Here's the next chapter. I accidentally forgot which chapter I was working on, so that sucked. And so It's a ton shorter than it originally was. Ugh. I hope you enjoy, however!
The ride wasn't very long, and most of it was spent watching helplessly as Frostbite tried to wake up Danny, or tend to his wounds. Those once-hushed conversations were quickly becoming louder, and Sam and I had never felt so scared. Danny was our best friend. He was my brother. I was the godfather to his daughter. And what Sam had with Danny was unlike anything I'd ever seen on earth. It made me believe in soul-mates, and all of those other illogical fairy-tales. It was a beautiful thing to watch. Every argument seemed to end in "I love you". It was adorable. And amazing to watch.
Danny was too reckless, and Sam and I were reckless, too, admittedly. But we restricted ourselves in ways Danny didn't. Danny adored his family more than anything. Wanted to be there for them, for us. But Danny also adored the world. He was odd, in that way. I'd never understand how he loved such an ugly and terrible place. But he did. And as reckless as he was for his family, he was also reckless for the world in ways Sam and I were not. Danny would risk his life for the world, but we knew that he needed someone to patch him up. We would always be beside him, but we had to step back sometimes. He needed us. And we were just too human to help him in the ways that he could help others. So we had to keep his secret. We had to be there to catch him when he fell. We had to.
Soon, as it always seems to go in enclosed spaces, the mindless chatters became yelling matches. It was useless to try to calm them. Lancer was attempting to, I noticed. It was useless to complain, or try to stop it, so Sam and I just muttered among ourselves at the rudeness of our peers. Danny was comatose. He had just saved their lives. How hard was it for them to shut up? And his very daughter was sleeping, half-exhausted from our journey to come bring them all to the Far Frozen.
Apparently, Sam and I weren't the only ones to notice their rudeness.
"Excuse me!" Snow Fort commanded, using his prince-voice, instead of the teenage-slang used in the Far Frozen. "Incase you haven't noticed, four of my greatest friends and the greatest allies of my father's kingdom are trying to rest and recuperate. They are exhausted from saving your hides. If you please, would show them some courtesy, and freeze your yaps, I'm sure it'd be much appreciated. I don't care for your conspiracy theories or idle gossip at the moment." I saw Frostbite glance over to his son when he used the slang that was so very unroyal. But he looked proud that his son had made a stand, none-the-less. Everyone had "frozen their yaps" as soon as Snow Fort had spoken, and I smiled gratefully to him.
"I apologize," he said, his princely air remaining, as if he was still trying to intimidate the other passengers, "but I believe that my outburst has awoken the young huntress." Sam chuckled at him, and took the slowly waking Danielle from him.
"It's alright, Snow Fort," Sam replied. "I wanted to see this little princess, anyway." Dani muttered and clung to her mother. It was obvious that she was still tired, but I think that she wanted to wake up some.
"Ih 'addy alri't?" she slurred, and Sam held her a little closer.
"He's going to be, Danielle." She said, looking me dead in the eye. I nodded, and put my arm on her shoulder, like Danny would've, to reassure her. "He'll be okay."
I looked up and noticed a few of the girls on our trip looking at us. I pulled my hand back and raised a brow, but then turned my attention back to Sam and Dani, who was insisting to her mom that she wanted to wake up.
That's when I heard their newest round of whispers.
Who knew she could be so nice to kids?
She's really almost motherly with that twerp!
Yeah, but did you see how attentive Foley was, too?
Yeah, she has to be a slut.
"Excuse me?" I asked, standing up. "What did you just say?"
"None of your busin-" Star began, but I cut her off.
"The minute you talk about my best friend like that, it is my business." I glowered. I felt my face and neck heating up. I couldn't help but think of how Danny would stand beside me in this. Surely, his eyes would be glowing a violent green by now. "Do you guys even stop to think before you whisper gossip to each other?"
"Tuck, it's not worth it," Sam said. I turned at her.
"You know exactly what Danny would've said if he heard you say that?" I felt my voice growing to a yell.
"...Y-yeah." Sam muttered, knowing that I was too lost in my anger to see her reasoning.
"Then do I have to repeat it for you?" I asked. Dani was still sitting in her mother's lap. But she looked far more awake by now. A single look at her now-glowing-green eyes, and I knew she had heard the girl's gossip too.
"Besides," Paulina said, flipping her hair nonchalantly. "You shouldn't ave been listening in. It was a private conversation."
"You were the only ones on the whole goddamn bus talking! Everyone could hear you. Danielle even heard you. So shut the hell up, Sanchez!" At this, Paulina looked a bit taken back. But my anger was too encasing for me to care, and for her to dare talk back further.
"Sam Manson has just been up all day and all night, caring for the kid who just saved your asses. She, Danielle, and I are exhausted. And if not by exertion then, by worry! You guys think you're worried about Danny? Well, guess what? He's our very best friend in the whole world. Not even his parents seem to know how goddamn amazing he is! He's comforted us, saved our lives, and still feels indebted to us. Only Sam, Danielle, and I seem to know that you'd all be dead if it wasn't for him! SO please, recognize that Danny just saved all of your lives, and that Sam Manson just saved him. It takes a lot to be a hero, but I think it takes even more to be the hero to your hero. And that's exactly what Sam is." I pull off my beret, and grip it tightly in my fist. "You guys wouldn't imagine the number of cuts and bruises and torn ligaments and burns and broken things Sam has tended to for Danny." I pull out my PDA. "But you know what? I keep a record. A medical record for the wounds of Danny Fenton, treated by Sam Manson."
"Tucker, please. You'll give the secret away." Sam begged through the connection. It was fuzzy, and foggy, and dying, but I could still make it out.
"I will give nothing away. At the very most, they'll think he self harms. His parents will get him some therapy. He'll insist on Jazz being his therapist, and it'll all be over." I send back, as I pull up Danny's medical record that I started keeping after the original Ghost King incident.
"4798 bruises: Treated with ice and "diabetic bruise defense cream"." I read off. Mr and Mrs Fenton looked horrified at me. "10803 cuts: Treated with astringent and ice, sometimes sewn.
2076 burns, varying degree:. Treated with ice and scar remover.
7 torn ligaments in knee: treated by W&R, (which means wrapped and rested.)
9 sprained ankles: elevated, ice, and W&R.
14 sprained wrists: ice, W&R.
28 gashes: sewn, iced, wrapped, astringent. Rest when much blood is lost.
19 cases of dehydration: water, gatorade, ice, rest.
4 cases of frostbite: warmth, advil, aloe, rest
87 panic attacks: hangers, gentle contact and talking through it.
57 mental breakdowns: letting him cry, talking it out, gentle contact, rest.
1027 KOs: Check his ABC (airway, breathing, circulatory), let him rest a while, wake him up, then check for any head trauma.
268 cases of head trauma: ice, advil, rest, wake up every 4 hours, no food until day after.
And the list goes on and on." I said, looking up from my PDA. Everyone looked at me with wide eyes and slack jaws. " I didn't do any of that. All of that treatment was Sam. We didn't take him to any doctors because he didn't want us to. So Sam always patched him up. This isn't even counting the obviously extreme trauma he's currently experiencing! Wonder how much work Sam had to do with that? How many stitches? How much blood she had to wipe off her hands? How much worry she had while she was making sure he didn't get hurt any further? So don't you dare insult her. Don't you dare insult my best friend. Especially after she just gave my brother, my brother who saved us all, a little more time!" I was yelling and crying, now, I knew. And I'd feel bad about it later. But at the moment, I was so furious, I didn't care.
Danny was comatose. I was half-sure my best friend was going to die, as it was. I had all the confidence in the world in Danny. He could heal quickly, I knew. But he looked practically dead. He was torn to shreds and I was so scared. I was so scared. I felt myself crying, I was as torn apart as Danny was.
"Tucker, it's okay," Sam's voice was gentle. She put a hand on my arm, and I swayed where I stood. I looked back at her and she nodded lightly at me. "It's all okay, Tucker." I fell to my knees and let myself cry in her shoulder. "Shhh..." She muttered, rocking me and Dani gently. "It's all okay. He's gonna be okay. You're going to be okay. It's all okay."
She let me cry for a long while. I love my sister.
Finally, Frostbite cleared his throat. "You should be aware, Tucker of the Tech and Sam of the Very Vegan, that Danny will be in the paws of the greatest medical team ever assembled. Only the best ghosts work at the Far Frozen medical center."
I nodded, slightly, wiping the last traces of tears from my eyes.
"Speaking of that," Snow Fort said, looking outside the window. "We're almost there." Everyone bustled to the windows to look at the beautiful frozen ghost nation that was the far frozen.
Sorry for how long that took me. Woah. But here it is. I hope you enjoyed it. I have the last few chapters ready-to-write in my head, but if you have any suggestions regarding the story, please please please, let me know! No flames, please, and once more. I do not own DP.