Vlad lay Danny on the same table that the werewolf had spent resting only the night before. Tiny wolf claws still held a handful of the older halfa's white cape, as if not wanting to leave the safety of his hold. Gently picking them out of the fabric, Vlad placed the furry hand back to the unconscious teenager's side.
Danny's shallow breath changed to a soft wheezing as Vlad began to get various tools and supplies out, sticking various monitors and wires on his patient. By the time everything was hooked up, Jazz had helped herself down to the lab. Vlad greeted her hastily, grateful that she hadn't interrupted any work by bothering to use the doorbell.
Jazz walked straight over to Danny and sat in a chair next to the table. Her brother whined quietly in his sleep as her hand wrapped around his. Vlad looked up from his work to give the teenagers a sympathetic look before getting the heart monitor going. Once it was giving off a satisfying beeping, he glanced over at them again. Tears were running down Danny's face. Vlad narrowed his eyes in concern. "Is Daniel awake? His eyes are still closed…"
Danny felt a warm hand take his. "Jazz…" He thought desperately. "Oh please, what did I do to deserve this?" He tried to open his eyes, but that was nearly impossible. "It's so cold…." The pain had left a long time ago, leaving a numb, stiffening feeling. Danny felt any life that was left in him fading away with every frail beat of his heart, "I don't wanna die…. I don't wanna leave my friends, my family…." He squeezed Jazz's hand. "I can't do this, I just can't…"
Curling his lips over miniature wolf fangs, Danny took a deep breath and cried out with a mournful howl. "Danny!" He heard his sister's voice, high pitched in alarm. The heart monitor went berserk.
After the howl subsided, his eyes shot open, seeing straight out the window. Two burning spheres like moons stared back coldly. Danny inhaled with a weak shudder and went still. The glowing eyes vanished out of sight, Lunai's work was done.
"No!" Jazz broke into a sobbing fit over her brother's body. Danny's chest sank slowly as his last breath drained out of him. His head still turned to the window, the terror of seeing the she-wolf who so willingly participated with the younger halfa's death still frozen in his lifeless blue gaze.
Vlad turned away numbly and switched the screeching monitor off. "It all happened so fast… One minute he's giving me his teenage attitude, the next he's lying dead in my lab. "It's just not possible… "
Is it the power of grief that makes us tell ourselves such lies? Such anguish that makes us forget everything and doubt life itself?
"No, he just can't be gone…" He stayed in that position, too proud to turn around and let Jazz see the tears that were starting to well up in his eyes.
The smell of something burning cut off his train of thought. Vlad spun around, bristling in alarm. Jazz had backed away and was staring in bewilderment at Danny's body. The wolf fur was simmering, smoke started to rise while strands of the chestnut hairs started fall on the metal surface of the table in a fine grey powder. His tail completely smoldered away in a pile of ashes on the floor. Jazz and Vlad could do nothing but stare as Danny's wolfish appearance became more and more human, Several minutes later, the pale body of regular Danny Fenton lay on the table. Vlad cautiously walked over and cupped his hand under the teenage boy's head, lifting it slightly with a quizzical look on his face.
Danny started with a gasp. "Gah!" Vlad yelped in surprise and jumped back, tripping over the chair Jazz had been sitting in just a while ago. Danny's head fell back on the table with a soft thud. He moaned quietly from the sudden movement and began to pant again. "Danny?" Jazz's voice was full of shy hope. "Hmm?" Danny's gaze shifted slightly in his sister's direction. "How are you feeling?" "In pain." He whined, shutting his eyes tearfully.
Vlad recovered from his fall and rushed to the tableside. Danny continued to breathe heavily, seemingly not to noticing his presence. The older halfa glanced uneasily at Jazz, unsure of what just happened. Jazz returned his look blankly. Vlad turned his attention back to the bleeding teenager before him. "Daniel, where does it hurt?" Danny sniveled pathetically, but didn't reply.
Vlad ran his finger lightly along the side where the bullet had hit; he felt Danny flinch back, but still, the younger halfa remained silent except for his pitiful wheezing. "He's getting worse." Vlad thought to himself. "Listen Jazz, I really don't care now if Daniel is a werewolf or not, he looks like a human being now, so we should be able to get him into a hospital without any trouble at all."He moved to pick Danny up again for the third time yet.
Jazz stopped him. "Wait, I can drive him to the hospital, it'll look suspicious if you come without a vehicle of any type anyway. Why don't you put your ghost powers to some other use and find Tucker and Sam?" Vlad raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had been so worried about Danny that he hadn't noticed the two teenager's absence. "Why didn't they return with you?" Jazz began unhooking the wires on her brother, who seemed to be only partially conscious, if conscious at all. "I had to leave them together to take the Guys in White on a false trail; we couldn't lead them to your house." She said, concentrating on her work. "Now help me get him in the car."
Vlad leaned down to lift Danny, too flustered to be disturbed by the fact that Jazz was practically taking charge and bossing him around. "How does she do it? A few minutes ago she was nearly shattered with grief, now she's making plans?" Vlad shook his head and followed her up the stairs.
The hospital was conveniently close. The staff removed Danny from Jazz's car and left her to wait in the main office. Several silent minutes passed by, during that time she was joined by Vlad, Tucker, and Sam. They acknowledged each other's presence briefly before setting down to a long wait. Minutes ticked by slowly, gradually becoming hours over hours. Finally, the heavy metal door creaked open, a nurse holding a clipboard came out. "Okay, he's awake, one visitor at a time and you get five minutes." He said hastily, motioning for Jazz to come first.
He led her down a deathly quiet hallway, their footsteps echoing off the bleached walls. "Here," The nurse said, holding the door open. "I'll be back in five minutes." Then he left.
Jazz hurried over to her brother's bedside. Danny looked miserable, his grimy raven-black hair hung in his face, which was mostly covered in a clear mask that made a slight steaming sound. The doctors had coated him in layers of gauze and bandages; one pale arm hung off to the side, being supported on a small table. A thick needle was stuck into it, attached to a tube that was dripping some sort of clear fluid from a plastic bag.
Danny watched her tiredly with half open eyes like some abused animal. "Danny?" She asked gently, not quite sure how well he was feeling at the moment. "Uh huh?" he said weakly. Jazz looked a little relieved, a straight answer; that was a good sign. "How… how are you feeling?" "Uuungh." He replied. "Right…" She said sheepishly, not sure of what to say now. They stared at each other for several awkward moments.
"Jazz?" "Yes?" she asked, suddenly attentive. "What happened? You know…. at Vlad's house? "Uh, well, I don't know…" Now Jazz really didn't know what to say, she didn't want to scare her brother by telling him that he died, but wasn't that what really happened? Danny noticed her discomfort, "Jazz," he pressed, "I know you're not telling me something." "Well, he's certainly feeling a little better." She thought to herself. "Jazz!"Danny was starting to sound distressed. "Fine! You sort of… well… died…"
Danny's eyes widened as he glanced at his arm with the needle stuck in it. "I died…" He breathed. "No, it's not like that!" Danny ignored her. "I'm not a werewolf anymore, my werewolf half died!" "What?" Jazz thought for a moment, "No duh, why didn't I think of that?" She thought. "Only silver bullets kill werewolves…" Jazz mused, "Danny was that bullet-" "Yeah, it was silver! That's why that wolf ran off when she saw it…" he paused and took a deep breath, as if the excitement was getting a little overwhelming. "Shh, calm down." She told him softly. "Good grief, for someone who's that heavily drugged with painkillers, he's pretty hyped up." Jazz thought. Danny relaxed and stared back up at his sister, his crystal blue eyes brimming with relief and happiness.
The door opened, revealing the nurse from earlier. "Okay, five minutes is up." Jazz turned to Danny, feeling truly glad for the first time in a long while. Things were finally clearing up. She wiped his dirty bangs out of his face. "I'll come and visit you later okay?" The nurse impatiently tapped the end of his pencil to the clipboard in his hand. "I'll see you later." "Okay." Danny murmured dreamily, suddenly looking tired again. Then the nurse swept out of the room with Jazz close behind.