Author's Notes: Another chapter rolls off the presses. I was really stuck on this one, which is the reason for the delay. Parts of this chapter had to be rewritten quite a few times aqnd for good reason: the first few drafts stunk. Luckily, my beta, Cordria, and her watchful eye helped me iron out the rought parts. Also thanks to Micheal JJ, who took the time to review it as well. I hope you enjoy it, as it should satisfy all those who wanted to kill me the last chapter… or will it?
Lost and Found Chapter 11: Hugs and Kisses
A groan echoed through the room as its sole occupant awoke from his slumber. He groggily opened his eyes, only to find darkness greeting him. As he adjusted to the lack of light, he could make out a model rocket and planets hanging from the ceiling. His wandering gaze also found a telescope that stood next to the tightly closed window. His mind, still sluggish and groggy from his recent sleep, slowly put the pieces together until it donned on him where he had woken up.
Moving at a snail's pace, Danny Fenton shifted himself into a seated position and found it hard to navigate his limbs, which were racked with a soreness that seemed to envelope his entire body. After a few moments of struggling, he allowed his weight to lean back onto the headboard of his bed and quickly regretted it as a burst of pain shot up his back. A hiss erupted from his lips as he shot forward. Propping his pillow behind him, the teen carefully positioned himself onto the down-filled cushion.
With his body now in a relatively comfortable position, Danny tried to piece together the missing pieces of his memory. A foggy haze still hung in his mind as to how and why he ended up in his room. He knew from his soreness that he was in a battle of some sort, but the details were still sketchy in his mind. He tried to grasp at the last conscious memories before he passed out, but they seemed to elude his grasp. It was as if his mind was playing tricks on him, trying to keep him from something and the frustration that resulted only seemed to fuel him even more.
It was then that they came and he instantly regretted his search. The memories first began as a trickle. He remembered being in his parents lab, waiting impatiently for the procedure on his ailing cousin to take place. He remembered the tension being so palpable, so intense. He had held his breath when his mother activated the machine and only let it go after he saw the smiles on his parents' faces. The hope in his heart swelled at that moment. He could feel Raven's hands squeezing his tightly as he and his friends watched things unfold.
And then everything went to hell.
The memories came at him faster now, like a torrent that threatened to drown him. His parents had become more and more fervent and agitated with their efforts and he could tell that something was wrong, though they tried to
hide it. It was then that the sounding of the alarms had nearly stopped his heart. He watched as the computer screens light up his vision with a bloody crimson, deflating the hope in his heart and replacing it with cold dread. Her screams of pain shook his very core as he watched her writhe in agony. He wanted to do something, anything.
As he sat in his bed, Danny's hands balled up into fists as the rest of the memories flew past his eyes in a blur. He remembered the blast that had hit him when he tried to disconnect the machine's power. He remembered how much he struggled as he held back the waves of power that threatened his cousin's life. He remembered the fear she had in her eyes when she began to melt away, a fear that turned into a smile as she tried to thank him for all he done before oblivion swept over him.
"Why?" he asked the darkness of his room. Why couldn't they… why could he save her? The questions echoed in his mind incessantly, threatening to drive him insane. He and his parents had tried so hard to save her and give her a chance at a normal life, something he had always taken for granted. After everything she had went through in the past year, she deserved something more than what fate had handed her. She deserved a family and people who loved and cared about her. And now she would never have the chance. It wasn't fair. "Damn it!" he cried out in grief. The halfa's shoulders began to shake as sobs erupted from his lips.
The teen hero was in such a state of distress that he failed to notice that he was no longer alone. A warm, motherly embrace took the teen by surprise. Blinking back tears, he looked up to find his mother, who had entered the room moments earlier. Maddie held fast to her son, stroking his hair in an effort to calm him down.
"It's all right," she spoke softly. "Everything is fine, Danny."
Her words were meant to calm him down but they seemed to have the opposite effect on the halfa. A sudden wave of guilt overwhelmed him, causing him to overt his eyes from her warm gaze. He tried and failed to fight the urge to cry into her shoulder. "I-I'm so sorry," he sobbed. "I tried so hard to save her… I tried, but I couldn't…" The tears continued to flow as he babbled his apology.
"Danny, its fine," she consoled. "Danielle's just fine."
Her words seemed to hit him like a Mack truck, releasing him from his stupor. "What?"
Maddie stifled a laugh at her son's expense. "Danny, she's alive. Danielle is sleeping soundly in her guest room."
Danny could only stare back dumbfounded by her revelation. He wanted desperately to believe his mother but at the same time, he had seen Dani melt away, hadn't he? "But …. I saw her…"
"I know it's hard to believe," she interrupted, "I'm still not sure that even I believe it, to be honest with you. But I'm telling you the truth, Danny. She's alive and it's thanks to you."
"Me?!" Danny was even more bewildered now than he was before. "How did I…?"
As he tried to wrap his mind around everything, Mrs. Fenton got up to turn on the lamp on Danny's nightstand, instantly bathing the room with illumination. She returned to her seat at her son's side before she continued. "Your father and I are still a bit unclear on all the details. Do you remember what happened?" His response to her was a nod. "When we saw you fly into the chamber, we didn't know how to react. I could have sworn my heart had gotten stuck in my throat. And then your shield failed and we saw the rings around your waist…" Her voice began to falter as she relived those moments in her mind. "I thought I had lost you both.
"But then, something happened, something that wasn't anything short of a miracle. When the energy hit you, it should have…" Unable to finish the sentence, she let it die there. "But you didn't. Instead, we think your body absorbed most of the energy from the blast. We think it might have been because you were unconscious and you weren't resisting. The shock of the blast forced you to transform back into your ghost form."
"That's why I'm still alive?" he asked meekly.
"That's why you're both alive," she explained. "You were holding on to Danielle's hand before you lost consciousness. Your body absorbed so much energy that when you transformed, the energy transferred to her as well. I saw the rings transfer from you to her before the flash."
"Flash?"
Maddie nodded. "The rest of the energy you absorbed had to go somewhere. Your transformation gave off a large burst of energy that fed back into the sequencer, causing it to overload."
"Overload?" her son said in a panicked voice. "Is everyone ok? Did anyone get hurt?"
"They're fine sweetie," she reassured. "Raven managed to put up one of her shields in time. Your father actually just got back from driving everyone home."
Digesting his mother's story, Danny just sat there for a few moments. "And you're sure she's okay?"
She nodded in response. "We still have to run a battery of tests to make sure she doesn't relapse, but yes. From the scans we took after the incident, she seemed more than stable enough. In fact, thanks to the healing factor you two seem to have, she should be fully recovered by tomorrow."
Danny let out a sigh of relief. She was fine after all. In some weird way he had saved her, though he knew it was by complete chance. It could have easily gone the other way, though that didn't stop the halfa from sporting a large smile. It wasn't what anyone was expecting but he wasn't one to complain about good fortune.
Maddie smiled back at her son, though tears began to form in her eyes. Something began to build up within her as she watched him until she finally was unable to contain it. Her arms soon found their way around him again, though this time her embrace was much tighter than it was before. "I'm so happy that both of you are alright," she stated in a somber tone. "If we had lost either of you, I don't know what we'd do." Her grip on him was firm, as if she had no intention of ever letting him go.
"Mom?" he asked warily. Her tone of voice was causing his apprehension to run high. "Are you okay?" He managed to pull away from her enough to notice that her eyes were bloodshot.
Maddie placed her hands on his shoulders as she began to speak. "I want you to know that I never meant for you or Danielle to get hurt. It's my fault that things went so badly…"
"There was no way you could have known that was going to happen, Mom," he countered.
"I should have factored in that there might have been feedback. I should have factored in a lot of things." She let her arms fall to her sides in defeat. "I don't know how I can even consider myself a respectable paranormal investigator. We rushed through everything so hazardously… if only we had taken more time to run simulations…"
"Mom," Danny said in the sternest voice he could muster. The severity of his voice caught the elder ghost hunter's attention. "Mom, you shouldn't blame yourself. I know you and Dad did the best you could under the circumstances. We all knew the risks; we all knew that there was a chance things could go wrong."
"But we put both of you in so much danger…."
"No buts," he interrupted. If it was any other time, he would found the role reversal to be quite ironic. "Sometimes things just happen. That's just how life is. The important thing is that we're okay. I don't blame you and I'm pretty sure Dani doesn't, either."
Maddie nodded silently. She probably had Raven to thank for her son's sudden wisdom. "I think we need to get some sleep," she said after a few thoughtful moments. After turning off the nearby lamp, she made her way to the hallway door. "Sleep tight, dear."
"Sure thing, Mom," he replied.
Smiling, she exited the room, closing the door behind her. The smile faded as she made her way back to the room she shared with Jack. Despite Danny's words, she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt over everything that happened. It seemed that once again one of their experiments had put their children in danger. She vowed to herself that she would never let anything like that happen again.
DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP
The summer sun soon began to rise over Amity Park, flooding the city with its warm rays and waking up those still lost in slumber. Awakening Raven from her sleep , its warm touch caressed her cheeks. The sorceress stirred, stretching her arms as she took in her surroundings. She was in Danielle's room, a book in her lap as she sat in a chair next to the girl's bed. Raven had made it her duty to watch the girl last night, making sure that she didn't relapse. Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case. After the Fentons did their preliminary tests, Raven used her magic to check on the girl herself. Her results confirmed with theirs: any signs of Dani's former ailment were quickly receding.
Raven walked over to her patient's side to once again check on her progress. After doing a quick scan, she couldn't help but allow a smile creep upon her lips. She found that Dani was all but fully recovered and was quite pleased with the girl's quick return to health. She knew that the younger halfa meant a lot to Danny and had even found a place in her own heart (not that she'd admit it). She was glad to see that the girl was going to have another chance at life, much like the chance Raven got after the defeat of father. It was one of the many reasons why she was a Titan to begin with: to save lives and give second chances.
She slowly got up, making sure not to wake the sleeping ghost girl and proceeded to leave the room. Entering the hallway, the sorceress stole a glance down the hall and her smile fell. She stood frozen there as her mind began to wander to her other patient. Raven's eyebrow furrowed and a solemn look crossed her face as memories from the night before resurfaced and along with them, the emotions she felt at the time. She placed her hand on the wall to steady herself and took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
The truth was that the night before had hit her more than she had cared to admit even to herself. Fear, dread, and grief swept though her mind and threatened to unhinge her as she relieved what she thought at the time was the death of one she cared a great deal for. The moment the flash had engulfed them, it'd felt as if her heart was literally
ripped out of her chest. Despite the relief she felt after seeing he had indeed survived, she still felt shaken and unhinged.
Raven took another calming breath and tried to collect herself. She closed her eyes and whispered her meditative chant under her breath but it seemed to have little effect on her current state. Opening her eyes again, she focused her gaze on one of the doors down the hall. She had a feeling that the only way her emotions were going to calm down was to go see him and make sure he was alright. Quietly, she made her to his door and hesitated momentarily before turning the knob.
She entered the room as cautiously and silently as she could. Crossing the threshold, she closed the door behind her and let her eyes search the room for him. Her gaze locked onto his sleeping form immediately as he lay on his bed. Raven let out a lungful of air she never realized she had held. She silently chided her previous anxieties though she could feel a wave of relief wash over her.
It was then that she let her current location set in: she was in his room.
The irony of the situation was not lost to her. She, of all people, knew the importance of privacy and personal space. Her guilt, however, was soon forgotten as her curiosity got the better of her as she let her eyes begin to wander about the room, taking everything in. She noticed from the various space related memorabilia that littered it that a certain theme permeated Danny's room. What caught her violet eye the most was the telescope that stood on its stand next to the halfa's window. Finding it intriguing, she made her way over to the device and began to examine it. Her fingers lightly traced the outside of the device carefully as if she were afraid it would break.
"I can show you how to use it if you want."
The sound of his voice surprised her and caused her to spin on a dime. She found him staring at her with his piercing blue eyes and sporting a large grin.
"I mean, not now, since the suns still out," he continued, "But at night, the view is amazing."
She found that her words were caught in her throat as she stood there unmoving. All she could see were his eyes, the same eyes that always seemed to take her breath away whether he was in ghost or human form. She could feel something in her stir and before she knew, the gap between them had closed. Her arms seemed to have minds of their own as they snaked around his neck and pulled him in closer.
Their lips touched, sending a spark down both their backs. Though Danny was surprised at first, he quickly reciprocated her kiss and applied some pressure of his own. He noticed immediately the neediness in the way she
assailed his lips and the way the grip of her arms seemed to tighten as time passed. Then, just as quickly as kiss started, it abruptly ended. Danny felt her pull away from him sharply and watched as she averted her gaze. "Rae?" he asked with concern in his voice, "Are you alright?"
Her face mirrored the conflict that clearly played out in her mind. On one hand Raven was relieved to see him awake and doing okay. On the other hand, another side of her, a side she didn't necessarily like, begged to be let out. Eventually something seemed to click and she answered the halfa's query, though it wasn't the verbal response her was expecting. The sound of her hand hitting his face was deafening as it seemed to echo in the enclosed space. Danny's hand shot immediately to his now tender cheek as he starred back at her dumbfounded. Staring back was him was an angry scowl.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?' she asked with barely contained vehemence.
His response contained a mix of bewilderment and anger. "What the… what are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about yesterday. How you almost got yourself killed jumping into who knows what kind of danger without even thinking. That's what I'm talking about."
Danny stayed in stunned silence before beginning to speak. "Rae…"
"What were you even thinking? Were you even thinking? Do you realize how easily things could have gone wrong? It was a fluke that you and Danielle even survived that." Raven turned away from him in an effort to hide the moisture that threatened to leave her eyes. Despite this, a hint of emotion seeped into her words, betraying her. "When we saw your shield go down and saw that flash, I thought that we lost you."
"Rae, I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry like that. I just wanted to save her…"
"I know you did," Raven said in a softer tone. "I know that there's a side of you that would do anything to help those you care about. That's… that's one of the things I like about you. But there is a fine line between being courageous and just plain being stupid. You could have died yesterday."
"But I didn't and neither did Dani," Danny replied, dismissing her concerns. "Everything turned out fine."
His response earned him a raised eyebrow from her. "And what happens the next time? What happens when you do die? Ever think about that? What happens to your parents and Jazz and Danielle and Sam and Tucker then? What happens to me then?"
Danny found that he wasn't able to answer any of her questions. The halfa looked away sadly. They stayed like this, unable to say anything to each other, until Danny found something to say. "Do you know what she said to me?" he asked. "You know what Dani said to me yesterday, before you came to heal her? She told me that she didn't want to die." He let his cousin's quote sink in. "How the hell do I say no to that? How do I just stand by and watch her die without trying to do anything?"
Raven was afraid to even look at his face, though she forced herself to do so anyway. His eyes seemed to almost plead with her, asking her the same questions he asked, the same questions she didn't have an answer for.
Before she could formulate a response, the sound of Danny's bedroom door could be heard as it opened. Dani's head peaked in, quickly scanning the room. A smile erupted from her face the moment she spotted her cousin on the bed. Like a rocket, the younger halfa essentially tackled Danny, knocking the wind right out of him.
"Danny!" she cried. "I was so worried about you!"
The ghost boy couldn't help but smile. "I should be asking you the same thing, cous. Are you doing okay?"
"I'm doing great!" she responded exuberantly. "I've never even felt this fantastic before in my entire life. And… it's all thanks to you."
Danny's hand gently patted her head and playfully ruffled her hair. "Don't worry about it, cous. I'm just glad you're cured now."
Dani smiled cheerfully. Her cousin noticed that most, if not all of the spunkiness she had when they had first met was back with a vengeance, which was a very good sign. The bonding moment between the cousins was suddenly interrupted by the particularly loud rumbling of one of their stomachs. A blush spread across Dani's face as she held her belly guiltily.
"Looks like you're in need of some breakfast," Danny stated in between chuckles. "Let's see if Mom has anything cooked up for us. Hey, Raven, want to j…" He stopped midsentence, noticing that Raven was nowhere to be found.
"Raven was here?" the younger halfa asked, looking around the room.
"Forget it. Hey, I'll meet you downstairs, kiddo." Danny ruffled her hair again, educing a cry of protest. Dani frowned in protest, sticking her tongue out before she began heading out the door. Stopping half way across the room, she turned around and returned to the side of her cousin's bed. She tenderly kissed him on the cheek before dashing out the door.
Danny grinned at the girl's sign of affection, glad that she was safe, at least for now. His expression hardened as his mind went back to Raven and the complications that threatened their relationship. "How do I get myself into these things?" He signed as he managed to get himself out of bed. Today was going to be a long one.
DPRRDPRRDPRRDPRRDPRRDP
Raven quietly closed the door to her room, heaving a sigh that let go all the tension that had built up just moments ago. She chided herself for letting things devolve like this. She should have meditated before she went to see Danny but instead, she let her emotions run free during their exchange, further complicating matters. She meant only to voice her concerns but ended up attacking him.
Deciding that it was best that she calm her emotions before she saw Danny again, Raven took a seat on her bed Indian style and began to meditate silently. The last thing she needed was for things to get worse between them.
DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP
After taking a shower and getting dressed, Danny felt a bit more upbeat. Climbing down the stairs, the raven haired teen made his way to the kitchen, eager to fill his empty stomach. Apparently, he wasn't the only one to have the idea. He found that the kitchen table had two occupants, who were eagerly filling themselves to their heart's content. The first person was his father, Jack, who was no stranger to their kitchen and who was currently making short work of some scrambled eggs and bacon. Seated at the other side of the table was none other than Danielle. The young girl was surprisingly keeping up with the elder Fenton, matching him bite by bite. She ate as if she hadn't had a decent meal in months, which unfortunately was probably the case.
Danny broke his concentration away from the table and instead made his way to his mother and sister, who were standing off to the side, watching the scene unfold with bemused expressions on their faces. "I never thought I'd see the day where someone could be a challenge to Dad when it came to eating," Jazz commented with a grin.
"As long as they leave something for me," Danny stated with a smile of his own. He was glad that among other things, the girl's appetite had returned. At least there was some good news recently. Her condition had been such a burden on his heart for the past few days that seeing her out of bed and smiling made everything worth it. He continued to watch them gorge themselves until a gagging sound began to be heard from the smaller of the two.
Dani's cheeks became a slight shade of blue as she began choking on her breakfast. Danny was by her side in under a second, patting her back in hope that they could dislodge the offending chunk of food. It finally took a rather large
whack from Jack to clear her throat, causing the girl to sputter and cough. Maddie immediately placed a cup of water in front her, which she immediately downed in seconds.
"Take it easy, cous," Danny teased. "The food isn't going anywhere. And by the way…" He innocently pointed at the corner of her mouth. "I don't all of the food made it to your stomach."
Dani began to blush. Grabbing a towel, she wiped off the syrup that covered the edges of her lips. "I'm sorry," she apologized bashfully. "It's just that… it was so good!" She turned towards Maddie. "Thank you very much for the breakfast, Mrs. Fenton."
"It was nothing dear," the matriarch replied. "Though I can't take all of the credit. Jazz helped me a quite a bit this morning."
"Making sure that she doesn't use the ecto-enhanced cookware, I assume?" Danny whispered to his sister.
Jazz crinkled her nose. "Why do you think the food isn't attacking us?" she whispered back, hiding a grin.
"Alright, everyone," Maddie called, catching everyone's attention, "Once breakfast is done, I'm going to need Danny and Danielle to head downstairs to the lab to run a few tests." She heard a stifled groan from Danny. "That's not a request, young man." Her demeanor then softened. "I just want to make sure there isn't any lasting damage from last night, sweetie. I also want to make sure that Danielle's recovery is running smoothly."
"No problem, Mom," he answered. He was actually glad for the distraction, which would at least get his mind off of his romantic situation.
"Before that, I think there is something we need to discuss. As a family." Maddie pulled up a chair and sat next to Dani, who now had a perplexed look on her face. "Dani, we were wondering how liked here?"
The girl suddenly fell ill to a sudden case of shyness. "Its fine, I guess," she nervously stammered.
Placing her hand on top of Dani's, Maddie gave her a warm, reassuring smile. "Everyone have been talking things over and we wanted to know if… if you wanted to stay with us."
Silence blanketed the room as the Fentons awaited the girl's response. She sat there frozen, her eyes wide as dinner plates. "You want me to stay with you?" she finally managed to reply.
"Even better than that!" Jack boasted. "How would like to join the Fenton clan?"
The question had quite an overwhelming effect on her. Her gaze went from Fenton to the next, finding that each of them was smiling thoughtfully at her. "You… you really want me?"
"Of course we do, cous," the older halfa assured. "It's like I told you before: you're family. And not just my family, but theirs as well."
"You're practically part of the family anyway," Jazz chimed in. "And I don't know about everyone else but it'd be great to finally have another girl in the house, especially to annoy Danny when I go off to college this fall."
"Hey!"
Jazz and Danny's friendly exchange cause Danielle to finally break out of her shocked stupor as a giggle erupted from her lips. Truth of the matter was that though she liked the Fentons… a lot, she never expected them to want her to stay with them. She thought that they saved her life because of Danny and that she would be back on the road again to fend for herself when things were through. The fact that they actually wanted her... it was more than her mind could handle. The halfa suddenly felt moisture form onto her cheeks. She curiously wiped it off with her hand, realizing that it was a tear: she had begun to cry. "I-" she began with a trembling voice, "I…" Despite her tears, a smile erupted from the girls lips. She found herself hugging the closest person in the room, Maddie. "Thank you!" she cried, her voice muffled by Mrs. Fenton's hazmat suit.
The rest of the occupants smiled as they welcomed the new addition to the weirdness that was the Fenton household.
AN: AWWWWWWW!! So cute. Finally, some good vibes coming out of the Fenton household. Not all is well, though. Will Danny and Raven be able to patch things up? Will Sam jump in to claim what is rightfully hers? With Dani now healed, will Vlad come in to cause trouble? Stay tuned to the next chapter to find out!