And the sequel to Letting Go is FINALLY here. I'm sorry this took forever to write, but as a rule I never write a story unless I absolutely know how I want it to go. So, I had some inspiration today when I was looking over Letting Go and a few hours later here it is, Enjoy!
I peeked out at Danny and Sam through the doorway of the kitchen, and an adoring smile came to my lips. They had fallen asleep on the couch; Sam curled against Danny, whose arms were wrapped around her in a gentle embrace. Their clothes were stark contrasts of each other. Danny was wearing a completely white tux while Sam wore a black wedding dress that fell to the floor around them, as if proclaiming that that space was theirs and theirs alone.
I looked outside to see snow falling lightly through the dark night, only illuminated by the light shining through the windows. It was certainly different from the crisp, fall day when I had last seen them before they had gone back to their apartment in New York. They had decided to come back for their wedding because most of the guests would come from right here in Amity Park. They had a simple wedding at a small church near the school. Besides a few people from New York it was just me, Jack, Jazz, Tucker, and Mr. Lancer.
Tucker wouldn't stop calling them oblivious lovebirds, although, unlike in their teenage years, they were anything but oblivious. Mr. Lancer looked very proud of Danny, and how he turned out, and hadn't been surprised when he received a wedding invitation a few months back. I knew that at one point in high school, Mr. Lancer was worried that Danny was falling behind and he wouldn't get a chance to get his dream job. But Danny was on a career path towards becoming an astronaut, and he and Sam seemed very excited about the events to come later in his career.
After the wedding, we came back to the house for a reception. It was a small gathering, as was to be expected after the simple wedding Danny and Sam had planned. They wanted the whole day to be spent with close friends and family, so they could catch up with everybody and share their special day with a select few. Everybody seemed more than happy to each be able to spend some quality time talking with the newlyweds.
Most of the guests had gone home a few hours after dark, leaving the house shrouded in a blanket of silence and calm. Jazz planned to spend the night before heading back to Chicago where had she gone to live once she had finished college. She was building up a reputation as a well-renowned psychologist within the city, and was set on releasing some new research to the field within the next few years. Jack and Jazz had both went to bed, leaving just Maddie downstairs with the newlyweds. With one last glance at the couple on the couch, Maddie turned back into the kitchen where she proceeded to clean up the dishes left over from the reception. After that was done, she decided to go to bed and started turning all the lights off. She walked towards the living room, planning to let Danny and Sam just sleep there instead of bothering them. But as she was turning the lights off, she realized they weren't there. Figuring they had woken up and gone upstairs, she headed upstairs as well, knowing they would be back down in the morning to share breakfast with the family.
As she was walking towards her bedroom, she heard the low murmur of voices coming from the op center. She headed up into the op center and spied Sam and Danny sitting side by side, legs dangling off the roof as they gazed up at the stars. Sam appeared to be still in her black dress which was marked with white dots by the snowfall, but Danny looked to be in tighter fitting clothes, his hair glowing against the dark backdrop of the sky. Maybe a good wedding present would be revealing that she accepted all the different parts of him. And it wouldn't hurt to have some fun doing it, she thought with a smirk. She walked over and sat down beside them. Danny didn't seem to worried for a second, then did a double take as he realized he was in his ghost form.
"Don't stay out here too long kids, it's cold out," I said trying to sound sincere, but failing miserably when I caught a glimpse of Danny's expression. It was somewhere between shocked and bewildered, and was absolutely priceless. Danny looked towards Sam, and whispered something I didn't catch. She quickly got up and headed inside, looking back at Danny with a comforting smile.
"How did you find out," he asked, sounding very relieved at the fact that I was calm.
"The last time you visited," I responded.
"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked, but he sounded like he already know the answer.
"Believe me; I wanted to ask how this happened. I mean, I figured it has something to do with when you got electrocuted down in the lab, but I really wanted the whole story. But you were about to leave, and you and Sam looked like you were having a great time. I didn't want to ruin it."
"It's funny that you waited. It reminds me of Jazz," he said with a smile, as if remembering a past conversation, "She waited because she wanted me to tell her on my own terms."
"When did she find it out?" I asked, slightly bothered by the fact that Jazz knew before I did.
"During the freshman year of high school, she walked in on me transforming into Phantom."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner," I asked, as emotion colored my voice. Why hadn't he told me?
"Does the phrase: "I'll tear you apart molecule by molecule!" ring any bells?"
"I'm so sorry, Danny, if I had known you were Phantom, we would never have said those things!" I apologized.
"Mom, that's not the point. First of all, I'm not afraid of that now. Secondly, did it occur to you that maybe if you had been a little more concerned about my slipping grades and about me skipping class, you wouldn't have said those words at all. What hurt was that you were my mother, and you couldn't even figure out that your own son was a ghost!"
He flinched slightly at those words and his gaze became unfocused for a second. Had someone else mentioned that to him before?
"Look Danny, what I did was unforgivable, I know. And I'm so sorry that I can't just rewind time and make things alright. There isn't much I can do to make it up to you, but I'm going to try."
He still looked angry and upset, so I asked one last question, hoping that he knew how much I meant it.
"Danny, I know I am at fault here, but can you give me one last chance to redeem myself? Will you forgive me?"
He looked at me with tears in his eyes, and then unexpectedly smiled.
"Everybody deserves a second chance," was all he said, as he gave me a tight hug.
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited or followed Letting Go! Without your support I would never have written this sequel!