Author's Note: Thank you to my first reviewer, aemroxs. You made me feel special! :)
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom? Nope, not mine. This story is though.
Danny smiled as they flew around Amity Park. Some people saw them, but it didn't matter now. Danny didn't even bother to turn invisible. The two were lost in thought and in each others eyes. After a while, Sam spoke. "It's really odd actually."
Danny blinked, confused. "What is?"
"Oh, just that sometimes you fly with a tail and sometimes with legs. It's never consistent."
Danny looked down. He changed his tail into his legs and back again. "Huh. Now that you mention it, it's like breathing. Involuntary until you think about it." Sam watched as he continued to change the form of the lower half of his body. "Why'd you bring it up?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I've been wondering about it for a while, that's all. I don't know what it's like to be half-ghost."
"Do you want to be one?" Danny asked, suddenly wondering if she wanted the life he had.
Sam was silent for a moment, thinking. "It depends. It would give us something common to deal with. Maybe it would link us together even more."
"So what's your answer?"
"Yes, I think. I'd enjoy the advantages and the powers. It's not like it would change my life much. I'm already fighting ghosts in my spare time." Sam looked at Danny and smiled. He smiled back at her.
Danny glanced down at the ground and noticed that he was near his house. He landed on the roof and let Sam stand, although he kept an arm around her. They sat down and looked at the stars that were beginning to come out. Unexpectedly, they heard the voice of a young girl scream: "DANNY!" They turned around to see Danielle in ghost form standing behind them. "I've been hoping you'd come here! Oh, hey Sam," she added, waving.
Sam and Danny smiled at her. "Hey Danielle. Thanks for helping save the world." Danny said.
She laughed. "Anytime. I came looking for you to ask a question." Her expression turned to a wary one. "I need a place to live. Wandering around isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'm stabilized, but I'm more naive than I thought I was. I don't know everything a normal thirteen-year-old does. Could you help me find a home?"
Danny wasn't surprised that she had brought up a topic he had been thinking about ever since she left the last time. She was his clone. "I think I have one in mind."
Dani's face lit up. "You do? Where?"
"Here."
Her face, if possible, filled with more happiness. "You mean it?"
"Of course I do. I just have to ask my parents. And I'm pretty sure they'll let you stay." Danny stood up and Sam did as well. He gestured for Dani to follow them into his house. "Mom? Dad?"
"We're down in the lab, son," Maddie called back.
Danny phased down through the floor while holding Sam's hand. "Lazy," muttered Sam. "Why can't you just use the stairs?" Danny just laughed in reply.
Maddie, Jack and Jazz Fenton looked up when Danny and Sam landed on the floor. "I'd like you to meet someone. Her name is Danielle." At this, Dani appeared in the doorway. She transformed into her human form. The resemblance between Danny and the girl was striking. Maddie gasped, Jack restrained himself from leaping at her with a ghost weapon ―old habits die hard― and Jazz just looked puzzled. "She's a clone... of me." Danny then launched into the tale of how he had met Danielle, explaining how he had stabilized her and rescued her from Vlad. And how she needed a home. When he was finished, Maddie ran over to the young girl and enveloped her into a hug. Jack and Jazz joined her.
"Of course she can stay here," Maddie half sobbed. "She's practically my daughter anyways. She can have the extra bedroom."
Danny grinned and joined in the family group hug. Sam would have stayed back, but Danny pulled her towards them. Ah, what the heck, she thought, and allowed him to hug her as well as his family.
Eventually, they all broke away from each other. "So we'll go tomorrow and buy Danielle some things to call her own as well as some furniture for her room." Maddie declared.
Danny glanced at his watch, surprised at how the time had flown. "I have to take Sam home now. I'm on thin ice with her parents as it is." And with that, he picked up his girlfriend and took off.
They were halfway to her house when Sam said, "That was really sweet of you to get your parents to adopt Danielle."
Danny shrugged, embarrassed. "I couldn't think of a more accepting family for her. There's already a half-ghost in our house anyways. She's not a normal kid, that's for sure, and we're not a normal family." Memories flickered in his mind as he said this.
Sam kissed his cheek. "So, how are you going to live with another sister? Doesn't the one you have already drive you crazy?"
Danny laughed. "She used to. But, either I understand her better or she's changed. We get along pretty well now."
Sam smiled. "I know. She's grown on me too."
They had arrived at Sam's doorstep now. He set her down and checked his watch again. "Ten thirty. Good. Plenty of time to spare, since you're supposed to be home by eleven." After changing into Danny Fenton, he made a move to ring the doorbell. Sam stopped him, confused.
"Are you coming in?"
"Of course I am. I have to get your parent's approval for us to date. Mine were fine with it from the start. Actually, they were more ecstatic than anything." Danny shook his head at how clueless he had been; everyone else knew how perfect he and Sam were for each other, except him.
"You're really old fashioned aren't you?" Sam glanced at the class ring as she asked this.
Danny didn't answer as he rang the doorbell.
Sam's father opened the door. "Hello Sam. And Daniel." Sam was as shocked as Danny when her father smiled warmly at her boyfriend. He stepped aside to let Sam in.
"If you don't mind Mr. Manson, I was wondering if I could come inside as well."
Slightly confused, Jeremy Manson complied. Danny walked into Sam's house after her. She led her father and her boyfriend into her sitting room. "Can you get Mom for me?" she asked her father. He nodded and walked off to find her. Sam turned to look at Danny. "You sure you want to do this?"
"Positive. Besides, I can use my ghost powers if your dad tries to kill me," he joked.
"You might have to," she murmured. She took a seat on one of the five couches in the room and motioned for Danny to join her. He sat down next to her just as footsteps alerted them to the arrival of Sam's parents. They entered the room and both smiled at the two teens. They seated themselves across from Danny and Sam.
"We gathered that you wanted to tell us something," Pamela addressed Danny.
He nodded. "I came to tell you that I've asked Sam to be my girlfriend." He glanced at Sam and she understood what he was silently asking her. She held up her left hand to show her parents the Wes/Sam ring.
Pamela gave a slight gasp and Jeremy's face hardened slightly. Our baby's growing up, they thought simultaneously. They quickly composed themselves and smiled warmly at the young couple.
"I have to say my boy, I thought it would be harder to see my daughter going steady with someone, but with you it just seems to fit. I also want to thank you for coming to tell us instead of us finding out from the news. Now that I know you're a hero I also know that you aren't going to be a bad influence on our daughter." Jeremy walked over to Danny and held out his hand. Danny stood up and shook hands with Sam's father. Pamela walked over to Sam, who stood up as well, and embraced her daughter. Normally, Sam would have squirmed away, but she decided to let her mother get away with hugging her. Just this once. Jeremy let go of Danny's hand and went over to hug Sam. Pamela moved over to Danny. After a moment of staring at him, she gave him a hug also. Sam's parents returned to the couch they had been sitting on and the teens sat down as well.
"But we do have some rules," Pamela added. Danny nodded. He had expected this. "First off, if you are going to be in this house visiting Sam, we'd like to know you're here. And it's preferred that you use the door," she said with a wink.
"Also, if you're going to take Sam out of this house, we'd like to know," Jeremy said. "And your curfew is still set in place," he told Sam, who nodded. "That's pretty much it. We've decided to allow you to continue ghost hunting and what not, just as long as we know where you are or where you're going." Sam didn't like her parents keeping tabs on her, but she supposed it was reasonable since they were letting her fight ghosts with Danny.
Danny glanced at his watch. He should be getting home now. "Thank you for your time Mr. and Mrs. Manson."
"Anytime Daniel," Pamela responded.
"You can call me Danny."
Pamela and Jeremy nodded and walked off, leaving Danny and Sam alone in the sitting room. Sam saw Danny turn to her. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"
Sam laughed. "I guess not. You have to go now, don't you?"
Danny sighed. "Yeah. I hope I'll get to see you tomorrow."
"Me too." Sam stood up and grabbed his hand, leading him to the front door. She opened it and stood in the doorway. Danny walked out and turned to face her.
"Goodnight Sam," he said before he pulled her close and kissed her.
"Night Danny." He went ghost and kissed her again before flying into the air. Once at the height of most rooftops, he turned and waved. She waved back. She watched him fly out of sight before she went back inside and closed the door behind her. Her parents were off somewhere in the mansion so she headed off to her bedroom. She changed into a t-shirt and PJ pants and climbed into bed. Content, she felt sleep claim her almost instantly.
Meanwhile, Danny had arrived back at his house. He phased through his window since he saw that his family was already asleep. He became human again and landed on his bed. Looking out at his window, he began to reminisce about Sam. Eventually, he fell asleep.
