Chapter 2: Danny!

Jack threw down the Fenton Fisher and pulled out The Fenton Ghost Drain. His grin filled his entire face.

"I've been waiting for a chance to test this baby!" Taking aim; Jack fired upon the cat ghost causing it to howl in pain. Then, as the pink beam continued, it began to mewl and curl up into itself.

"Jazz, the thermos!" her father called. Jazz noticed it on the floor and grabbed it. Pulling herself to her feet, she aimed the uncapped thermos at the ghost.

It watched Jazz closely as she took a few steps towards it. Without warning, the cat ghost leaped at her and before Jazz had a chance to react; it changed its target to her father, or more specifically: his gun. With one powerful swipe of its paw, the gun was knocked out of his grasp. It scattered onto the floor, shooting a few stray blasts before disappearing under Danny's bed.

Before the ghost could do more harm, a beam of light hit the creature and pulled it away into the thermos held in Jazz's hands. Everything was eerily quiet. Slowly, she lowered her arms, not caring that she was trembling. At the foreground of her mind was-

"Mom!" She ran to the shattered window, scanning the ground for any sign of her mother.

"I'm alright dear," Maddie replied from behind her. She put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. Jazz whirled around, confused.

"How-?"

"I'm not quite sure. It all happened so fast. I was falling from the window and the next thing I knew, I was back in the house" She hefted the ghost gauntlets. "Now where's that ghost?" Jazz smiled and answered by waving the thermos, then squeezed her mother in a tight hug, which was returned.

"Are you all alright?" Jack asked, concerned.

"Yes, but Danny's hurt..." Jazz looked back at the empty spot where Danny had been earlier. Immediately, everyone began searching for him, calling his name, and hoping for an answer.

Jazz finally spotted him outside, on his back. She wondered if he had fallen. It was right under the broken window.

"He's over here!" she called as she ran down the stairs and outside to him. "Everything's going to be alright, Danny." His lips and skin were drained of colour and she started to panic. He didn't appear to be breathing. "Mom! Dad!" Jazz's voice grew higher. His skin was sweaty and cool to the touch.

Her entire body seemed to move in slow motion as she tilted her little brother's head back and began to perform CPR. The world melted away in her tears, her attention entirely focused upon Danny's face.

Danny's heart had leaped into his throat when his mom went through that window. Despite his condition, he forced himself to transform and dive after her, phasing through the wall and catching her from hitting the hard ground. Quickly flying back into the room, he let her down and turned to continue the fight when his vision was abruptly interrupted by bright pink lights then... nothing.

He woke up in his bed, thoughts swirling around in his head. Had he gotten out of the way in time? Danny wondered. Wait a minute, what was he doing in bed? Was it all just a dream? A quick glance showed everything as it should be: no broken window, no shards of glass. In fact, there were no signs that a fight had ever taken place. He felt his face and looked himself over. There were no bruises, no cuts; he was perfectly fine. A yawn overtook him and he stretched. Man, if only he could feel this good all the time. Ghost hunting had left him on the brink of exhaustion, so waking up and feeling refreshed was a nice change.

He sat up and swung his legs over the edge. His entire body felt so relaxed, he regretted having to get up. Why did it have to be a school day? At least he had plenty of time to get ready; according to his clock, it was only 7 a.m. Gathering his will to move, he stood up and was surprised when his legs wobbled and gave way.

"Whoa!" Danny toppled to the ground. "Ok, maybe I slept too well." His sense of balance was out of whack, but he adjusted. He showered and dressed, wondering why these simple activities tired him. Blaming ghosts, he grabbed his backpack and carefully headed downstairs, one hand on the wall to keep himself steady.

His family was there, engaged in the usual. His mom and dad were working on another of their inventions, and Jazz was reading one of her thick books, but something was different. The atmosphere felt dull and dreary, and they all looked so... sad. Danny leaned against the door frame.

"What's wrong? Did somebody die?" he asked, his voice sounding a bit hoarse. Startled, Jack dropped the mug of coffee he had been about to drink and it shattered onto the floor. They stared at him as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Jazz's mouth hung open, which mirrored Maddie's expression perfectly. Quickly, Danny check himself over to make sure he wasn't in Phantom form. 'Ok. That's new.' he thought, confused.

"D-Danny?" Maddie whispered, covering her mouth with her hand. She approached him slowly, as if he were a fragile vase. Touching his face, his mother burst into tears and enveloped him in a hug as if her life depended on it. The others unfroze from their state of shock and soon he was in the middle of one big family hug.

"Danny!" they all exclaimed, crying and laughing at the same time. Danny was at a loss for words. His family was acting bizarre... well, more bizarre than usual. They dragged him over to the table, where he gratefully sat down to a huge plate of food that had been placed before him. Maddie, Jack and Jazz watched him from their respective seats as he took a bite.

"Mmmm, good," he said, smiling uneasily. Their intense stares unnerved him and pretty much killed his appetite. He got up and leaned against the chair. "Well, I should be getting to school. Got that history test today." '...that I didn't study for. Joy,' he added silently.

"You... you have no idea what happened, do you?" Jazz said. He shrugged. She laid her hands on his shoulders, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath before meeting his gaze. "You've been in a coma for the past three weeks." Jazz said with such a serious face that Danny had to laugh.

"What? Okay, I admit my balance is a little off today, but come on."

"Your sister's right, I'm afraid." Maddie said. She handed him a copy of that day's newspaper. His eyes widened when he saw the date. This had to be a joke. It had to.

"We were beginning to wonder if you would ever wake up. Ever since that ghost fight..." Jack trailed off. "Anyway, you should take it easy for a while, Danny. Frankly son, I'm amazed you're standing."

"You're serious? I dreamt a ghost trashed my room, but that really happened?" They nodded. Danny's head suddenly felt light as he tried to absorb all this. Had there been ghost attacks while he was 'out'? That thought didn't sit well with him either. "I-I don't feel so good." He held a hand to his head.

"Jazz, please help your brother back to bed," Maddie requested. Jazz was way ahead of her, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and guiding him back upstairs. Once in bed again, Danny felt somewhat better. He shook his head in disbelief.

"What happened?" he asked her. Jazz bit her lip. She told him how she had found him. Danny was shocked to hear how close he had come to dying. The doctors were able to revive him, but since then, he had been in a deep coma. It had been a week ago that his family brought him home in hopes that familiar surroundings would help him recover.

"And it finally paid off," Jazz smiled, ruffling her brother's hair. "Welcome back."

~ phantom130 5 (September 2013)