A/N: Alright, like always, I'm going to begin by apologizing profusely for not getting this chapter up sooner. See, I think the real reason that it took me so long to get around to writing it is that I'm subconsciously wanting to put off posting it so the story will go on longer. Yeah, that's it. The fact that I have a lot of homework, had a run in with writers block, and that I spent the past three weekends straight doing nothing but playing Kingdom Hearts II has nothing at all to do with it.

So, here are two things to make it up because I feel really bad about taking so long. So present one: this is the longest chapter so far, so hopefully that'll make up for it.

Present two: proof that I'm a total nerd and completely obsessive about making this story realistic. I went through and first calculated the distance from Oregon to Wisconsin, and then determined how many hours Danny had been flying since he left based on the previous chapter and how fast he'd be realistically flying. I took that information and plotted it on a graph on my grease board. Then I did the same thing with the GAV. My roommate seemed to think this was hilarious and scanned by grease board. So of course I hosted the picture on TinyPic for your entertainment.

Here's the link: http/i3. tinypic. com /vsm9nl. jpg (just delete the spaces, there are a total of 4 and add a colon and another slash after the http).

So yeah, on to the chapter!

Chapter Thirteen
Recovery

Danny crashed head first onto an open plain, skidding across the grass. He groaned as he tried to roll over as his stomach ached with pain from landing so hard onto the ground. He finally managed to lie on his back and shut his eyes. He felt blood trickle down the stinging cuts on his face but there was nothing he could do about it now. Right now, he just wanted to rest. He was so exhausted that all he wanted to do was sleep, and he didn't care where.

He didn't know where he was anymore, and he didn't care. He had flown through most of the night, taking a few breaks, and then most of the morning. All he knew was that he wasn't in Wisconsin yet, and that was all he cared about.

As he lay on the hard ground, he started losing consciousness, drifting willingly into deep slumber. He faintly heard the sound of horse hoofs galloping across the ground and saw a shadow fall over him as he closed his eyes, falling into darkness.

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz didn't know how they did it. They left the house at seven that night and thirteen hours later, the Fentons were still driving. They had driven straight through the night, no stops. Of course they had switched drivers, but still, the fact that they were still driving was amazing.

All Jack and Maddie could think about was finding Danny. They felt neither hunger, nor thirst, nor exhaustion, only the desire to keep driving. The further they drove, the better chance they had of finding Danny.

All through the night the passengers would watch the ghost tracker intently, focusing on the green arrow pointing ahead of them, knowing that the green arrow was the closest thing they could get to Danny right now.

"Where exactly are we?" Jazz asked, after looking out the window to see unfamiliar countryside.

"Somewhere in North Dakota I think," Maddie answered.

" North Dakota? What's Danny doing in North Dakota?" Tucker asked.

"I don't know. Maybe he's just flying in whatever direction he can until he finds a wide open space."

"Well, I don't know if any of you have noticed, but North Dakota is nothing but a wide open space!" Sam pointed out.

"Well, anyone else got an idea?"

"I do," Jazz stated grimly. " Wisconsin."

" Wisconsin?" Tucker and Sam yelled as Jazz nodded her head.

"No, he wouldn't be going there; he's not that stupid…is he?" Sam asked.

"What's so bad with Wisconsin?" Jack asked. "That's where we went to school after all and it's a beautiful place!"

"Because Vlad—" Tucker started to say.

"Vlad's house is haunted with that Wisconsin Ghost that wants to kill Danny, remember?" Jazz interrupted.

"That's right. But why would Danny go to Vlad's?" Maddie asked. "I always got the impression that he didn't like him."

"He doesn't. I can't explain it, but just, drive faster. We really need to find him before he gets there," Sam stated as Tucker and Jazz nodded in agreement, their faces filled with worry and apprehension.

"Alright, step on it Jack."

"Where do you think he's from?"

"I don't know. I saw something fall out of the sky and when I rode over to the spot I saw him on the ground. I couldn't just leave him there."

"Fall out of the sky? Alison, what were you thinking?"

"Dad, he's bleeding and he's knocked out! It would be wrong to leave him there, and we're the only house here for miles!"

"Yeah, he's bleeding green, if you hadn't noticed."

"Mom, a little support here!"

"She's right John, we couldn't just leave him there to die. The poor fellow looks dead enough as it is."

"It just doesn't seem right, that's all."

Danny groaned as the black unconsciousness began to lift. He heard mumbled voices around him, but couldn't make anything out.

He opened his eyes and the mumbling stopped as he saw three people staring down at him. One was a round woman with graying brown hair and a kind face, another was a muscular man whose gray hair was going bald at the top, and the third was a blonde haired teenaged girl who looked about Jazz's age.

"Wh-where am I?" he asked as he tried to sit up, but the pain in his ribs was too great and he slumped back down on the couch he was lying on. The three of them looked at each other, in shock at hearing his echoed voice and seeing his glowing eyes.

"You're in the Baker home," the woman replied, her voice slightly shaky.

"Where's that?"

"In the eastern part of North Dakota," she answered.

" North Dakota? Then that means I'm almost there."

"Almost where?" the girl asked.

" Wisconsin."

"Why are you going to Wisconsin?"

"This guy that lives there, he has something I need to get, something that'll make me feel better," he explained as he tried to sit up again but couldn't.

"Oh, you're sick? Well that explains everything, you poor thing," Mrs. Baker stated as she rushed off to get a blanket and placed it over his frigid body.

"That doesn't explain anything," Mr. Baker remarked. "Boy, why did my daughter see you fall out of the sky while she was riding?"

"Um, well, see, I'm actually…a ghost," he finished, knowing that outside of Amity, that wasn't going to fly.

"A ghost? Boy be serious or I'll throw you out this door, I don't care what physical condition you're in, got that?"

"Dad!" the girl yelled in protest.

"Don't bother, I'm leaving. It's not safe for me to stay here anyways," he replied as he tried to sit up again but was still too sore.

"No, you're in no condition to," Mrs. Baker advised. "Don't mind my husband, he doesn't like the fact that you're here."

"I don't mind the fact that you're here, I just mind that fact that you're bleedin' green, you fell outta the sky, you've got weird glowy eyes, and you claim you're a ghost."

Danny sighed. "Listen, I know it's hard to believe, but I am. I'm too weak to prove it to you now, but you've just got to believe me. If you really want to check I don't have a pulse."

"Now that isn't necessary," Mrs. Baker stated as she brought out a bowl of warm soup. "Here dear, eat this up, it'll make you feel better."

"Thank you, but I don't eat."

"Nonsense, everyone eats."

"Ghosts don't."

"Alright, this is getting a bit ridiculous," Mr. Baker remarked.

"I agree. I really don't need any of this. I just need some help standing up and then I'll be on my way."

"I wasn't talking about that, I was talking about you!"

"Listen, just don't worry about me. I've made it this far, the rest should be no problem. Just help me out and I'll be out of your lives and it'll never matter whether I'm a ghost or not."

"I really think you should stay," the girl said.

"I know, but I can't. It's just not safe."

"Not safe? Not safe from what?"

"Me," he answered guiltily. "Now, will someone please help me up?" he asked angrily as his eyes flickered a brighter green as he finally managed to sit up.

The girl bent down and put Danny's arm around her shoulders and hoisted him up, amazed, like she was when she first lifted him onto her horse, at how light he was. Danny grimaced in pain, leaning on her for support. "Let me help you to the door," she said as she slowly started walking, Danny's feet moving slowly with hers.

"Alison, I really don't think this is a good idea," Mrs. Baker warned. "He's not well enough to get up and you said so yourself that there's no one for miles."

"Mrs. Baker, I appreciate your concern, but right now I just need to get away from here. I'll be fine."

They reached outside and Danny stepped away from Alison, walking on his own. He turned around and faced the Bakers. "Thanks for your hospitality, and sorry I bothered you." He turned back around and shut his eyes, concentrating on trying to fly. He took a deep breath and jumped into the air, grateful that he felt the weightlessness he felt when he floated. He heard a gasp from the Bakers and he turned around with a small smile. "Um, I'm all turned around, which way's east?" They all pointed to the left and Danny smiled again and started flying.

As he tried to build up speed, he found that he was slowly losing altitude. "Oh come on, I'm so close! You can't give up now!" he screamed at himself. He hit the ground again, though not as hard as before.

Alison saw him hit the ground in the distance and ran out to him, helping him off the ground.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"No," he answered bluntly as the other Bakers came running over.

"By George, you were telling the truth," Mr. Baker remarked, his voice filled with awe. Danny smiled slightly.

"Come on, let's get you back inside."

"No, I have to keep moving. So I can't fly, I can still walk."

"You couldn't even walk to the door and you expect us to believe that you can walk all the way to Wisconsin!" Mrs. Baker asked.

"I've done worse."

"Now boy, I don't think this is smart," Mr. Baker advised as he stepped in Danny's path. "You won't make it."

"I'll make it just fine; it'll just take me awhile. Besides, you people just don't understand! Every second more I spend with you puts you in danger!"

"How so?" Mr. Baker challenged.

"This disease, it causes my powers to malfunction. I don't have any control and they can go off at any second, destroying or hurting anyone near me. It already happened to my family and friends, and I won't let it happen again. So I left to find this other ghost in Wisconsin who has something that might help me cure it, so I can go back home."

"Home?" Alison asked. "Do ghosts have homes?"

"Well, I'm technically only half ghost, and no, I really don't feel like explaining how that's possible right now. I'm just human and ghost at the same time. Usually I can switch between human and ghost forms, but this disease seems to have short circuited that as well," he added bitterly.

"But why am I even telling you people all this? I need to get away before something happens to you. I appreciate the help and concern, but I need to do this by myself."

"But…" Alison started to protest but stopped at the look of fear in the ghost's eyes.

"Get away, now," he managed to warn through the building sneeze. He turned away from them, for their protection. He sneezed and turned intangible, and then fell through the ground as the Bakers watched in amazement.

"Gross, there's a dead bunny buried here," Danny's voice drifted from below the dirt as the Bakers continued to stare at the spot where he had been standing. He concentrated on floating and flew out of the ground, shutting his eyes as he tried to regain tangibility.

"Oh you poor dear," Mrs. Baker sympathized as she walked over towards the ghost and placed her arms comfortingly on his now tangible shoulders. "I wish there was something we could do for you."

"Mrs. Baker, the best thing you could do for me right now is to just leave me alone and let me get to Wisconsin before I hurt you."

"Well maybe not," Alison stated as she smiled. "I can think of something that would help you."

"The signal's getting brighter. That means we have to be getting closer," Jazz remarked as she leaned on the seats in between her parents.

"He's probably not flying too fast, if he can still fly at all. We should be able to catch up with him soon," Maddie remarked as she continued to expectantly watch the road.

"And then we can talk him out of his foolish thoughts of running away," Sam reminded.

"Or at least ask him why he's stupid enough to go to Wisconsin," Tucker added.

Jazz sat back down and stared out the window at the sky, hoping to see Danny's familiar figure up among the clouds.

"Danny, we're almost there."

"Come on, admit it. It's a good plan," Alison teased as Danny recovered from a sneeze induced Ghostly Wail.

Danny sniffed. "Alright, I admit, it's a good plan, but it still isn't necessary."

"Oh come on. You didn't just expect us to let you walk to Wisconsin alone, did you?"

"No, probably not. You're about as persistent as my family," Danny stated as he stared at the moving plains passing beside him.

"I'll take that as a compliment," she added with a smile.

The Bakers had decided that since Danny would do anything to get to Wisconsin and they didn't want him going alone in his condition, they would drive him there themselves. So, after ignoring Danny's complaints, they packed up their truck and headed towards Wisconsin, with Danny and Alison sitting in the bed of the truck.

It did work out really well. Since the back of the truck was open to the sky, he didn't have to worry about destroying anyone or anything when he sneezed. And now, he didn't have to walk, which he had to admit he wasn't too keen on doing in the first place. And, as an added bonus, the car was driving faster than he had been flying since he ran away.

"Do you think they're coming after you if they're so persistent?" Alison asked.

"I hope not. I left them a note, asking them to stay behind, but I know they won't. Thankfully, they'll never suspect that I'm heading to Wisconsin."

"Why not?"

"Well, let's just say that the person who I'm going to visit is the last place on Earth I'd want to be when I'm depressed."

"Do they know he has the cure?"

"Possibly. But in my condition, it would be completely foolish to go there."

"But you're still going."

"Yeah. I'll take my chances. I just need to get the device so I can go home, and nothing's going to stop me."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Alison teased with a giggle as Danny started to smile before scrunching up his face due to the incoming sneeze. He faced the heavens and sneezed. Alison gasped as another Danny appeared next to him. Danny looked at him and groaned.

"That is so not fair! I've been trying to do that for months now and I can never get more than a second head, and that's when I'm at full power!" He shut his eyes in frustration and soon his duplicate vanished in a ring of light. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," she replied with a smile.

"So, what's it like…" Danny began but was interrupted by the radio.

"And now, we have a special incoming report from Amity Park, Oregon."

Danny ran up to the window separating the front from the back. "Turn it up please," Danny requested.

"It seems that the ghost capital of the world is once again being plagued by a ghost invasion. There have been dozens of reports of ghosts attacking locations varying from restaurants, to the local high school, to a box store."

Danny threw himself onto the crate he had been sitting on and groaned. Now the town was in danger from ghosts because he could no longer defend them. This had to mean that his family was following him, because otherwise they'd stop the invasion.

"The poor town only wonders where its supposed ghost hero, Danny Phantom, can be. Has he finally had enough with all the bad publicity and called it quits, or is he himself responsible for this invasion? The people of Amity can only guess and hope that he will come to their aid soon. We'll be right back after this commercial break talking about the upcoming senate race…"

Danny leaned forward and held his head in his hands. Now not only did this disease force him to desert his family and friends, but the town as well. He had hurt the ones he cared about and now, due to his absence, he was hurting the town too.

"You-you're Danny Phantom, aren't you?" Alison asked. "The Ghost Boy who saves Amity Park?"

Danny lifted his head up and nodded before lowering it again.

"Wow. I hear about you all the time on the radio."

"That's great," Danny replied sarcastically.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"You heard the news report. Ghosts are attacking Amity and I'm not there to defend it. And now they're probably going to think that I arranged it all because I can't really tell them the truth."

"Listen, it's not as bad as you think. We'll be in Wisconsin in a few hours, you'll get the cure, and then you can fly back and save the town."

"Only problem: the cure really isn't a cure. It's just a device that will disable my powers for three hours. I still won't be able to fight the ghosts."

"Well, maybe just being there will be enough. Don't worry, you'll find a way. You can't do anything about it now. You've got to take care of yourself first, and then find a way to save the town."

"Yeah, you're right. But still, just another thing to make this day even worse."

They sat in silence, only interrupted by Danny sneezing an ecto-dome around the car.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Go for it."

"Why couldn't your family have helped you get the cure? Did you have to go alone?"

Danny sighed and turned to face the plains again. "When we first discovered that this disease was making my powers uncontrollable, I thought about running away so that my family wouldn't get hurt, but they told me to stay, that they wanted to work it out together. I was glad, because I didn't want to leave and the thought of working on a cure together was extremely comforting. My parents know more about ghosts than anyone can imagine, so I knew that together we could work something out. Then the Ghostly Wail came.

"It was so fast, I didn't really know what was happening. I was talking with them, joking about how much change I had found under the couch, when I sneezed and it came out. It threw my sister against the wall, breaking her arm. It threw my best friends against the stairs, breaking Sam's leg and severely injuring Tucker. It gave them cuts, bruises, concussions, and it was all because of me.

"They told me that it was all right, that it wasn't my fault, but I could tell that they were still scared of what would happen. My own friends and family were afraid of me. I couldn't stay there; I had to leave, to find something to cure it myself. I didn't want to danger them again." Danny felt a tear trail down his face and blushed as he wiped it off.

Alison leaned forward, looking straight at Danny. "Listen, I know I don't know exactly what's going on and it's probably none of my business, but I think your view on the events is a little biased."

Danny turned and found himself facing her bright blue eyes. "What?" he asked, caught off guard. The accusation was completely unexpected, but there was something else that made her question unsettling in Danny's heart. There was something strange about this girl. She just had this way of blatantly stating the obvious, finding simple answers to difficult questions or asking simple questions that demanded difficult questions, questions that made you look deep into yourself, made you doubt everything that you had thought was true. This was one of those statements. And the most unsettling part of it was that he found himself agreeing with her.

"Well, think about it for a second from the eyes of your friends and family. When they first found out your powers were malfunctioning, I'm sure they knew exactly what it meant and what might happen since they know so much about ghosts. And yet, despite that, still they wanted to help you, knowing the risks involved.

"And sure they might have been a little frightened, but I think you were afraid too. You still look afraid, but not of yourself, but of what you could do since you're not in control. Your friends and family feel the same way. They're not afraid of you because they know that you'd never actually hurt them.

"I can see that you're on a huge guilt trip, but there are things called accidents. People forgive, people forget, people move on. Trust me, I know. A year ago, I was driving my younger brother to school, as a favor, and while driving through an intersection, some guy gets impatient and thinks he can turn left before I make it through the intersection. We hit. My brother hit his head on the dashboard and injured his spine and slipped into a coma. He died in the hospital a few days later. I felt so guilty and placed the blame of his death on my shoulders. I kept criticizing myself and my judgments. Why didn't I just let him take the bus like usual? Why didn't I drive the speed limit instead of five over? Why didn't I notice him earlier? Was there any way I could have avoided the accident? I filled myself with doubt and guilt and I felt like I would die from it. I felt shame beyond explanation and forget running away, I went as far as considering suicide.

"But something stopped me, kept me alive: my parents. Through it all, my parents were there for me. Of course they were heartbroken too, but they held no ill will against me and comforted me more than they mourned. They didn't blame me, even though I considered it my fault. They told me that it was out of my hands.

"Thanks to them, I pulled myself out of my suicidal depression and here I am now. Of course I still miss my baby brother, but I no longer blame myself. It was out of my control. You're situation is the same way. You injured your family and feel ashamed and guilty, but in the end, your parents and friends will be the ones to pull you out of it. You need them if you ever intend to get out of this slump. Although, you don't have to listen to me. I'm just a silly Midwestern teenager and don't know much of anything. But I do know that you need someone to help you get rid of all the guilt. That stuff is like tar, it doesn't want to come off, and it needs lots of scrubbing by lots of people. The more on your side, the better. So don't turn down the people who want to help you, because you need them, more than you think."

Danny sat in silence, staring down at his hands. She was right. He did need his family's help. He had been going about fixing this the wrong way. The answer wasn't running away, it was staying with his family, talking to them, telling them how he felt. He shouldn't have kept it all inside, shouldn't have let his suspicions blossom into incorrect perceptions, shouldn't have doubted his family.

He looked up at Alison, his eyes glistening. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

She smiled back. "Don't mention it. And see, I told you this was an excellent plan."

Danny smiled and laughed for the first time since the Ghostly Wail.

"See, already thinking about it is making you feel better."

"Yeah, it is."

"So, tell me about your family. Our conversation keeps drifting back to your family, so now I have to know what they're like. My curiosity won't be satisfied otherwise."

Danny smiled and started regaling Alison with tales of not only his family and closest friends, but of life in Amity and the daily ghost attacks that plague it. He told her about how he became a half ghost, what was waiting for him in Wisconsin, everything. He found her so easy to talk to, so accepting, so trusting. While he talked to her he never felt worried about her exposing him, even though she never promised that she wouldn't. Somehow, he just knew.

Bored of staring constantly out the window at the rolling plains that all looked the same, Jazz shifted her gaze to the tracker, which at least changed appearance more than the scenery outside. She was lost in a stupor, staring at the ghost tracker as the arrow pointed in the direction they were heading.

Suddenly, the arrow changed to a dot. Jazz shook herself out of her stupor. "Mom, Dad, something happened with the tracker!"

Jack almost ran the GAV off the road in surprise as he stared at the tracker instead of the road. Tucker and Sam had both jumped up from their seats and rushed towards the front.

"What's that mean?"

"It means that Danny's within the immediate range of the tracker," Jack explained.

"It means we're really close to him!" Maddie translated as excitement flooded her body. They were so close now to finding her son, so close.

"I can't see him!" Sam stated as she continued to search the sky for a speck of black.

"Well, the range of the tracker is a bit beyond that of human sight, but we should be able to see him soon."

Minutes passed while they stared at the sky, seeing nothing, while the tracker claimed that Danny was getting closer.

"I don't understand. According to the tracker Danny should be inside our field of vision right now, but I don't see him!" Maddie complained.

"Maybe he's invisible?" Tucker suggested.

"Do you really think he had enough energy or control to fly and turn invisible?" Sam asked. "Besides, there's really no need to be invisible. He probably doesn't figure we're chasing after him."

"But then where is he? The only thing I see is a truck," Maddie commented.

"Wait a second…Danny stole the truck!" Jack shouted.

"Jack, Danny did not steal a truck," Maddie responded exasperatedly.

"But, he could be in the truck," Jazz suggested as a new light of hope shined through her eyes.

"Jack, step on it. We've got a truck to catch."

"Well, we're nearing the Minnesota border," Mr. Baker informed them. "Once we pass into Minnesota, we've just gotta drive through it which should only take about five hours, and then we're in Wisconsin. What part of Wisconsin are you headin' to?"

" Green Bay, to the Masters' Mansion."

"Masters? Vlad Masters? You know him?"

"Yeah. He was a friend of my parents' in college who has a major crush on my mom and wants me for his son. I try to avoid seeing him as much as possible."

"And he'll have the cure?" Mrs. Baker asked.

Danny nodded his head. "Before he became a businessman he worked with ghosts, and now it's like a hobby of his. He has something that will allow my parents to find a cure easier."

"That's good. Well then, to Green Bay."

"Hmm, that's interesting. That's the first car I've seen in hours," Mr. Baker commented. "Not many people know about these back routes; they usually just take the interstate."

Danny turned around to look at the incoming car and recognized the vehicle instantly. "Oh my God, it's my parents."

"What?" Alison asked.

"That's the GAV, it's got to be."

"But how'd they know you were here?" Alison asked.

"That's a good…oh my gosh. I'm so stupid!" he moaned as he remembered the flask of ectoplasm he had left his parents. "I left them a sample of ectoplasm! They probably used it to target the ghost tracker on to me! Argh, why didn't I see that coming!"

"Come again?"

"They're tracking me! Quick, hide me!" Danny begged as he dropped onto the floor of the bed.

"What good would that do? If they're tracking you then they already know you're here," Alison pointed out.

"But what do I say to them? I'm not ready to confront them yet!"

"Just say what needs to be said. That's really all you can do. Just let them ask all the questions they're bound to ask, and then explain. Then let them spill what they came all this way to say, and then you can head off on this journey together like it needed to be in the first place. That's all there is to it. It'll be fine."

Danny sat nervously in the bed of the truck, dreading the moment when his family pulled up beside them. It was going to be awkward, he knew it.

The GAV pulled up alongside the truck and Jazz waved happily from the window at Danny as tears ran down her face. Danny waved sheepishly back, his pale face extremely red.

The truck pulled over and the GAV followed behind it. It barely had time to stop before his mother threw herself out of the car and ran towards Danny, yanking him out of the truck with a large hug.

"Oh Danny! You scared us so much! We were so worried about you!" his mother gushed as she plastered his face with kisses.

"Mom," he moaned as he tried to pull away, which only made her pull him tighter. Then he felt more weight on his side as Jazz enveloped him, followed by Tucker, Sam, and finally his dad.

"I'm sorry that we didn't listen to you, but we couldn't just let you come out here all by yourself without our help. We just missed you so much!" Jazz sobbed, tears falling from her eyes.

"I missed you guys too," he replied as he pulled away from the group hug.

"Danny, I just want you to know that your father and I know exactly how you feel, probably more than you know. After the…torture, we felt so ashamed, so guilty, so horrible we thought we'd die from it, but we made it through, thanks to you. You helped us through it, helped us realize that things would be okay. So, we're just here to return the favor."

Danny stared at his mother. He didn't even think about the torture. They had to be feeling the same way he did, maybe even worse, yet they didn't run away, like he did. They stayed there, trying to make things better with the help of the rest of the family. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking straight when I ran off."

"Darn right you weren't," Sam agreed.

"I just, I didn't want to hurt you any more than I already did. I didn't want to run away and if I had it my way, I'd still be at home, but I just figured that this was the only way. But then someone showed me that I was wrong" he continued as he smiled at Alison "and showed me that the only way to get through this is with all of you by my side. I know you've been telling me this all along, but I was just too thick to realize it, and I'm sorry."

His mother gave him another hug. "It's all right sweetie, we understand. I know it hasn't been easy for you. You really haven't been having a good few weeks."

"You can say that again."

"And I just want to state that if you ever do anything like this again Daniel James Fenton I will put a ghost shield around the house for a week!"

Danny smiled. "I think that's fair."

"I'm sorry, but who are these people?" Sam asked.

"Oh, sorry. These are the Bakers. I kinda crash landed onto their ranch and their daughter Alison found me and took me in. Mr. and Mrs. Baker, these are my parents, my sister Jazz, and my best friends Tucker and Sam."

"Nice to meet you," Sam greeted. "Now Danny, what were you doing in their truck?"

"I'm sorry, but that was our fault. He couldn't fly anymore and we didn't like the sound of him walking all the way to Wisconsin so we offered him a ride."

"You didn't have to do that," Maddie replied.

"Oh I know, but he looked like he'd had a very rough time and we just had to help him. It's really no trouble. There's nothing wrong with a little road trip."

"Yes, but it's still an inconvenience and I feel bad making you…" Maddie began to argue when she was interrupted by Danny sneezing and shooting ectoplasmic blasts out of his eyes as everyone watched the green beams rise into the sky. Once it stopped they turned their direction back towards each other.

"It was no inconvenience Mrs. Fenton," Mr. Baker assured with a smile, acting like nothing had happened. "As we've told Danny at least a hundred times, it's our privilege. And no, we do not want anything in return."

"Not even gas expenses?"

"Nothing."

"Thank you, very much. You don't know what this means to us."

"It was no problem. And on that note, I think it's time for us to go, before you start trying to change our mind again."

Mr. Baker walked over to Danny and shook his hand warmly. "Well, it's been interesting, but it was an honor to meet you."

"You too, and thank you for everything."

"I hope you get better."

"So do I."

"Danny, you get better quickly, and find that thing you're looking for, no matter what. And you take care now, y'hear?" Mrs. Baker asked as she gave him a hug.

"I will, don't worry."

"We'll be listening for you on the news," Alison teased as she gave Danny a hug. "And don't worry, the pain will end. You're already on the road to recovery. Never lose hope, never give up," she whispered into his ear before pulling away. She handed him a slip of paper. "That's my e-mail and phone number. Keep me informed."

They ambled into the truck and headed back towards their house as Alison waved from the back of the truck. Danny waved back until he couldn't see them anymore.

"Go Danny!" Tucker yelled.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You got a girl's phone number!"

"No, no, it's not like that, not at all. We just started talking and stuff."

"Uh huh."

"Seriously, it's nothing."

"That's what they all say."

"Tucker, give it a rest," Sam ordered harshly. "She's way too pretty to ever be interested in Danny."

"Oh thanks."

"I think Sam's jealous," Tucker teased while Sam stared daggers at him.

"Why would Sam be jealous?" Danny asked.

"Clueless," Tucker muttered.

"Hey guys, can we get back to talking about important stuff?" Jazz asked.

"Like what?" Tucker asked. "Teasing Danny is important."

"Like asking Danny why he was heading off to Wisconsin in the first place," Jazz pointed out.

"Yeah, why were you going to Wisconsin?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"I mean, isn't that the last place you want to go when you're in a bad mood?" Tucker asked.

"Well it sure doesn't help my mood but…wait…you guys didn't think…oh God."

"So wait, you weren't?"

"No! What do you take me for, an idiot? I'd never do that!"

"So then why were you going?" Jazz asked angrily.

"To get the Plasmius Maximus."

"The Plasmius…oh!" Jazz exclaimed as the light finally went on. "I never would have thought of that! That's genius!"

"Well, I do have my moments."

"Wait, I'm confused," Maddie interrupted.

"Yeah, me too. You lost me at the clueless part."

"Can I explain on the way there? I would really like to get moving so I can get better."

"Of course sweetie."

A few minutes later they had assembled into the GAV, Danny positioning himself on the roof so that he could sneeze to the heavens and wearing a Fenton Earring to communicate with his family below.

While driving, he explained to them the workings of the Plasmius Maximus, which took quite awhile since his parents, being the inventors they were, wanted to know every last detail about it, details that Danny really couldn't give. After his parents finally agreed to switch to a different subject, Danny explained that the first step on his journey into darkness was to visit Plasmius when he was really depressed, and Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all believed that's what he was doing.

They spent a few hours talking before Danny finally told them that he was exhausted and wanted to nap, and the rest of his family stopped talking to him immediately, knowing that sleep was the best thing for him, especially if he was going to be fighting Vlad later that day for the device.

As he lay on top of the roof, drifting quickly into sleep, he felt content and happy, even though so much bad was going on around him. A blizzard of misfortune raged outside his body. But inside, he felt warm. Inside, he felt comforted.

A/N: I just wanted to state that the whole Baker family thing isn't entirely out of left field. I was having a really difficult time writing this section at first, and I finally realized that because of Danny's guilt and doubt at his family's comforting words, whenthey finally met up with each other, Danny would still feel the same way towards them as he did before he left. I figured that he needed something to change his view, something to get rid of his biased view, enter Alison. Plus, we all know that he never would have been able to walk from North Dakota to Wisconsin. Danny's strong and he's got endurance, but not that much.

Anywho, that was just a thought I figured I'd share with you incase you were wondering where that was coming from.

Two chapters and counting. tear