OK guys, finally I've reached the climax chapter. Really sorry for leaving it off for so long. But this was a really hard chapter to write. Well, thanks a ton for your great reviews! Enjoy chapter 12:

This was it. He'd made his decision and there was no backing out now. He felt a shiver run down his spine as his friends spotted him. Everyone in the room froze. Sam and Tucker looked at him, but he could not read the expressions on their faces. He wasn't quite sure whether that was a good sign or not.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Sam finally spoke in a small, barely audible whisper, "You are here…"

Danny, not sure what he was supposed to say in a situation like this, only said in reply, "Yeah…I am…"

After this there was just some more awkward staring. Danny, feeling rather uncomfortable hovering ten feet in the air, floated down and let his feet touch solid ground. Now he was standing face to face with the two of them.

Tucker, who seemed to be keeping the calmest at this point, said, "So…you came back…but, why did you leave in the first place?" He didn't seem as if he was trying to sound angry at this, just questioning, but Danny could tell by his tone that he was rather annoyed with him.

Now Danny felt extremely stupid. He knew his reasons for leaving were pretty stupid, but now they seemed even worse when he was about to use them as a means for explanation.

Taking a deep breath, and trying to keep his voice steady, he replied, "I-I don't know…everything just seemed so hard back then, so complicated. I thought the stress was too much for me…so I left to get away from it…" He hung his head, not wanting to see his friend's face for fear of what he might find there.

However, though he could avoid his friend's face, he could not avoid his words, into which anger was now seeping, "Too stressed out? Danny, don't you think we were all stressed out? Me and Sam and Jazz were all going through the exact same things as you. Every time you had to fight a ghost, so did we. We had the same school work and the same tests. We went through everything you did; we were right there with you"

Danny felt the guilt coming over him in waves as he listened to his friend's voice. He'd berated himself about the very same things, but hearing the words come from his friend's mouth made him feel even worse. Looking up, he saw that Tucker's expression was not really as angry as his voice has suggested, though his eyes were narrowed into a semi glare.

After a few moments, Danny gathered up the courage to reply, "I know that now Tuck. Hell, I've cursed myself for it more times than I can count at this point. I realize it was stupid and that it was selfish, but back then I don't think I even fully realized what I was doing. I didn't realize how much I was hurting everyone…"

Sam, who had remained silent since her last whispered statement, replied, "What made you think you would be hurting us Danny? We're your friends; we were with you through everything, good and bad. We've told you countless times what you've meant to us…I've told you what you meant to me…. You have no clue how badly you hurt all of us when you did that. I can't even comprehend how you could do it without a second thought…"

All of this was making Danny extremely awkward. He wanted to tell them everything. How he'd been miserable since he'd left, how he'd missed them and hated himself every day for leaving, how hard it had been to return. He wanted to say all of these things and so many more, but there didn't seem to be any way he could put these feelings into words. Suddenly feeling completely devoid of energy, he collapsed onto the bed and reverted back to his human form, eyes trained on the floor.

Taking another deep, shaky breath, he said, "I know, I can't blame you for being mad. I can't blame you if you hate me. It was really hard to come back here, but I needed to see you guys again, to see my family again. But…if you all want me to leave again…I'll understand" He dropped his head down once again after he finished speaking, silently praying that they wouldn't really request that he leave. As hard as this confrontation was, he knew it would probably be harder to turn away now when there was still so much that needed to be said.

At this, her expression softened a bit as she said, "No Danny, don't leave. Believe me; we don't want to go through that again. You don't know how long I've been praying for you to come back. It's just…you can't really blame me for being mad at you. You left us here. You escaped your problems, but you just made a lot more for us, and the worst part was that you didn't even seem to care. You never even said goodbye…." At this Sam didn't seem able to speak anymore. She choked back her tears, not wanting to seem any more pathetic than she already did. She had never displayed her emotions so openly before, and it was making her feel extremely awkward.

Now Tucker stepped forward again, his expression somewhat calmer, and asked, "Hey…if you don't mind me asking…what made you come back anyway?"

Danny blinked a moment, as if not fully understanding Tucker's question. His brain seemed to be on standby at the moment. After a few seconds the gears started to turn again, and he reached for his backpack to show them the photographs. That was when he realized for the first time that the backpack wasn't there.

Realizing that his hand was grasping air, he whirled around, looking slightly like a dog trying to grab its own tail as he searched for the knapsack. These actions seemed to startle Sam and Tucker slightly, but Danny didn't notice. He knew he'd had that pack when he'd entered Amity, so where was it now? Had he left it on the street, at the school, at his house, somewhere else? Perfect, he'd managed to lose a sack filled with his most cherished memories, his photographs.

"What's the matter?" came Sam's slightly alarmed voice as she watched Danny twirl around in confusion. She seemed to think he'd gone mad.

Danny, as if realizing that the two were still there, turned back to Sam and said, "My pack…my photographs, they're what made me come back, but I don't know what I did with them…" He brought a hand to his face and rubbed his forehead. As if this day hadn't been troublesome enough.

Without looking up, he felt a weight on the bed next to him, signifying that someone had sat down next to him. Now even looking up, he was sure it was Sam.

"I'm not saying I'm not still hurt about what you did to us…but I am glad that you're back," she whispered. Danny looked up, realizing for the first time exactly how much of a mess her face was right now.

He felt a slight smile cross his face at her words. He knew this situation was not anywhere close to being resolved. In fact, he didn't know if it ever would be completely. However, as he looked up at the two friends he hadn't seen in so long standing so close to him, he realized that this was definitely a start.

And there you have it, probably one of the most important chapter in this fic. I really hope you guys though it was alright, like I said, it was really hard to write. Please leave me a review and tell me what you thought and I'll try to get the next one up faster!