Ok, yes, they're out of order, but if they get up, then they get up. It still counts! Sorry about that, just been kind of…out of it lately. I know the problem too. I'll work on that. Anyway, this one may be the final one for a while. I don't know if I'll be able to do the other holidays like I wanted to. But I'll try if you keep reading! Ok, on with the fic now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom nor do I own New Years. Though if I had to choose, I'd choose to own Danny Phantom.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Year's Eve, 2007. Everywhere, the sky was lit with fireworks blown off early from houses too excited to wait. In other places, huge displays were being set up, hundreds of fireworks lined up or put in a pattern, just waiting to be lit and blasted into the air at 12:00 exactly as is traditional. And of course, one of the largest of the displays every year came from Fenton Works, in Amity Park.

"Come on everyone!" yelled Jack Fenton, running through the door to the roof with his arms full of fireworks. "We've got fifteen minutes to finish this! Let's go!"

"Dad," Jazz complained, stepping around the piles, mounds, and bunches of rockets set up on the huge roof. She'd come back to help with the fireworks like every year, but was beginning to regret her decision. "There's no more room for all those!" She pointed to the boxes of colored explosives in a small corner.

"She's right you know," added Jazz's mother, Maddie, stepping out from behind a large rocket, propped up by many smaller ones. She gave the display a worried glance and turned back to her husband. "There's hardly room to move up here. Where do you plan to put those?"

Jack just smiled and, with his arms still full of fireworks, somehow managed to point straight up. The other two looked slowly upwards to the only thing on the roof that wasn't completely covered in rockets. The Op. Center.

Maddie shook her head. "Should have known…" she mumbled to herself.

Jazz sighed and rolled her bright eyes at her father. "Typical Dad."

Still, both navigated their way through the maze and helped spread the remaining boxes of flares, fireworks, and rockets over the huge Emergency Op. Center. And in all this, no one seemed to notice, or maybe they just didn't want to point out, that a few of their family members were missing.

--------

Danny Phantom flew quickly and invisibly through the air above the many colorful displays. It was New Year's Eve, but he didn't feel like celebrating along with everyone else. This time last year he'd been unpleasantly surprised and it had only gotten worse. He was afraid of what this year would bring.

So he would spend it alone. The young halfa flew straight on, his white hair flying back, his green eyes watering from the cold air. Finally he decided he was too tired to keep flying aimlessly, and detoured to a familiar spot.

He landed on the top of an incredibly huge hill in the park, overlooking everything. He sat on the roots of the old tree, which had been there since before Danny could remember: shade in the summer and a place to rest whenever you needed it.

He became visible again, after making sure no one was around, and glanced at the watch he'd gotten for Christmas. It was ghost-made, and thus obviously more than just a watch, but Danny had little use for any of its abilities-telling Ghost Zone time, tracking where one was in the world of ghosts, or even finding a certain place in the zone-unless he was in the Ghost Zone, so it was mostly just an interesting looking watch.

He looked at the glowing green face, empty of arms or numbers. "Real-world time," he ordered the watch. A clock face appeared in shining dark green. It read 11:50.

"Perfect," said Danny, leaning back on the tree and smiling at the darkened city. It would be bright and colorful in a few minutes, so he took the time to enjoy the silence, if only for a moment. And that was all he got.

"Daniel?" Phantom's eyes glowed in annoyance and he turned in the direction of the familiar voice to glare.

"What do you want?" He asked angrily into the darkness. Without really thinking about it, he began to hover over the ground a bit, and his hands glowed green with building ecto-energy. "Where are you?" he demanded.

"Danny, sit down," said Vlad from behind the floating teen. Danny spun around to see his enemy, in human form, sitting under the tree where he'd just been. Of course, the young halfa ignored the man's request and remained floating and glaring.

"What do you want?" he asked again, the anger in his voice growing. The elder halfa just smiled and patted the ground next to him.

Danny, too frustrated to think of any alternative, obliged and sat a safe distance away under the big tree. Vlad sighed but didn't comment. They sat quietly for what seemed like an hour squeezed into a few short seconds.

"You know," Vlad started to break the silence. "I've always wanted a little brother." He smiled over at Danny who made no indication that he'd even heard. Vlad went on. "When I imagined having a little brother, I didn't think he'd be so much younger than me-"

"Just because you married my sister doesn't mean you're my brother!" Danny interrupted, yelling so loudly that it echoed.

"Yes Danny, it does," replied Vlad in an almost annoyed tone. "I know how odd that is-"

"I don't want a brother!" interrupted Danny again. "I never wanted a brother, and of all people I definitely don't want you for a brother!"

Danny was on his feet without realizing it. Vlad remained sitting, trying to appear calm. His blue-gray eyes met the teen's glowing green ones, and after a moment Danny relaxed and sat back down.

"Daniel…" Vlad continued tentatively. "I didn't come here to fight." Silence. He sighed. "Can't you at least look at me?"

Danny turned and glared. That was all he was giving, and Vlad understood that.

"I know it'll be hard to accept after all we've been through before, but we are family now and I'd like to act like it at least. For everyone else's sake."

The ghost boy's green eyes went to the ground in thought. It wouldn't be too bad if it was only an act. And it would make things easier at home, especially since Vlad and Jazz seemed to be visiting a lot lately.

"Ok, but only so everyone else is happy. Just acting. And no cute brotherly stuff." His look of annoyed anger melted into one of amusement as another thought came to him. "And one other thing…"

Vlad smiled at the teen's cooperation and nodded. "What?"

"You can't call me 'Daniel' anymore." He smiled as if he'd won a game, and his opponent smiled back in agreement.

"Fine." The silvery haired man stood and transformed into his blue-haired ghost form. "One final fight before the act begins?"

Danny stood with an excited smile. "Definitely."

The two shot up into the air, their hands glowing red and pink with ecto-energy. The brothers smiled as they flew off in pursuit of each other, high above the lights signaling the new year in Amity Park.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HAPPY 2008 EVERYONE! I HOPE YOURS IS GREAT! THANKS FOR READING! I LOVE YOU ALL:HUGS:CONFFETTI:GLEE!: