Here I am with the next chapter! I thank all those who gave reviews and I hope all of you people enjoy this next installment!

Shameless Advertising: If anyone wants to, you can read my other DP fanfics.

Disclaimer: I am quite sure that I do not own Danny Phantom, which means that I have retained some semblance of sanity.

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Life's Soft Screaming

Ch. 2

Nothing went right, nothing at all. Of course, nothing is ever really normal or easyfor long for Danny or Valerie. Trouble and undesirable circumstances seem to haunt them, never leaving them for a span longer than a day or two, and that was if they were lucky. It just happened to be one of those unlucky days.

"Mom!" Lily whined, "They gave me this nasty salad instead of my soup!"

Valerie sighed, seeing as her own order was similarly messed up. In fact, so was Danny's. They managed to survive by trading their meals with each other, but the whole calming effect was irreparably ruined. Then, Danny had tried to order desert. That was a disaster in and of itself. Add to that the fact that the waiter seemed to hate Danny with a passion andseemingly no other reason thanto be nasty.

The night just kept getting worse.

The waiter purposely bumped the candle on his way to another table, making Valerie's hair catch on fire. The lady sitting at the table behind her got her hair caught on fire too. The resulting chaos would be too horrifying to describe, but in the end, a very unhappy Fenton family got kicked out of the fancy restaurant where they were supposed to be having a relaxing dinner for Valerie's birthday.

"Happy birthday to me." Valerie said sarcastically, putting her head in her hands, her slightly singed hair falling limply about.

Danny put her arm around her and picked up Lily.

"We'll just go somewhere else." He said consolingly, although he had his doubts that the night would get any better.

Valerie gave him a weak smile and pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks for trying. At least we know never to go there again."

"Yeah, what was that guy's problem?" He frowned slightly.

"Hey, don't worry. He's just an idiot."

They soon got into their car and Danny drove off around town in pursuit of a better place to eat. Valerie was looking out the window, lost in her own world again. That is, until the car swerved, almost making Valerie do a face plant in the glass.

"Wha-?" She asked, turning rapidly around to face her husband.

He had turned into a parking lot at the last minuet, cutting off a few cars in the process. He quickly parked in an open spot, and hopped out of the car.

"Uh, I just realized I need to go to the restroom." He spouted off before practically running to the nearest store.

She didn't have much time to ponder his behavior before her ghost radar started to warn her. She immediately changed into her Hunter form, and remembering her child, she gave some orders.

"Stay in the car and don't let anyone but me or Danny in, okay?"

"Okay mommy." Came the reply.

With that assurance, Valerie shot up into the sky, looking for the nearby ghost that the radar picked up. A loud crash caught her attention, and she zoomed over the building as quickly and silently as she could. Hopefully, she wouldn't mess this one up too.

Yep, just another one of those unlucky days.

Once again, after an extremely tiring battle for the both of the participants, Phantom managed to escape once more. Phantom did not escape unscathed, however, being wounded with a nasty gash in his left arm. He managed to disappear in the torrent of dust caused by his crash landing in the dirt plot where construction workers had been preparing to build a store before they considered self-preservation the highest priority.

Valerie had sprinted to the car and was in the passenger seat just before Danny came out of the store, looking a bit disheveled, handling his left arm gingerly. Not like his wife had the energy to notice. Their child sat moodily in the back because she wasn't able to see the battle even though she heard it.

So there they all sat, moody, and all in various stages of depression, having one of those trying days were nothing ever seems to go right. That was only the tip of the iceberg. As Danny haphazardly shot out of the parking spot in reverse, a scream sounded behind them, almost too soft to be heard. It was as if the scream was half-hearted, like the fear was feigned, and death would be a pleasing alternative to the reality that the human creature was living in. The scream was more out of habit than anything else.

Almost at once, Danny's infamous superhero complex kicked into high gear. He immediately tapped the gas and braked the car, slamming the door open at the same time in his haste to help the unfortunate victim of his sloppy driving. He nearly fell over turning around his car. He froze in inconceivable surprise at the woman lying on her back at his feet. When Valerie didn't even hear a sound by what she judged was a long time, she got out of the car and walked over to her husband. When she saw him standing stock still, not even twitching, she laid her hand gently on his shoulder and asked what was wrong. A small frown flitted over her features when a response was lacking. She followed his gaze, and she froze herself. Now he was completely justified in his unresponsive stupor. For in front of them was the one woman they had thought they would never meet again, and one Danny had never wished to.

"Hey, mommy?" Lily asked, coming around the other side of the car to stare curiously at the strange woman on the floor.

"Yes, sweetie?" Valerie answered dazedly.

"Who's this?" The little girl's eyes were still fixed on the ebony haired woman.

Valerie glanced at Danny before replying grimly."That's Samantha…Samantha Manson."

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Okay. The next one's finally out. If you think this chapter's a little short, then I'd have to agree with you. Very sorry about that, but I am extremely short on time…So I would reallylovefor you all to review! Criticism is welcomed. I'd love honest opinions and pointers to help make my story better. Thanks!