Hey all, Sparkling Patronus here. So who watched the new episode last night raises hand. I thought it was decent. I'm not really all for the Danny x Valerie myself, but there was plenty of Danny x Sam too, maybe even more. However, one thing I didn't like was Valerie's new suit. It's like they can't leave anything alone. First they did Danny' costume, but that was fine because they only added a 'D' and it wasn't too big a deal. Then they 'upgraded' Technus, which made me a bit upset because I like the whole ad scientist guy look he used to have. Now Valerie's suit. I personally like her simple one better, and I don't understand why she'd want her face in full view like that. Plus, it totally doesn't even look like her when she wears it. It's like they have to change everything! It annoys me. Well, I've finished ranting, I'll be quiet now. No offense to anyone who like the new stuff, that's just my opinion,

OK, here's the next chapter guys. Hope you guys actually like the fic so far. Question, you think it's too repetitive? I feel like I'm repeating myself a bit as I write. Maybe it's just me though, what do you think? Well anyway, here's the chapter.

Danny darted away from the school as quickly as possible, as though he though he could outrun the wave of memories threatening to engulf him. The site of his two best friends had affected him far more than he had originally thought it would. He hadn't even stuck around to see if he could point out any other familiar faces.

Now it was time to journey to his house. He really hoped his parents were still there, he needed to see them. He didn't know what it was, but now he just wanted to see the people that he loved so dearly. He needed to make sure they were alright, make sure they were happy even though he was gone. He didn't want them to be happy that he was gone; he just hoped that they'd been able to get over it. But he hoped most of all that they missed him.

He reached his house in a matter of minutes. This house looked so much more like the home he remembered than the house he'd been to earlier. There was that familiar shade of orange paint that was his father's favorite color, and there, on the top of the house, was that large opt center with the large 'Fenton Works' sign blinking in the front. Danny took a deep breath as he prepared to go inside, but then he stopped.

He'd been invisible for almost four hours now he guessed, maybe he should take a rest up on the roof. He'd make sure to keep himself well hidden, so that none of the neighbors could see him, should they have the urge to look at the roof through their bedroom window. If he heard his parents coming he'd turn invisible immediately.

So Danny floated to the top of the roof and turned visible. It was a cool autumn day and it was only early afternoon, though it felt much later to Danny. He brought his knees up to his chin and rocked himself back and forth gently. This seemed to be a habit he had developed. He sat like this whenever he was thinking hard.

He looked out of the town of his childhood as he sat there. It was so strange, the last time he'd been here he'd been a part of the town, he'd been one of the many inhabitants of Amity, as well as its ghostly protector. Now he was back, and he felt as if he was on the outside looking in as everyone went about their daily business. He was back, but life in Amity went on as usual, no one even aware that young Danny Fenton was perched atop the roof of his former home. He didn't know if he found this thought comforting at the moment, or slightly unnerving.

Once he felt that he was well rested enough, about fifteen minutes later, he turned himself invisible once again and shot down through the roof and into the house. It only took his a moment to realize he was in his old room. It was so strange; it looked exactly as it had the day he'd left. It seemed someone had been taking care of it though, for nothing was dusty or dirty in anyway. Why would his parents bother to maintain a room that no one was living in?

He took a good look around. There was his old computer, turned off across the room. It was still there, and he knew that all of the data he'd collected about his ghostly foes through the years was saved in there, protected by numerous passwords. He'd reinforced it, ever since his sister had been able to hack into his personal files so easily under the password 'Paulina Fenton'.

He walked toward his dresser and opened it. There were all of his old shirts, even if most of them looked exactly the same as the slightly dirty one he was wearing in his human form. He closed the drawer. His room was so much bigger than the apartment he'd lived in for the past year and a half. He'd had such a better life here.

He looked at the shelves. Framed photographs of him with friends and family covered them. He observed each and everyone, trying to remember the precise moment it was taken and who was on the other side of the camera. Photographs were such strange things, he mused. There you were, frozen in time on that small piece of paper. Half the time you couldn't even remember when it was taken, but when you looked back at it, you wondered how fast the time had moved. It was like looking at your past self, smiling happily up at you, even when you felt that your present life was in shambles.

Danny placed the photo of him and Jazz that he was currently looking at back on the shelf. Well, at least he knew his parents still lived here. His business in his room finished, he dropped down another floor and found himself in the kitchen. This room was also empty, so he supposed his parents were either not home or down in the lab. Unlike his own room, his parents seemed to have redone the kitchen in the time he'd been away. There was all new furniture, and the walls had been painted a different color. He wondered exactly when his parents had found the do this.

He walked over to the fridge, where numerous pictures were held on with magnets that had been purchased in various places. His parents rarely used photographs; they'd always preferred to think of the fridge as the family hall of fame.

Danny once again stopped to look at the photographs and other momentums tacked on the fridge. He suddenly realized how much he'd come to appreciate photos in the past two days. They seemed to link him to his past life, a life that seemed to have existed so long ago. A life he couldn't leave behind. A life he so desperately wanted back.

There were various pictures, all from different time periods on the door, and Danny was a bit surprised to find that he was in many of them. He stopped on a certain one. It was the same picture that had been taped in the birthday card he'd read back at the apartment, and it was not held up with a fancy, porcelain magnet purchased from a shop like most of the others. This photo was held up with a makeshift magnet he'd made from clay when he was in preschool. He remembered it well. It didn't seem to have any definite shape, but he'd been trying to make it look like a puppy. He'd stuck a magnet on the back and given it to his parents, who had been delighted. They'd called it his 'first invention', and they'd proudly tacked it on the fridge. He couldn't believe they still had the old thing after all these years.

Turning away from the fridge he looked to the side, where the door leading to the lab was left ajar. So his parents were down in the lab were they? He crept downstairs quietly, using the stairs even though he could have floated down just as easily.

The familiar sight of grey and green met his eyes as he descended the stairs. The first thing that caught his eye was the ghost portal, still swirling eerily and lighting the entire room with a mysterious, green glow. Apparently his parents still hadn't figured out that this was the main reason that ghosts were running wild in Amity. He supposed they'd always be clueless.

Then he saw them. Well, he could only see their backs from his place at the bottom of the stairs, but it was enough to recognize them. They wore those same hazmat jumpsuits they'd always worn. He could tell by their position that they were tinkering with some invention. Some things would never change he supposed.

He floated a bit closer, close enough to see his parent's faces. Well, close enough to see his dad's anyway, for his mom had the hood of her jumpsuit pulled over her face. His father didn't seem to have changed much, though the fact that he had grown older was slightly visible. His hair had turned noticeably greyer, and a few wrinkles creased his face. Other than that there hadn't been much change with his father. Physical change anyway, Danny wasn't really sure about anything else.

The two of them worked in silence, and Danny just stayed there, watching with mild fascination as his parents connected wires and tightened bolts. Danny had never actually seen his parents inventing before. They'd made it clear that no one was to bother them while they were working, and Danny had never really seen fit to break that rule before today.

After about a half an hour of labor, his parents stood up and stretched, picking up the invention. Danny wondered if they were finished or just taking a break, but he followed them all the same. They wandered over to the other side of the room and took a seat on one of the chairs that were placed randomly around the lab.

Maddie sighed as she sat and she pulled down her hood. Danny saw that there was a more prominent change in her than there had been in his father. Her hair seemed to have a few small grey streaks running through it, but they weren't too noticeable and Danny supposed he only realized it because he was close. It was her face however, that had taken the most change. It really didn't look like old age, she looked tired. She rested her arms against her knees and slouched down as she sank into the chair. She had bags under her eyes that made it appear as though she hadn't had a decent night's sleep in months. But it was her eyes that shocked Danny. It was like something had flickered and died. His mother's eyes, which once glowed with a happy and hyper light, were now dull and darkened. He wondered what had caused that.

However, he noticed no change in her mannerism as she looked up and said, "Alright Jack, let's try this baby out shall we?" With that she picked up the small machine and pressed a button, which Danny assumed was the on switch.

Not expecting his parents to turn on any ghost hunting devices while he was in the room, Danny took an involuntary step backwards. He stumbled a bit and fell back. He assumed he would have knocked over the table behind him had he not been intangible at the time.

However, his panic was for naught, because when his mom flipped the switch the invention made a sickly coughing sound and emitted a cloud of grey smoke.

"Darn it!" shouted Jack, waving the smoke away from his face, "It still doesn't work!"

"I'm sure it's fine Jack," said his mother as she opened the back of the small machine and began to tinker with the insides, "It just needs some more tweaking"

Danny walked back over to his parents and took a deep breath. He let the panic he'd felt drain out of his system. Unfortunately, he'd let his guard down at precisely the wrong time, for the machine suddenly whirred to life. Danny gulped as he recognized it. Fenton ghost detector.

Apparently his parents had made some changed to the small invention, for it was much louder and more obnoxious than he remembered. A red siren on the top buzzed as the machine shouted out 'Ghost detected!' in a robot like voice over and over.

Jack and Maddie seemed as surprised by this sudden reaction as Danny, though they recovered much more quickly. Springing into action, they immediately grabbed a weapon apiece out of a nearby bin. Maddie began waving the detector around frantically, obviously trying to locate the source of the disturbance. She stopped facing Danny and they pointed their guns at Danny.

Finally regaining the feeling in his brain, Danny shot off through the ceiling just as the guns fired. Before he exited the house, he heard his mother sigh exasperatedly and state, "I told it just needed a bit of tweaking"

OK, there's chapter four. This one was a bit longer. Well, thanks tons for the reviews last time guys! They made me happy! My b-day was good. Lotta people didn't show up to my party cuz they couldn't make it, but it was still fun. Anyway, let me just reply to a review quick.

Apolla360- Yes, there will be DxS in later chapters, I just don't know how much. It might only be an implied thing or they might really get into a relationsip. I'll see how the story progresses as I write.

OK, thanks for reading you guys! Please drop a review if you have time and I'll see you next chapter!