Fears: Chapter Twenty

Danny's POV:

The rest of the night was long. Danielle woke up and was sick a few more times, and Frostbite still hadn't told us what the test results were, much less what he was testing for. When he finally came back into the room, sometime around midnight, he was holding a file.

"Frostbite?" I asked, standing up. Sam was slouched over in the other chair, asleep, and Kitty and Johnny were asleep on the uncomfortable sofa in the corner of the room.

"Daniel, I've been running some tests."

"And?"

"We can make this go either way she wants," he said.

"How?"

"There's a process we'd have to go about doing. It wouldn't be pleasant, but it's be a lot easier on her, and safer, than what would originally happen."

"How would you do it?"

"There's a chemical within her DNA causing this to happen, I could create the converse of that chemical and give it to her."

"Would it work?"

"Yes," he replied.

"What are the side-effects?"

"Considering that she wants to keep her human half, she'll be a bit nauseous and probably vomit up some more ectoplasm. She may be dizzy for awhile and have trouble keeping her balance, but other than that, she should be fine."

I sighed, feeling relieved for the first time since this all began. I could only hope that Frostbite was right, and that everything would be okay. Even when I'd realized that I wanted Danielle as my daughter, I hadn't realized how much I'd love her. I didn't know I'd love her so much. The thought of losing her just about killed me. It was the most painful thing I'd ever experienced.

"Can we do it tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yes. We'll start it tomorrow afternoon," Frostbite replied.

By the time the following afternoon rolled around, Frostbite had already explained the procedure to everyone and we'd asked Danielle's opinion on it.

She said she wanted to be human, but I could tell that something else was bothering her, and it worried me. As Frostbite got everything set up, he asked everyone else to leave the room. I stayed with Danielle. Frostbite left for a moment, shutting the door behind him, and Danielle sighed loudly.

"What's wrong, honey?" I asked. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"But what?"

She burst into tears, "Will you still love me if I'm not half-ghost like you?"

"Dani, of course I will. Nothing like this would make me stop loving you." I smiled and repeated the words my father had said to me when he found out about my powers. "I will love you whether you're a ghost, a human, or something in between."

With that, I hugged her and wiped the tears off her face. Frostbite walked back in, wheeling an IV pole. "Alright, Danielle, sweetheart, I need your right arm," he said. Danielle lifted her right arm and grasped my hand with her left hand. Frostbite wiped the crook of her elbow with rubbing alcohol. "Okay, this will just be a little pinch, then it might sting a little."

Danielle nodded and squeezed my hand as Frostbite put the needle in. "Ouch!" she yelped. "Ow, it stings."

I looked at the fluid in the IV bag, it was a light blue color and was now dripping into my daughter's veins. "It will stop stinging soon," Frostbite promised. "Would you like an slushy?" he asked.

She nodded and he smiled, "Can I get you anything, Great One?"

"No, I'm fine," I said.

"I'll go see if your friends want anything and I'll be right back with your slushy. Cherry?"

"Yes," Danielle smiled for the first time since we'd been here.

Frostbite left the room and I looked at my daughter. "How do you feel?" I asked her.

"I'm okay," she said. "My stomach just hurts a little." She squeezed my hand, which I just realized she was still holding.

Frostbite walked back in with her slushy and handed it to her. "She needs to get something in her system," he said to me, as he walked back out of the room. "I'll tell everyone they can come back in now."

"Thanks," I said.

After a few minutes, Sam walked in. "Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Johnny and Kitty went to get something for Danielle, and Tucker needed to head back home. My parents said it was fine if I stayed."

"Good," I said, as Danielle slurped on her slushy.

I knew it would only be a matter of time until she got sick again, and I was not looking forward to it.