A/N: Hello, my lovely little readers! Welcome to my first Danny Phantom fanfic!

So, this was based on several episodes after a quick rewatch I did, in which I realised, 'y'know, Jack and Maddie are really protective'. That, combined with the opening (though I admit I'm ignoring the 'when he first woke up' to 'and glowing green eyes' bit), gave birth to this little idea. It then expanded itself, became a 'spans the whole show' thing, and finished as an 2000+ word one-shot. So...yeah. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. Nor do I know who owns it. Wait...Nickelodeon, right? I think.

"Come on, it's just a little peek. Plus, your parents said it was a bust; what's the worst that could happen?"

Danny rolled his eyes as Sam continued to try and persuade him to look into the Fenton Ghost Portal, but he had to admit, he was pretty curious. Any number of things could exist on the other side of that portal, things that he could discover and document and study. It attracted his attention just like being an astronaut and going into space did.

"Fine, I'll do it," he said finally, grabbing the suit that Tucker handed him and slipping it on. Sam made a face as she spotted the emblem on the front and tore his father's face off it.

"That's definitely something you don't want to be parading around with," she sighed, throwing it to a corner of the room.

"Considering I won't be wearing it out of this room, I don't think that particularly matters, but whatever," he replied.

"You need me to do anything?" asked Tucker, walking back over to the control panel and looking it over.

Danny pulled a face. "Best not. It might explode on me or something," he replied.

"Hey, I'm a techno-geek. Pretty sure I can at least work this out," Tucker replied, smirking.

"Yeah, I know, Tucker. But better safe than sorry, right?" Danny pointed out.

"Ugh, will you two hurry up already?" Sam groaned.

"Alright, alright. Tucker, keep an eye out for my parents," Danny said, motioning to the stairs. Tucker nodded and went over to them, giving him a quick thumbs up. Danny turned back to the Ghost Portal, taking a breath before stepping inside.

It was a lot darker than he'd anticipated, actually. It seemed pretty deep, which made him wonder if his dad had actually started digging a hole with his infamous ice cream spoon.

"Can you see anything?" asked Sam, standing at the end.

"No. What am I even looking for?"

"I dunno...A ghost or something, maybe?"

Danny sighed. "Right. Well I can't- Wait, I think there's a switch here or something. Might be a light switch. I hope."

"Try it anyway!" Tucker called from the stairs, and Danny gave him a flat glare that was lost on him in the darkness. With a sigh, he reached out, feeling for the switch. A shiver ran up his spine, and he glanced back as his hand touched the switch.

Green light suddenly filled the portal. Danny barely managed a gasp before suddenly fire was rushing through him, burning and tearing him apart. It hurt. It hurt! He screamed, and he thought he vaguely heard Tucker and Sam shouting his name, before everything went black.

The two kids covered their eyes as the portal was filled with light, before turning back as it faded, panic in their gazes. Sam quickly spotted Danny unconscious on the ground, skin pale and body shaking badly.

"Tucker, go get someone! Now!" Sam shouted, running into the portal and kneeling beside Danny. She heard Tucker's heavy footsteps as he rushed up the stairs, and gently laid a hand on Danny's face.

"Danny? Can you hear me?" she called, looking him over desperately. He was running a fever, but the rest of his body felt ice cold, and she bit her lip.

"Sam!" a woman called, and she turned back as Maddie and Jack entered the portal. They quickly knelt beside Danny, checking him over, and Sam saw Jazz standing at the entrance with Tucker, fear in her eyes.

"What happened?" demanded Jack.

"I-It was just a dare...I mean, we thought it was broken, so Danny went into it and then pressed something and it lit up and then this happened," Sam said, tears rising and starting to rush down her cheeks as the full enormity of the situation hit her. This had been a dangerous stunt. Danny was hurt, unconscious; what if he was worse than he looked? What if he died? She was panicking, but she couldn't stop herself.

"We'll get him to A&E. Jazz, I'm leaving you in charge of Tucker and Sam. Call their parents to pick them up if you need to," Maddie decided, standing up and leading Sam out. Jack easily lifted Danny into his arms, stepping out of the portal and hurrying up the stairs with Maddie in tow.

Jazz glanced at the two young teens; Sam was crying, rubbing at her eyes but unable to stop the tears, and Tucker seemed to have stopped processing anything, just staring blankly at the wall. She gently took their arms, leading them back upstairs and going to get them a drink of sweet tea, trying to hide the trembling of her own hands.

He woke slowly, mind groggy and everything seeming blurred. He was lying on a bed, he knew that much, but he couldn't make much else out.

"He seems to be fine, Mrs Fenton. He has a pretty high fever, but a few days of bed rest should help with that. If I had to say, it seems his body is fighting some sort of virus; a nasty infection, if you ask me. He may be sick for a week or two, but he'll be back to normal in no time."

Infection? Virus? What...But all he'd done was touch the Ghost Portal, right? How could he have gotten sick just from that?

"The kids said a green light appeared around him...You don't suppose that has anything to do with it, do you?" he heard his mother say.

"I can't say for sure. For now, all we can do is wait and see. His blood tests show everything is normal. If he gets worse, then come back and we'll run some more tests, but it would be better if he could rest in a familiar environment."

He felt a hand start to feather through his hair, and shifted slightly, causing it to withdraw suddenly. He tilted his head, trying to make out who it was. "...Mum?"

"Danny, you're awake...Are you okay? How are you feeling?" she asked gently, going back to feathering his black locks.

"...Tired...Everythin's really blurry," he mumbled, leaning into the warm touch.

He heard rustling and footsteps as the doctor stopped beside him. "You seem to have caught a rather nasty bug, young man, but you should be back to normal soon enough. Just focus on getting better, okay?"

"...'Kay..."

Maddie moved away, opening the door and calling Jack. A minute later the larger man entered the room, smiling down at Danny as he noticed the younger boy was awake.

"Hey kiddo. Let's get you home, shall we?" he decided, reaching down and lifting the teen up. Danny wanted to protest and say he could walk himself, but his body felt too weak to even stand, let alone walk. So he allowed Jack to carry him out of the clinic and to the Fenton RV without complaint, where Jack took the wheel as Maddie sat in the back with Danny's head on her lap.

It didn't take long for them to get home. Jack carried Danny up to his room, breaking a couple of paintings and snapping the banister on the way, before laying him on the bed. Maddie came in a minute later and tucked him in, kissing him gently on the forehead before going to get a towel and cold water, Jack following after her.

He heard the door open and lifted his gaze, focusing on making out the figures. Tucker and Sam slowly swam into view, and he gave a vague smile.

"Hey guys," he mumbled.

"Hey Danny. How're you feeling?" asked Tucker, sitting on the chair.

Danny gave a short laugh. "Well, like rubbish actually, but I'll be better soon," he replied. His breath was suddenly forced out of his lungs as Sam enveloped him in a crushing hug, clutching him tightly as her body shook lightly.

"I'm sorry...I'm s-sorry.." she stammered, face buried in his shoulder.

Danny gave a half-smile. "Don't worry about it. I promise, I'm fine," he said.

"But if I hadn't made you enter the Fenton portal..."

"Then I might have done it some other time and it would have happened anyway, except I'd be in a worse position because no one was there to get help immediately. Believe me, this was the best outcome," he said sternly.

Sam gave a choked laugh. "Yeah...Right. Just...just be careful, okay?" she murmured.

"I'm always careful," Danny teased.

"Well, I've gotta get going, or my parents'll start worrying. But we'll stop by everyday to help you keep up with homework!" Tucker said with a grin, patting his free shoulder.

"Thanks. Just what I always wanted," Danny drawled, giving him a faint glare.

Tucker grinned and started for the door. "And eat lots of melon bread! I hear it's really good for when you're ill," he added as he walked out.

Sam drew back, giving him a smile. "I don't think it actually helps in any way, but I guess it's the thought that counts," she said.

Danny laughed. "Hey, if it helps me get better, I'll try it," he replied.

Sam rubbed her eyes, then sighed. "I've got to get back too. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Just try to make sure Tucker doesn't bring me homework?"

"I'll do my best. I'll see you tomorrow," Sam said, waving before heading out.

Danny lay back, gazing at the ceiling listlessly, until he heard footsteps. Glancing at the door, he saw Jazz peek her head around the doorframe.

"Am I okay to come in?" she asked, being pretty much the only one to respect his personal space.

"Yeah, sure," he replied. She entered, gently seating herself on the edge of the bed and brushing a hand through his hair.

"You're definitely alright, right?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Everyone keeps asking me that. I'm fine, promise," he sighed.

"Well, just take it easy. No point straining yourself if it's just going to make you worse," Jazz pointed out.

"Will do. Not like I really mind, after all; I get to skip Lancer's boring lectures," Danny said with a grin.

"You never change. Well, I'll be in my room. Just call if you need anything."

"Okay."

With everyone having made sure he was fine and not about to randomly die on them, Danny allowed himself to relax. He turned onto his side, curling up and gritting his teeth, trying to muffle any sounds he made. He felt like he was burning, but he couldn't work out why. It seemed worse than a fever. He just hoped it'd stop soon, because it was getting really hard to concentrate on acting like he was fine when everyone insisted on checking up on him.

About three weeks after 'the accident', as they had all dubbed it, Danny first discovered he had ghost powers. He'd been back a week already, having made a complete recovery and finally convinced his family he wasn't about to collapse again. Dash had, as usual, been bullying him and Tucker, and so they'd run, like normal. But as they rounded a corner and Danny grabbed Tucker's arm and desperately wished they didn't exist so Dash wouldn't hurt them, they suddenly turned invisible.

After that, it was gradual. He slowly learnt about his different powers, though he couldn't control them, and eventually Tucker had come up with the theory that switching the ghost portal on had allowed a ghost to fuse with Danny's DNA, turning him part ghost. A bit inconvenient when his family were all ghost hunters, but he felt he could deal.

It seemed, however, that he had underestimated them. During that first week, he would usually come back home and just hang out for the rest of the evening with Sam and Tucker before they headed home, but as the second began and he took to ambling at other places or hiding out at Tucker's so they didn't notice his ghost powers, they seemed to grow...protective.

He'd always known that Jack and Maddie adored their children and wanted to protect them from everything (which was ironic considering ghost hunting was probably a dangerous job and they still wanted them to do that). But they took an interest in Danny's social life that they never had before. They would ask what he was doing each evening, demand to know where he was at all times, get him to give them updates during the evening so that they knew he was safe, and at times patrolled the area he was at just to keep an eye on him. Jazz was no better, constantly checking up on him at school and sometimes hanging out with them during lunch or break. Danny was also pretty sure she was sending periodic updates to their parents.

It wasn't until one venting session with Sam and Tucker that he realised something. They were just trying to protect him, make sure he was okay.

He'd honestly scared them.

Not telling them about how he had ghost powers and was fighting ghosts made him feel bad, but he was scared how they'd react too. He doubted they'd attack him - they were far too overprotective for that - but they may insist on finding a way to turn him back to normal or force him not to fight ghosts anymore. So he hid it from them.

He admitted that he grew a little distant from them; he was vaguer about what he was doing, where he was going, things like that. Mostly because it was awkward trying to think of legitimate excuses when he was fighting ghosts, and also because sometimes it was Sam or Tucker who did it instead.

He knew that this way of life couldn't last forever; Jazz had figured out his secret rather quickly, after all, and he didn't want to always keep it a secret from his parents. He just couldn't find an appropriate time to tell them.

Saving the world was a pretty appropriate time, honestly. Any anger they may have had about him hiding his identity from them, or going behind their backs and putting himself in danger, was lost at how proud they were of him for saving the Earth.

A little while after the big reveal and ceremony that had been held in his favour, he was relaxing as Dani was off fighting ghosts instead. The younger girl was reliable and pretty good at what she did, so he had no qualms about her doing it. Any other time it would have been awkward just sitting and reading with his mum and Jazz in the living room, but he was feeling better than he had in months.

"I think we always knew, you know."

He glanced up from his book, lowering it and turning his attention to Maddie. She glanced up from where she was polishing some of the Fenton ghost stuff, and smiled.

"About you being part ghost. There were lots of clues, and with the Fenton Portal working, there was always a chance one had infected you, but...maybe we just felt ignorance was bliss."

"I doubt Dad suspected anything, actually," Jazz said with a raised eyebrow, not looking up from her books.

Maddie gave a laugh. "Well, maybe not. But I am proud of you, Danny, for everything you've done; even all the stuff we don't know about," she said, gently laying a hand on his arm.

Danny felt heat running across his cheeks, and ducked his head. "Thanks Mum," he mumbled, hiding his face in his book again. Maddie accepted this silently, giving a knowing smile.

A/N: Honestly though, there are just too many instances which leads to Danny obviously being a ghost that Maddie, at least, had to work it out. Jack may be dumb, but they are both scientists, and even Jazz worked it out.

Also, the melon bread thing...I know it's from something. And I knew that when I wrote it in. But I CANNOT remember what it's from! Anyone know?

Review? And thanks for reading!