A/N: Yay Easter break! And here's the first version of the ending.
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There was a scream and a second shot. Danny collapsed. Ryder collapsed. A smoking gun was in Ryder's hand. A second was in Sam's.
The hostages fled out the broken glass window. Dr. Katz stood next to the hole, helping people through after having tossed a loaded purse through it. The sound of the glass breaking had been masked by the two shots and the screams.
Dr. Katz was too focused on helping the hostages to see the aftermath of the gun fire. She was also too focused to see the police burst in. She did, however, lose focus once a cop began trying to usher her to safety as well.
It was at that moment that she spun to the three. Sam was kneeling by Danny, gun on the ground next to her. The cops were all over Ryder, who was bleeding badly. The man still managed to thrash and try to get at Danny as they pulled him away.
Dr. Katz tugged free from the policeman trying to help her and rushed over to Sam and Danny. She knelt by them. "Where was he hit?"
"I—I d—don't kno—ow," Sam stuttered. The girl was shaking, surprised at herself and her friend. Herself for shooting a man, and her friend for standing up to a man who was pointing a gun at this head.
Dr. Katz checked Danny over. Finally, she found the entry point. "It—It hit him right below his collar bone, right above his heart. I need you to help me keep him from bleeding out."
Sam nodded, following all her instructions. Meanwhile, the police rushed about, helping the hostages and trying to get paramedics in.
"Wh—What happened?" the chief asked as he came over to them.
Dr. Katz turned to Sam. She was about to ask the same thing.
Sam shook her head. "Th—They w—were go—going at i—it agai—ain."
"Take your time," Gibbs soothed her.
"D—Danny was m—mad, so I—I m—moved aw—away. I kn—know he'd be m—madder if I—I got hur—rt. I s—saw D—Dr. Katz get r—ready to brea—eak the w—window, s—so I tr—tried to keep th—them from v—view. B—But then Ryd—der pull—lled his gun, so I p—pulled the o—one Dan—ny had grab—bed earlier. The—They d—didn't even n—notice."
"Then what?" Gibbs prompted when Sam sniffled and rubbed at her eyes. The paramedics had finally gotten through and rushed Danny off.
"H—He raised the g—gun, and I—I c—copied him, 'cau—cause I knew he'd t—try to kill D—Danny. B—But the—they still t—talked m—more. I th—thought Dann—nny had sto—opped him, b—but then R—Ryder aimed, and I aimed, and I pulled the trigger, and I shot him, but he didn't die, and he shot Danny, and Danny's dying because of me!"
Sam openly sobbed now, leaning heavilly on Dr. Katz. The doctor wrapped her arms around Sam before looking at the chief. "There won't be any consequences, correct?"
"No," Gibbs said, "thank God. She can rightly claim self-defense, and I'm sure the other hostages will attest to that. Now, we need to know what charges we can get Ryder on and hope that the ki—Danny will recover."
"It won't be easy for him."
"I know," Gibbs sighed. "He was shot four times now, right?"
"Leg, stomach, knee, and above the heart."
"And you were shot, too, right, miss?" he asked of Sam.
She nodded. "B—but I'm f—fine. You—You need to tell th—the Fen—ntons about—"
"Danny!" a feminine voice screamed from outside. "Where's my son? Where's my Danny?!"
Gibbs stood and went to the distraught woman. Dr. Katz and Sam could only watch as he broke the news to Mrs. Fenton.
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"Are you Maddie Fenton?" Gibbs guessed as he walked towards her.
"Y—Yes! I am! Where's my son?"
"He's being taken to the hospital, ma'am."
A hand flew to her mouth. "What…?" she gasped.
"He's been shot several times over the last few hours, all to stop the robber from hurting any of the hostages."
"W—Will he be alright?"
"We don't know yet. He's in the ER."
"And—And the man who did this, did you—?"
"We have him in custody, ma'am. Thanks to your son and a brave classmate of his." Gibbs nodded towards Ryder.
Maddie turned to look. Ryder smirked upon seeing her, and she scowled.
"Do you know this man?" Gibbs asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes. He's my cousin. He also killed my daughter eleven years ago, but he wasn't charged."
"I see. Anything else, ma'am?"
"Yes. A painless death would be too good for him." She turned to go back to her car, getting in and rushing off to the hospital.
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"This just in—after just three hours, the hostage situation at the Amity Park Bank has come to a close. Police have the would-be robber in custody, being treated for a gunshot to the side. Two teens—names and pictures held back to protect their identities—were also shot. One was treated while inside the Bank by a Dr. Laura Katz. The other was taken to Amity Park Hospital's ER as soon as the robber, one Ian Ryder, was taken in. He is still in critical condition.
"More as we hear it. Back to you, Lance."
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"Geez, Superman," Sam said, rolling her eyes, "think you could not make headlines for a few days?"
Sure enough, Danny and Sam's annonymity had quickly been shattered after the incident. Kids at school had quickly noticed that Sam avoided wearing the sleeveless shirts and tank tops she normally donned for T-shirts and jackets instead. And, since Danny wasn't allowed to leave the hospital yet, their classmates realized he was the other teen involved.
Thankfully, the press hadn't told the whole story, so they simply assumed he'd been an unlucky hostage.
While staying at the hospital, Danny had gotten frequent visits from his parents, sister, friend Tucker, and Sam. Dr. Katz had even taken over his case. After what they'd gone through taking care of him during the robbing, Sam and Dr. Katz were filled in on Danny's status as a half-ghost.
His sister and Tucker were concerned, at first, but quickly found that it both made his stay at the hospital simpler and that the two were trustworthy.
However, Sam still enjoyed teasing him about it.
"Seriously, quit it with the 'Superman', okay?" he complained. Then he smiled. "Unless you want me to call you Lois…?"
She scowled. "Shut it."
He laughed as Tucker walked in. "Hey, guys. So, Dan, while you were making headlines, your sis made the news."
Danny blinked. "Wha—?"
Tucker chuckled, then slipped a portable DVD player into Danny's lap. He waved Sam over, then pressed play.
"And in other news," the reporter said, "local teen almost burns down house due to watching TV while making dinner."
Danny burst out laughing. "That's right! She was cooking when I left! How—? What happened?"
"Like they said, she'd been watching TV while cooking, and her show cut to the scene of the robbery. She apparently fainted when she saw you there. Lucky your mom was still home, or the place would've burnt down."
"Lucky my mom knows how to put out fires better than she knows how to cook."
That caused them all to laugh, but Danny cut into a coughing fit. His two friends panicked, trying to calm him.
"I—I'm okay. J—Just too much t—talking." He laid a hand on the gun wound above his heart, wincing slightly.
The mood turned somber. Sam and Tuck both remembered how close a call it'd been for Danny after getting to the ER. The bullet had caused unnecessary pressure on his left lung, so far a while, Danny had been in an oxygen mask, unable to breathe on his own. It had taken a while, but Danny was finally able to have the mask off. There were still times, and would be for a while, where he would break out in coughing fits, either from too much talking or attempting to breathe too deeply. Only the most harmful bit of pressure had been able to be taken off his lung, so he had to be careful.
Still, Dr. Katz had assured his parents that Danny would fully recover, though he may have asthma. To Danny and his friends, it was as though the second part had never been said—except for moments like this, where the asthma acted up.
But, as Danny got used to it, those moments became few and far between. Sam, and Tucker later as well, attributed Danny's amazing healing to the fact that he'd finally gotten to see Ryder arrested and put behind bars.
With Ryder in custody, Maddie's family all had quickly stepped forward with stories of crimes that happened in their hometowns while Ryder was 'visiting'. With all the witnesses and testimonies, Ryder had been sentenced to life.
And there had been much rejoicing among the Fentons and friends.
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A/N: Vote which ending you think should be the 'true' ending!