--Author's Note-- Greetings and welcome to 2005! Okay, so this year has sorta started off on the wrong foot. I'm sorry that I got the LiitA chapter up before this one. The thing is, I already had that one finished so I figured, why not. Now, before you start with the hate mail, I made this chapter extra long. It's nearly twice as long as the other chapters. Hurray for that, right? Okay. Also, another note that will appear again once I get everything switched over, but all the fanarts for the stories are moving to another site. I'll post the new addresses on my profile page, as well as changing it in the chapters. So anyway, let's get on with the story, and please review!

Chapter 3 No Hiding Now

Jazz and Maddie Fenton opened the door of Danny's closet to see what the noise was. Inside Danny and Sam froze in shock. The pair of Halfas went intangible in fright and fell right through the floor and down into the lab in the basement. Turning tangible again, the pair fell right on top of Jack Fenton, who was working a new sort of portal.

The two female Fentons rushed down the stairs in shock and burst into the basement. A giant man in an orange jumpsuit, and two black haired teenagers were trying to get out of the pile they were in on the floor.

"Danny! Sam! What's going on? What happened?"

"Mom, I'm sure we were just seeing things. Danny and Sam were probably down here the whole time," Jazz said trying to calm her mother down. "At least I hope so," she added under her breath.

"Don't be silly, Jasmine. I know what I saw," Maddie snapped at the red-haired girl. "Daniel. Samantha," she said turning to the two teens that had just gotten to their feet. "Explain. Now."

When she used their full names, the couple knew they were in deep trouble.

Jack was too busy checking out the ceiling to notice what was going on.

Danny and Sam looked sheepishly at each other and Jazz looked worried beyond belief.

"Mom, it wasn't what it looked it."

"Of course not, Mrs. Fenton! We were going to watch a movie and I fell into the closet. When Danny was trying to help me up he fell on top of me."

"Not that. That," she said pointing at the ceiling. She was losing her patience.

"Oh, that. Umm… well, remember that accident Mom? With the Ghost Portal?"

"Of course, but you shouldn't have been snooping around our things like that. You know they're dangerous."

"You have no idea," Sam muttered.

"What was that?" Maddie asked.

"Danny, you need to tell her," Sam said putting a hand on his shoulder.

He nodded before continuing. "Well, you see, when I fixed the portal, something happened to me. My genes were mixed with those of a ghost, so now I can transform into a ghost mostly at will."

"Did someone say ghost?" Jack shouted, finally turning his attention to the others. He dashed down the latter and grabbed Danny's shoulders. "Where's the ghost?"

"Uh, Dad, I'm the ghost."

"Impossible! Ghosts are frightening, and scary. You're just Danny."

"I can change between being a ghost and being human. Normally, I can do it at will, but sometimes things happen that trigger part of my ghost powers."

"What do you mean trigger, Danny?" Maddie asked with a concerned look. Jazz looked like she was going to be sick.

"Like just now, when you walked in on us. You frighten us, so we went intangible and fell through the floor."

"We?" Maddie questioned.

"I'm getting to that, Mom. So, I've been fighting ghosts who break through the portal and sending them back. Tucker and Sam have been helping me. Except a few months ago, a ghost sucked Sam into the portal. We think that somehow when a human enters the Ghost Zone without aid from one of your inventions, their genes get mixed with those of a ghost."

"How do you know that?"

"Because Sam and Tucker had to follow me into the Ghost Zone once, and they used the Specter Speeder, and nothing happened to them."

"Really? How did it run?" Jack questioned Sam eagerly.

"Uhh…" Sam started.

"Jack, let him finish."

"Sorry, Maddie."

"Sam became a Halfa, just like I did."

"A Halfa?" Jazz asked now.

Sam nodded, "It's a term some of the ghosts have used. From what we guessed it means someone like me and Danny who are both human and ghost."

"But you're not a ghost!" Jack argued.

Danny sighed; his father had such a closed mind sometimes. "Yes, Dad. I am. Remember how the Fenton Gabber reacted around me?"

"I still say it wasn't working properly."

"It's true, Dad. I've seen him," Jazz put in with a sigh. "I'm sorry Danny. I tried to keep it from them."

"You knew?" Sam and Danny asked as one.

"Yeah. I found out during Spirit Week."

"That explains a lot," Danny muttered.

Danny's parents still looked as if they didn't believe them.

"I think we're going to have to show them, Danny," Sam said. He nodded in agreement.

"We're going ghost!" the two shouted together. In a familiar flash they were transformed into their alter egos.

Jack and Maddie's eyes went wide. "But you're that ghost we kept seeing!"

"Mom, Dad, meet Danny Phantom and Sam Spectre."

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For the rest of the night, Sam and Danny had to explain everything to his parents and sister. The more they talked; the more Jack and Maddie seemed to grow used to the idea. Even still, Danny knew it would take his parents weeks, if not months, to completely understand the idea.

Well, Danny thought to himself. At least now I don't have to hide my powers from them. That was one thing to be thankful for.

Jazz and Maddie tried their best to keep Jack away from the idea of doing tests upon tests on the two teenagers. Maddie finally told him that there was just no need to at this point. This got the ghost hunter to lose some of his wind.

Once the adults had wasted every question they had down to nothing, they finally let the kids leave the kitchen table. Maddie began to clear away the mugs while Danny and Sam headed for the front door.

Standing on the front steps they looked at each other.

"I'm sorry, Danny," Sam whispered turning her eyes away.

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault."

"Yes it is! I pushed you into the closet."

"You weren't the one who made me transform. I did that myself, just as you did. Anyways, they were going to find out sooner or later."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. And I'm almost glad it happened this way. They knew there was no danger, and there was no real fighting going on. If they had spotted out at the school or mall, who knows what might have happened. We may have had to fight them for our lives."

Sam smirked at him. "Glad it happened this way?"

His eyes smiled back at her. "Yeah, all except for the whole them finding out about us thing, I think tonight was a good night."

"It was some movie, I have to say. We may have to finish it some other night." Her eyes flashed seductively at him in the night. This brought a stupid grin to Danny's face.

"Come on, I'll take you home," Danny said taking her hand. The pair transformed in a flash and lifted off the ground.

He wrapped his arm around Sam' waist and smiled at her. Sam nearly melted. It was just like that moment before Ember had cast the spell on Danny and had crashed into the sign. Watching Danny in the sunset like that, she had known that she was in love with him.

Why had it taken them so much to realize it? Everyone else knew. Maybe, she thought, it takes someone else to make to truly open your eyes.

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"You what?!?" Tucker shouted at the couple. Danny and Sam backed down slightly.

"We didn't mean to let it happen," Danny offered. This still didn't seem to make their friend feel any better.

"Why don't we just go announce it to the whole school while we're at it? I bet I could tap into the PA system."

Jessica just smiled brightly at the pair. "Well, I think it's kinda of sweet. The raw passion of it all."

Sam gave Danny a questioning look. "She didn't hear a word after the whole closet thing, did she?"

"I don't think so," he muttered.

"Tucker we know that you have a right to be mad, but there was nothing we could have done to stop it," Sam told him.

"Besides, it was only a matter of time until the ghost hunters found out that their own son was the ghost they were after," Danny said matter of factly.

"They're right you know," Jessica said, finally getting out of her dream world. "At least this way no one got hurt. What if his parents had turned one of their inventions on them? They could have been peeled or something," she said with a shiver.

"Yeah! And maybe now they'll actually try and figure out a way to keep ghosts from escaping from the Ghost Zone," Sam said hopefully.

Danny nodded now. "Very true. In fact I think my dad was working on some sort of portal thing when we fell on top of him last night."

"See? That's good news," Jessica told Tucker pointedly.

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it," Tucker pouted while he crossed his arms.

"Sam, write this date down. I think Tucker's officially turned into a girl," Jessica joked while elbowing Sam. This caused Tucker to pout even more.

"Come on you guys, we're gonna be late for class," Danny said with a sigh. There was no way this was no way this was going to end pleasantly.

The group trudged off down the hall making their way through the other students.

"Did you guys catch the new episode of Teen Tit—" Danny started but was cut off when he ran straight into Paulina. Sam's face grew a slightly redder color. "Oh, sorry Paulina. I didn't notice you," Danny said not really caring.

This made Paulina go as red as Sam. "Didn't notice me? How could a low-life like you not notice someone a strikingly beautiful as me?"

Tucker and Jessica eyed each other carefully.

"And to think, I was even going to let you carry my bag today," she huffed loudly. Other students were starting to stare now.

"I'll carry your books!" another boy cried from the crowd.

Paulina blew him off and instead kept her beady eyes fixed on Danny. "Well?"

"Well what?" Danny asked getting annoyed now.

"Are you going to carry my bag or not?"

"No, that's okay. We've gotta get going on to class now."

"What?!?" Paulina nearly screamed as Danny pulled Sam off into the crowd. "You get back here Fenton!"

Danny and Sam turned around to look at Paulina. Her beauty was fading as her face held rage for the black haired boy. With a sly grin Danny turned and planted a kiss right on Sam's lips.

"Sam, you're ten times prettier than Paulina is," he commented loudly after they broke the kiss. Sam went pink at this. She knew she was going to be killed by the popular girl, but right now she didn't care.

The couple then headed off with Tucker and Jessica. Their friends couldn't believe the scene that had just unfolded before their eyes.

"You two are so dead!" Jessica giggled.

"That's not a good thing, stupid," Tucker sighed at the brown haired girl.

"It's romantic! Like Romeo and Juliet! Fighting, wars, love, death. Their love knows no bounds!" the girl rambled on as they took their seats. This just caused Sam and Danny to blush. Neither thought it was quite as much as all that.

The Halfas knew that they were in for another battle after school, but exactly what sort of battle they were to face was uncertain.