at than the scene in front of me. Unfortunately, my eyes landed on Kitty, who was gazing lovingly at the two of them.

Suddenly, I felt like an intruder. Danielle wasn't mine anymore; she never really was. What kind of person was I, to ignore her for all these years, then suddenly want to be in her life? I didn't know what she knew of why I hadn't been in her life. I didn't think she even knew that I called every month to check on her.

It suddenly occurred to me that I knew nothing about her anymore. She used to be just like me, but it was obvious that she wasn't anymore. I looked at Johnny again and saw that Danielle had drifted back to sleep. I was in too much pain to think clearly. Danielle was my daughter, but I had lost her.

Danielle's POV:

The word slipped out before I could stop it. Daddy. But all Johnny did was pulled me into his arms, cradling me like I was a baby. I felt awful and sleepy, but I kept my eyes open long enough to see someone else in the room with me, Johnny, and Kitty. Danny?

I must have been hallucinating, there was no way that Danny was here. Why would he be here anyway? It wasn't as though he actually wanted anything to do with me. But...it had seemed so real.

I stopped thinking about it, though, because I wanted to try to sleep before I threw up again. When I did wake up, I saw Danny sitting on the bench at the foot of by bed, watching me with concern in his eyes. "Danny?" I asked, right before throwing up again.

As I threw up, I was hardly aware of what was going on around me, but I knew I was being shifted around. When I finally relaxed, now exhausted, I realized it was no longer Johnny who was holding me. I looked up to see that it Danny whose arms were wrapped protectively around me now.

I couldn't help but feel weird. Why was Danny here? And furthermore, why the hell was he holding me? After four years of being completely uninvolved in my life, he just suddenly shows up?

That just wasn't adding up. He wasn't supposed to care about me, he wasn't supposed to be in my life.

I took a deep breath and grimaced, trying to keep myself from throwing up again, and looked up at him, "Why are you here?" I asked, trying my best to sound fierce.

"I..." he trailed off. "Dani..."

"That is not my name anymore," I said, pushing myself up.

I immediately doubled over. Johnny passed Danny the trashcan and he put it under my chin, right as I heaved into it.

Once I finished throwing up, Johnny walked over and opened his arms, "I think your time's up, Danny," he said.

Danny started to lift me up. "No!" I moaned, clinging to his shirt. I didn't want them to move me because I'd only throw up more. I hid my face in Danny's chest, "I want my daddy!"

I kept my face hidden, but I could hear the three of them talking. Danny and Johnny were whispering furiously, as though they didn't want me to hear them. Kitty was speaking quietly and I could hear that she was trying to get them to get along.

"Guys, none of that is important right now. This is about Danielle."

"Danny, just give her to me," Johnny hissed.

"She didn't want to go to you!"

"She didn't want to move because she'd throw up. You don't know anything about her!"

"What's there to know?! She's my clone!"

"You're so full of shit! She is so much more than a clone!"

"I never said she wasn't!"

"Look, Danny, if you knew anything about her, you'd know she hates that word!"

"I hate that word! She was mine long before she was yours!"

"She never was yours!"

"Stop!" I managed to mumble. I gathered up all my strength and yelled my next words so loudly that they were accompanied by a small ghostly wail. "I want Kitty!"

Everyone shut up and Danny immediately put me into Kitty's arms. Kitty held me, holding the trashcan for me again, and told Johnny and Danny to take it outside. There was an unspoken threat in her words; if they didn't work it out themselves, she would.

I watched as Johnny and Danny walked out of the room, Johnny slamming the door behind them. I looked at Kitty, "I'm worried about them..."

"Don't be. They're the adults and I'm going to make sure that they start acting like it."