Over the Years

Well this is a first for me, I've been a fan of Danny Phantom since I was a child but this is my first ever fic about the show. I've recently been rewatching the whole show and totally got inspired during The Ultimate Enemy to write this story. The Ultimate Enemy is my fave special and just overall fave episodes apart from My Brother's Keeper, and I've always liked Danny and Valerie as a couple (but i do still really like Danny and Sam though) and that's partly where this fic came from. Literally from one line that Dan said and I was like I need to do something with this and here I am. I hope you enjoy the story, I'll try upload as often as I can. Alright let's get into it

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom and the characters do not belong to me.

Chapter 1: Disaster

Danny sighed as he walked into school, another all nighter fighting and catching ghosts which also meant another night not spent studying for the C.A.T that Mr Lancer had been preparing them for, for the last month. He yawned as he exchanged his books in his locker, Saturday was three days away and he was running out of time but he was sure he could get some studying down starting today. All the ghost emergencies had been dealt with.

"Another late night?" Sam asked as she approached and noticed the bags under his eyes

"Yup but I think that was the last of them or at least I hope it is." They started walking to class when his ghost sense went off. The familiar icy breath escaped his lips.

"Oh great, this is the last thing I need right now." He face palmed in frustration

"I'll cover for you." Sam put her hand on his shoulder

"Thanks" he yelled as he took off to go ghost somewhere out of sight. He did his signature battle cry and the ring of light surrounded him and turned him from Danny Fenton to Danny Phantom. Green became blue and black turned silvery white. He flew down to the cafeteria once he was sure the hallways and classrooms were clear. Once in the empty eating area he saw the Lunch Lady powering up with their lunch special: Meatloaf Surprise.

"Why can't you be like a normal Lunch Lady and serve inedible food instead of attacking with it?" he blasted the trays of the mentioned food out of her hands

"Meatloaf isn't supposed to be on the menu today, it's all wrong and I'm here to take care of it!" her eyes glowed with fury "And perhaps a slice of strawberry cheesecake?" she asked her trick question in her deceptively sweet voice that always came before an attack as she held up a plate of the delightful dessert.

"Not even if it was on the menu." He deadpanned

"Then have a taste of my fury instead!" she summoned all the food around her and launched it at Danny who just floated there completely disinterested in this battle and turned intangible so the food went right through him. He fired another energy blast at her and she went through the roof to the staff room upstairs. As soon as Danny arrived he saw just how good the teachers were having it. While the students had to deal with whatever mysteries the lunch lady served the teachers were treated to a delicious looking buffet of food which now served as the Lunch Lady's ammunition. However, before she could attack Danny got the Fenton Thermos ready and sucked her inside it. He sighed, glad to be done with her so he could get back to class and hopefully absorb some information before Saturday.

Just as he was about to leave he saw something on the table, a sealed envelope. He quickly looked around the room to make sure he wasn't seen before turning it over.

"The answers to the C.A.T.! Why would Lancer leave them out like this?" well granted he was inside the locked Teacher's Lounge courtesy of his ghost powers so Lancer had no reason to think they were in danger especially since no one knew they were in here.

This is perfect! He thought to himself. The answers to his future were literally right in his hands. But wait, cheating, seriously. He felt his heart racing, his mind flooded with uncertainty. How could he possibly explain failing this test to his parents? Oh sorry mom and dad, I've been spending the last four weekends fighting ghosts and that's why I failed the test to determine my future. That would go over well. On the other hand though he'd never cheated on a test before. If he hadn't studied or didn't understand the work being tested he'd graciously accept a low grade and the lecture from his parents. But this was different, his success or failure as a person in society hinged on this test, Lancer made it clear plenty of times and Danny didn't see himself as the type to work at the Nasty Burger, not when he'd dreamt of being an astronaut his whole life.

The ringing bell snapped him out of his thoughts. Damn, he'd missed first period and any of the teachers could be on their way here. He needed to make a decision. He phased out of the teachers' lounge and turned back into Danny Fenton but standing too close to the door adjusting his shirt when Lancer saw him.

"Shouldn't you be headed to your next class, Fenton? You weren't trying to get into the lounge were you?"

"I uh…no, not at all. And I was just headed there now" he answered nervously before turning away and heading to his own locker, his heart still pounding in his ears.

He'd made his decision.

Later that afternoon Sam and Tucker were at The Nasty Burger sitting at one of the outside tables.

"So what was so important that we basically bolted here after school?" asked Tucker

"This…" he carefully slid the top of the envelope out of his bag, just enough for them to see

"Wait is that…?"

"The answers to our future, yes it is." He said proudly before sliding it away into his bag

"You're kidding right? You're not actually thinking of looking at the answers are you?" Sam surprised

"Of course I am. It was basically fate. If I hadn't fought the Lunch Lady then I wouldn't have found them. It's clearly a sign."

"Or some very serious rationalising. You can't seriously believe that one test is going to determine the rest of your life. And even if it did, do you really want to cheat your way into the good life, Danny?"

"Well what other choice do I have, cram for two days and hope for the best. I don't think so." He said determinedly

Tucker and Sam looked at each other, understandably shocked at their best friend's decision. And while their conversation continued, Mr Lancer was walking to the entrance and caught the end of their conversation. Cheating on the test? He thought back to when he found Danny standing outside the teachers' lounge looking like he'd been caught. And while the test answers were missing, he had had the key to the room and the door wasn't damaged in any way so it's not like someone broke in and stole the test answers. But Danny was the last person he saw before the answers went missing. It wasn't proof but it wasn't not proof either. He decided he'd talk to Jazz, first thing tomorrow morning.

At the end of the day, The Nasty Burger was closing for the night and the interns were getting ready, one of which had a nasty fight with his superior and wanted to get him trouble as payback. He hung up his employee hat and apron and walked past the kitchen and thought of the perfect way to get his superior in trouble with the boss. He went straight to the room where the Nasty Sauce was kept. They'd been warned so many times to stay out of that room and only their superior was allowed to get the sauce in there. The sauce had to stay at a regulated temperature or the explosion if it got too hot could take out a whole city block, or so they'd been told. But today, Chuck decided that maybe it was time things got a little heated in that off limits room. He walked in and turned on the lights and saw the huge silver drums filled with the sauce and the temperature regulator on each one. The thermometer said it was room temperature but Chuck managed to change the number to boiling point but then set it even higher. That should get his superior in enough trouble. He left the room satisfied and locked up before leaving. Little did he know that eventually the sauce would start to boil, and then…

Saturday morning arrived and Danny woke up feeling confident but couldn't help the knot in his stomach. Yes it did feel good to finally be walking into a test completely prepared but also his preparedness wasn't the good kind.

"Well it's just this one time." He looked at himself in the mirror "Just this one time and then never again Fenton." He reassured himself then left his room and headed to school.

He sat at his desk ready as Mr Lancer handed out the question papers, he lingered a little longer by Danny's desk before moving on then finally going back to his desk and letting the students begin writing.

Danny took a deep breath, flipped the test over and started writing. He'd studied all the answers over the past few days and calmly filled in the answers he already knew were correct. The test was supposed to be three hours long but he finished in an hour and a half. He looked over everything one last time before standing up and putting his answer booklet on Lancer's desk.

"That was fast, you sure you're finished?" he asked suspiciously

"Absolutely, I was prepared for this, studied really hard for it." He tried to sound as convincing as possible

"I'm sure. Well if you're positive, you can go."

Tucker and Sam watched him leave before giving each other a knowing look. As soon as Danny was gone, Lancer went through Danny's answers, everything was correct. It was like he was looking right at the memo. Even if he studied as hard as he so claimed, a perfect score, especially when it's Danny whose grades weren't anywhere near this good was telling. Seems like Jazz wasn't able to talk to her brother after all. He called Mrs Fenton and arranged a meeting with the whole family after five at the Nasty Burger.

Valerie had finished her test and was headed out when she saw Danny sitting on the steps of the school.

"Hey Danny."

"Valerie, hey what's up?"

"I was about to ask you that. You look kind of lost in thought, you okay?"

"I guess…that test was just a lot, you know? It just feels like there's a lot of pressure thinking about the future and lately I've felt nothing but pressure. I definitely made a mistake" he didn't mean to get so deep but talking to Valerie had always been easy for him and part of him still had feelings for her.

"I know what you mean but even if you made a mistake, doesn't mean your life is over because of it. You get to choose your future not this test." She tried to reassure him and it had worked, he felt a lot better even though he didn't mean making a mistake in the test but cheating being the mistake "I gotta go but I'll see you around" she smiled as she stood up to leave

"Sure and thanks, I really needed to hear that." He smiled back and stood up as well, ready to head home and put all this test business behind him.

Or not.

It was ten to five p.m. when Danny, Jazz and his parents were in the Fenton RV on their way to meet with Mr Lancer, Danny had no idea why but an overwhelming feeling of dread settled in him. They all climbed out of the car when Danny saw a notice on the front door of the restaurant, that it would be closing early. Customers and classmates from his school were leaving in slow trickles as closing time drew nearer. Sam and Tucker had been there as well and were about to head out when they saw the Fenton's and Mr Lancer standing in the parking lot.

"Woah what do you think that's about?" Tucker asked looking at Sam

"Only one way to find out." The two of them snuck closer and remained hidden but within earshot to hear the conversation.

Meanwhile, in the back room where the Nasty Sauce was still boiling and steam filling the room as it had been heating up for the past few days, was now at its peak.

Tucker and Sam caught their teacher's words, he'd found out about Danny having cheated.

"Did you catch that last part?" tucker asked

"No, some whistling sound coming from somewhere makes it hard to hear." She replied and looked inside "Wait, is there supposed to be smoke coming from inside?"

"No what do you mean?" Tucker looked inside as well and saw the whole restaurant filled with smoke "We need to go now!"

Danny felt like his life was over, he thought all of it was done and he'd take this dark secret with him to the grave but nope, Lancer told his parents everything and they were far from impressed. They'd just begun scolding him when he smelled it, smoke coming from somewhere nearby and puffs of it escaping from under the door. But before he could say anything, an earth quaking, booming explosion erupted right by them. The windows shattered, the walls blew apart and on instinct Danny closed his eyes and went intangible for the duration of the blast.

The seconds long explosion was followed by a deafening silence, he opened his eyes too an unbelievable sight. The restaurant was ninety percent destroyed, barely anything left. A large black plume of smoke rising to the sky and he was the only person still standing. He dropped the intangibility and looked around him in pure shock. Debris everywhere and he fell to his knees when he saw what remained of his family, blood everywhere as they were crushed from parts of the building. Danny felt himself trembling and he was hyperventilating, he didn't know if he wanted to scream or cry but his body felt completely numb.

A few minutes later he heard sirens approaching, fire fighters and police had just arrived. A lot was going on behind him but he heard none of it, his mind completely shut out as the fire fighters were digging through the rubble and putting out what remained of the fire, an officer came over to Danny.

"Are you alright young man? Do you know what happened here?" a woman officer got down on her knees next to him and asked

But Danny was completely unresponsive, just staring at the ground unmoving. She tried to ask him again but for a few seconds he was quiet but eventually tried to speak.

"My family and I…an explosion…I don't know…" he finally looked at her tears streaming down his face. He was taken to the back of a paramedic to be examined. He was completely fine physically, not a scratch on him. The examiners were shocked to say the least, not only was he the only survivor but unscathed at that from an explosion he mere steps away from. He eventually calmed down and told them he'd come with his family to talk to his teacher when he smelled smoke and then the place just exploded. He left out explaining how he could've survived such a thing. When he told them who he'd been here with, they asked if he saw anyone else on the premises because he only mentioned four people with him but there were six body bags. Danny told them he hadn't seen or known if anyone else was there. After making sure he was okay, he was dropped off at home.

As soon as he closed the front door, he sank to the floor and let out all the tears and screams he'd been holding back, the pain in his chest suffocating him. The house was too empty and would remain empty. He didn't even fully understand what happened but he had to deal with his family being gone. After an hour of just lying there on the spot Danny picked himself up and turned on the tv to get the full story. He heard the news anchor reporting on the explosion at the Nasty Burger, claiming the lives of six people, half of them being his family. He dropped the glass of water he was holding when the identities of the remaining two people were identified. It couldn't be, not them too. But staring him straight in the face from the tv were pictures of his two best friends.

"Tucker and Sam too…everyone I care about…gone." He threw the remote at the tv and ran up to his room buried his face in his pillow and covered his ears to drown out his own screams but also the ringing home phone. He was not up to speaking to anyone, especially not his friend's parents. The phone ran incessantly for almost an hour until it eventually stopped.

The house was pitch black as night time approached, Danny still hadn't moved from his bed. He hoped with everything he had that all of this was just some twisted dream, that he'd wake up from it soon. That his family and friends would walk in and tell him that everything was fine. At some point he even considered going to find Desiree and wishing all of this away but he knew there was always a twist and letting her out wouldn't solve anything.

Over the next few days, night vigils were held at school for Tucker, Sam and Lancer but Danny never went. He didn't plan on leaving the house and didn't have the strength to deal with well-wishers and people checking in and him having to put on a brave face. He wanted nothing to do with any of it, he didn't want to exist anymore. He just wanted to disappear. The Foley's and The Manson's had come over as well to check on him, cry with him and bring him meals and he was grateful for it. When the doorbell rang the next day however he wasn't prepared for who was at the door.

"Valerie, hey…" and suddenly he felt a little less pain in his chest seeing her

"Hey Danny. You've probably heard this a lot but I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Thanks…" he stood aside and let her in

They settled in the living room with a cup of hot chocolate for themselves although Danny wasn't really drinking his just holding the cup in his hands.

"Do you mind if I keep the tv on? I just don't like the silence of the house." He finally took a sip of his hot beverage

"Sure no problem" she said gently and he could feel her eyes on him, waiting for him to say something

"I know you came to talk to me, to see how I'm doing but I just can't…"

"We don't have to talk if you don't want to, we can sit just like this. I just wanted to keep you company for a bit."

They remained in silence and drank their drinks in silence barring the tv going on in the background. Even though they weren't talking, Danny was glad she'd come to see him, just having someone else in the room with him, a friend, was helping him more than he thought it would. And after a while he felt okay enough to open up to her.

"I keep thinking I'm stuck in a nightmare." He started, looking at his empty cup on the table "I keep hoping and waiting for them all to come in through the front door. I know it's not going to happen but, part of me is still waiting for them to come home" he hunched forward not trying to hide just how broken he felt. Valerie put her hand on his shoulder at first before she put her arms around him and hugged him

"I know that feeling. I was devastated when I lost my mom when I was a kid." She ended the hug as he looked up at her

"Does it get any easier? Does the pain ever stop?" he asked defeatedly

"The pain doesn't stop it just gets easier to handle, after some time and with the right people in your life it hurts a lot less. But it also demands maddening amounts of patience, some days are easier than others. You think okay maybe tomorrow will be the day the pain stops hurting or the next or the next. There were times I thought I'd never recover but all that made me and my dad closer than ever. I think you can get there too."

They talked for a while longer until it was time for Valerie to go. They stood at the door.

"You don't have to go through this alone, Danny. If you ever need to talk or hang out or anything, don't hesitate to call okay?" she smiled at him

"I appreciate it. Thanks Val" they hugged for longer than they meant to. For Danny he didn't want it to end, being with Valerie these past few hours had made him feel more like himself that he had in a while. For Valerie she wanted him to know that she was there for him whenever he needed her. They eventually ended the hug and Valerie left. Once again Danny had to face the empty house, but with Valerie offering to support him through this hard time, he was starting to believe that maybe he would be able to get through it.

And that's chapter one done and dusted, hope you enjoyed. I'm still busy with chapter two although I'm thinking of just writing the whole story one time and then posting the chapters when I'm done but I'll see. Like and reviews are always appreciated.

Well that's it from me-

Until the next chapter:

Ketsui Tasogare :-)