A/N: Yay Easter break! And here's the second 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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"And in other news, local teen almost burns down house due to watching TV while making dinner. Luckily, her mother was at home and put out the fire before it spread too far."
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"Geez, Superman," Sam said quietly, "you just can't stay out of the headlines, can you?"
Tucker sighed next to her. "Of course he can't. He's never been able to, Fenton or—or not."
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. Tucker and Jazz had taken on the job of telling them, realizing that they deserved it after helping him so much. It had taken a while, but both Tuck and Jazz got used to having two more people in on the secret.
But then Danny took a turn for the worst.
The pressure by his heart and lungs had become too much. He'd lived for a week on an oxygen mask and an IV, but it still didn't save him. His lungs had started to collapse, and it got to the point where he told his parents to take him off the support.
They protested, of course. However, they soon realized that he was determined to attempt surviving on his own.
So they took him off. For a week, he managed to live on his own power, and his friends, sister, and parents visited everyday. He appeared happy, but unable to speak, having to write out what he wanted to say on a notepad by his bed.
They continued in this way for a while, and Danny seemed to be getting better.
Especially when they found out that Ryder had been sentenced to life. 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'.
And there had been much rejoicing among the Fentons and friends.
The whole extended family (Maddie's side, that is) came to see Ryder be put away. And while they were visiting, they stopped by to see Danny.
In fact, a lot of people stopped over to see him. Kids at school had found out that he was one of the two teens in the news, having 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.
They came to see him all the time, especially after the news reporters announced that he'd been the one to help put Ryder behind bars. The table by his bed was soon filled and even overflowing with Get Well Soon! cards and flowers. The flowers had to be moved after the doctors realized they were causing Danny even more difficulty with his breathing.
Dr. Katz had taken charge of Danny's case, trying to help as much as she could and doing more than his other doctors because she knew of his half-ghost status. For a while, he was doing better. He'd even started joking around with his friends and laughing again, even though the laughing would quickly turn into coughing fits.
Sam and Tucker were just pleased to have their friend back, even if they could only see him at the hospital. They got to a point where Danny was joking with them (using the notepad, of course), and it seemed he'd fully recovered, even despite his inability to speak.
So it was a shock to them all when Dr. Katz wouldn't let them in to see him one day.
They had, of course, been annoyed. They pleaded with her to let them in, but it wasn't until the Fentons came that she told them the bad news.
Danny's lungs had fully collapsed overnight. The left one just gave out, and Dr. Katz had given him some medication to deaden the pain. He had passed in his drug-induced sleep.
Which is why Sam and Tucker were standing out in the rain, speaking to a stone.
"H—He should've made it," Sam said. "After all he did to stop Ryder—" She sighed. "He could've at least used his powers to stop him…."
"He wouldn't have. He faced Ryder the first time before he got his powers. He wanted to take him down without them, and he did." Tucker hugged Sam. "He managed to put Ryder away. That's really all he's wanted to do since he met him."
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A/N: Vote which ending you think should be the 'true' ending!