Danny sighed, flying invisibly over the town. No ghosts here, he thought wryly.

The ghost boy smiled slightly. No ghosts. In a way, it was nice. In another, it made him feel horribly isolated. He'd become a magician, and he was pretty good due to his ghostly abilities. He had enough money to get by for the most part. He knew he could probably pawn Sam's engagement ring for some money, but he simply couldn't make himself do it. "Shouldn't you be back home- shoving some ghost into the Fenton thermos, little badger?"

"Oh, great. I want some company, and I get the crazed up froot loop!" Danny growled.

Plasmius smiled. "You know; I think you're becoming as heartless as me, Daniel."

"What do you mean?"

"The girl- Samantha. You broke her heart."

"It was for the best," Danny mumbled.

"Was it?" Plasmius asked.

"Yes, she almost died because of me!"

Plasmius chuckled. "Don't flatter yourself, Daniel."

"But it's true!" he whispered.

Plasmius shook his head. "Get this through your thick head. There would be ghosts with or without you. If you weren't there to push them back into the Ghost Zone, that girl's time would've been up a long time ago."

"Are…you really…?" Danny shook his head in confusion.

Plasmius put a hand on his shoulder. "Think about it, Daniel."

***

Sam placed a small box in her purse before turning back to her purple suitcase, stuffing it with more clothes. Her mother entered her room and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Here's your credit card, Mom. Thanks for letting me use it."

"What did you buy with it?"

"A ring."

"Oh, can I see your ring?"

"It isn't for me," Sam replied.

Her mother didn't take the hint. "I'm leaving," Sam said.

"Samantha Elizabeth Manson!" he mother gasped. "You-you can't leave!"

"I'm twenty. I can leave if I want to. I was planning on moving out soon, anyway."

"Wait. You bought a ring? Is this about him? Samantha, I forbid you to-"

"You forbid me to do what? Love him? Marry him?"

"If you go see him, your father and I will disown you. He's dangerous."

"I don't care," Sam said, grabbing her things.

"Samantha!"

Sam ignored her mother, feeling immense satisfaction as she started the engine of her car.

***

Dimmesdale was a bit bigger than Amity Park was. Still, it was a small town, and it was one of those towns where everybody knew everybody. I wish Vlad had been more specific, Sam thought.

The girl had checked into a hotel, and she now walked down the streets. She thought she'd have a better chance finding Danny on foot than in a car. She finally walked into a convenience store to buy a soda. How am I going to find Danny? She thought.

"Oh, hello, Miss. You knew in town?"

A lanky, brown-haired teen smiled at her. Sam nodded. "Yeah. I'm actually looking for a friend who just moved here."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, his name is Daniel."

"Well, there's a lotta Daniels out there, Miss…?"

"Sam. His name is Daniel Fenton. He has black hair, blue eyes…he's twenty."

"Nope. Can't say I've seen him."

"What about a boy with white hair and green eyes?"

The cashier laughed. "No…another friend of yours?"

"Yeah," Sam muttered. "Thanks."

"I'm here 'till ten- just in case you can't find your friend. I'm available."

"Eh…yeah, sure, thanks."

Sam left, hearing the bells jingle on the door as it shut behind her. "Danny…"

Sam suddenly felt something dig into her shoulders- almost like fingers. "Whoa! What's going on?"

"I'm just speeding things up a bit," Vlad's voice replied. "This ought to get young Daniel's attention."

Sam yelled in surprise. Danny never flew this fast. "I'm going ghost!" Sam heard his yell before she saw him.

At the same time, Plasmius dropped her. "Danny!" she screamed.

Suddenly, he was under her and carrying her. She was floating. "I'm very sorry, Miss…Sam…"

They floated gently to the ground, and Danny cast a quick look around before morphing and turning swiftly around. "NO!"

Sam grabbed his arm, nearly pulling him to the ground as she got on her knees. "Please, don't! I love you!"

"Sam…this isn't…it isn't safe," he whispered.

Sam ignored him, though. She drew a small box from her purse and opened it. She watched the shock play across Danny's face as he stared at the ring in the box. "This is the last thing I bought before my parents disowned me," Sam said.

"They disowned you?" Danny asked. "Sam, you have to make up with them! They're your parents!"

"And you're my fiancé!"

"No…I'm not. Sam, you could've been hurt much worse than that. What about next time?" Danny asked. "Hm?"

Sam shook her head. "Danny, I could be hurt doing any number of things- crossing the street, swimming…how am I going to be any safe with ghosts haunting Amity Park if I don't have my ghost boy with me? How am I going to be happy without you? Without both sides of you? Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom, I love both sides of you. Please…Danny, will you marry me?"

A look of bewilderment crossed his face before he smiled and whispered, "Yes, Sam, I would be honored to marry you."