Admittedly, these chapters aren't coming as easily or quickly as the first ones did, probably because I shifted away from Sam and started working with Danny, Valerie and Tucker. Well, that'll change now; I don't want to lose too much focus so back to Danny and then Sam we shall go. n.n

It's going to be a busy week for me; I've got another visitor coming on Sunday and I'll be spending the following weekend in Chicago, seeing the Play! concert. However, there will probably still be sporadic updates.

Random trivia: The longest chapter of this story is chapter 5 at 5240 words. That would be the first instance in which Sam read the history book, as well as her fourth trip to the attic, and the second time she was caught there by Ida.

The shortest chapter at 2239 words is chapter 7, which revealed Penelope and Bertrand's true natures as well as being the first time Sam and Danny kissed. n.n

Thanks to Annabelle Carter, conan98002, Crossover Fiend, SummersSixEcho, shadow929, L'ange-Sans-Ailes, BJA Fan, Galateagirl, blindyourears (thanks!), animeobsessed3191, dessyweird51, Ohka Breynekai, littlekittykat, Jimmy the Gothic Egg, dArkliTe-sPirit, Yoshi, Phantom of a Rose, HAlFa34, Rebecca the Animorph (sorry! XD), Leppers, HokiPoki1213, Spirit, Fanficaholic, SilverstarsEbonyskies, Anomaly25, dragonbonez and dPhantoMfreak for their reviews last chapter! Cookies for all :D

Estrelas

Chapter 21

by Shimegami-chan

"Danny—"

"All right, all right, I can take it, go ahead." Danny heaved a sigh and fell back against his seat, face upturned to the ceiling of the little ship.

Jazz just frowned at her little brother. "Don't you even care about what he did? I expected you to…well, something more than just accept it and walk away."

"Jazz." Danny didn't move from his position, keeping his eyes firmly focused on the steel interior. "I care, I swear I do. I just don't know what to do about it. You think I stood a chance attacking him, like this?"

"Were you going to?" Valerie asked, confused.

"No," Danny replied honestly. "But you know I hate Vlad. And if what he said is true…"

The elder Fenton scowled. "Which thing that he said?"

"I don't know, all of it, I guess." How am I going to explain this to Jazz so that she'll understand? And Valerie… The red-suited Hunter had returned her attention to piloting the ship, and he couldn't see her expression, but her posture was extremely tense. Jazz's face was a clear indication of what she was thinking, her lips pressed together so hard that they were nearly white. "I just…I mean, he has to live with that too, you know? So to speak. He's a full ghost now because of that mistake, and he's probably going to be stuck that way for a very long time, if not forever. Am I angry? Yeah. Do I forgive him? No way. But I do feel sorry for him."

Jazz's mouth fell open. Valerie's grip tightened on the controls and the ship slowed to a crawl, barely carried forward by the momentum it still retained, so that she could look at him. "Wow. You still look like a little kid, Fenton, but I guess looks are deceiving."

"I've had a long time to think about this kind of thing," Danny said sourly.

"No, you're right, Danny, I'm sorry." Jazz surprised him then by sagging into her seat as well, seemingly to deflate a little right before his eyes. "It's hard to put it in yours and Vlad's perspectives, you know? Making mistakes that you have to live with forever…I guess I never thought about what it might have done to him."

"It did him some good, since I haven't had to fight his ghost self in a long time," Valerie declared. "If I could have imagined that he was actually Vlad Masters! Well, he took off about ten years ago, and I haven't seen him since. I guess he's serious about this if he's not causing trouble in the human world anymore."

Something in Danny's face was still deeply troubled. "Jazz…what happened to Dad?"

"Couldn't go on without Mom," his sister answered at length. "When he found out that she was…gone…his recovery took a turn for the worse. The official documents say heart failure, but everyone who saw him could tell it was heartbreak."

Valerie's gaze lowered. "Oh, Jazz…"

"I'm sorry about how I acted with Vlad back there," Danny said finally. "It's not that I'm not sad about Mom and Dad being gone. Just that…I haven't seen them since I was seventeen. I missed them for a long time, but now I can't even recall their voices."

Jazz drew her brother into a tight hug. "It's okay. They were getting on in age just like we were; their time was going to come eventually. Don't you feel bad about it."

Emotion was welling up in Danny's throat. "Wish I could have seen them again before, though."

"I know," Jazz soothed. It could have been comical, the sight they made; the elderly sister hugging her brother, who though was just two years younger, looked perfectly like a child. They looked more like grandmother and grandson than siblings.

But the scene the two Fentons made caused Valerie to frown behind her faceplate and be thankful that Danny and Jazz could not see how watery her eyes had become. "While we're all making apologies…I'm sorry about how I reacted earlier, too. I shouldn't have been so bull-headed."

"What, about the half-ghost thing?" Danny grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah. It was a little hard to swallow, and I'm still kinda mad. But I overreacted, and I guess it's my fault you lost your powers."

"Nah, it's cool," Danny said, and once more reminded her of the teenager he resembled. "Who knows, it might have done more good than harm. I wish there was some way to tell quickly if I was getting older or not."

Valerie tipped her head to one side, distracted slightly, glimpsing the outer door of her Ghost Portal growing larger in the viewport as they approached.. "Then you'd be able to grow up normally, right?"

"I hope so. It's a bit of a relief thinking it might be possible to go…the normal way…this time. I hope."

"But Mr. Masters said that your ghost half was still in you," she pointed out. "Just that it had no energy, right?"

"Yes, but maybe that much won't affect him," Jazz said thoughtfully. "It could be that the presence of all that ghost energy was what was retarding his human form from changing. Even if there's still a little bit of ghost in him, it might no be enough to get in the way of his body's natural course anymore."

"Of course, I can't go ghost anymore, either," Danny added, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. He could hardly remember a time when he couldn't become Danny Phantom at will. And while all of his common sense cried out that he should be thankful the ghost was gone for good, the idea that he would probably never fly again was frightening. Would never be able to help those in danger, or protect his friends and family from evil ghosts.

What am I going to do about Spectra?

Danny shook his head to himself as they passed through the Portal, hovering in the air over the concrete floor of Valerie's laboratory. What could he do, in his current state? While Spectra herself wasn't necessarily a problem unless she got close, Bertrand was very much a danger to the city. Without ghost powers, and only limited help from Val and Jazz…taking them down was going to be a messy affair.

You went into retirement already, buddy. You ran away from all that.

But he could never do it again. His elation at returning after all that time alone in the attic had been proof positive that Danny Fenton could just not resist being tempted to heroics. He was going to remove Spectra before she could do to anyone else what she'd done to Sam.

Sam…

I wish I knew how you were doing…

Sam lay on her bed with her combat boots still laced tightly to her feet, watching the ceiling fan spin lazily. Here at home her room was decorated with lavender accents, the queen-sized bed covered with a black lace and tulle canopy. She scowled at the fan and the black ceiling that sported it, wishing she were back in her grandmother's house in Amity Park, where everything was smaller and brighter and insufferably hot, but at least she could forget about her parents.

Her parents. They thought they were so clever, snatching her like kidnappers and fleeing back home where the big bad ghostie wouldn't find her. As if she hadn't told Danny any personal information that'd help him find her! She just hoped he had been able to defuse the situation back in Amity, or at least ensure Jazz's safety before getting out unseen. She hoped he'd come to Whipstaff and look for her as soon as he could.

Sam hit a remote on her night table and turned the fan on blast, along with the air conditioner. As the chilled air began to cycle through the room, it felt more like December than July, which was oddly comforting to her. Ghost Danny's always this cold. I wonder how it feels to him? Does he feel cold the same way humans do, or is he just aware of it while never experiencing it?

Her mind backtracked to that first kiss he had given her, some twelve hours and an eternity ago, when she had just woken from sleep and found him sitting protectively at her bedside. Incredible that in that short time, she'd discovered so many thrilling and terrifying things about him. A halfa…not a ghost, but not a boy. What'll this mean? I wonder if he's thinking about it as seriously as I am. I hope…

He'd lied to her, Sam told herself, so maybe not. But then, he lied thinking he was protecting me. Any other girl might have been scared to get involved with someone like Danny.

Not me.

Sam Manson was no coward. If anything, the fact that Danny was half human made the idea even more viable in her perception. Sure, she had fallen hard for his ghostly side. Who wouldn't? He was sweet, sincere, and very attractive. When she recalled to mind the way he would run his hand through his hair, making his snow-white bangs fall messily in his face…the expressive way he gestured with his hands, as though painting a picture…

And those eyes. Sam was sure that the eyes were the most alluring part of Danny Phantom. To her, they were like glittering jewels, and she'd found it even more interesting rather than frightening when they glowed. She loved the way he glowed, soft and ethereal.

Oh my God…listen to me, I'm such a spaz. This isn't like me at all.

And it wasn't; it wasn't like Sam to go all googly-eyed over a boy, and she'd seen plenty of cute ones in her seventeen years. No, there was something special about Danny, something about the easy way he had accepted her and the quiet, thoughtful way he spoke (even if that had changed slightly after his memories came back, the voice was still the same). She thought that he deserved to be accepted in turn.

Sam thought about what she'd said to Danny at various times over the past days. She hadn't said that she was interested him as more than a friend…but that kiss – stupid me, if I hadn't done that, we wouldn't be in this mess – was hopefully a sufficient hint for him that even if she wasn't sure what relationship they could ever have, she was willing to consider something more. Sam hoped he felt the same way.

And even if he doesn't, I know he'll still want to be friends, she thought. But the more Sam thought about it, the more she was sure that she didn't just want to be friends with Danny Fenton, or Danny Phantom, whichever he happened to be. And as much as Sam had hated to admit to herself that she had a crush (how crazy!Was she turning into her airheaded classmates?), she now had to entertain the idea that maybe it was more than just a crush.

I really like this guy. This ghost.

I'm falling in love with a GHOST.

Unbelievable!

Then again, Sam thought ruefully, she'd never been the type to follow the crowd.

Now the room had reached a temperature well below what normally would have prompted her to put on long sleeves or at least arm warmers. Instead, she stretched out with her arms behind her head, conscious of goosebumps rising on her skin as it was exposed to the cool air. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the ghost there in the room with her, standing close enough to share that feeling between them. It was colder in here than Danny was, Sam thought, but she really didn't care. It cleared her head somehow, and soon she grew so accustomed to the feeling that it wasn't so much uncomfortable as soothing. She imagined her parents' reactions on their next entry of her room (if they were able to get past the dresser Sam had put against the door), their shock and suggestions that perhaps Sam had lost her mind. Maybe she would just pass out from hypothermia before they bothered to check on her. Still she didn't move to turn off the air conditioner; the temperature was finally a comfort that reminded her of him, tingeing her lips slightly with its urgent chill, taking her breath away.

She sighed contentedly. Through her closed eyelids, Sam was able to observe the muted bursts of light caused by the ceiling fan, and it reminded her a little bit again of Amity Park, and the way the ceiling of her room there looked like a night sky, punctuated by glowing stars.

-to be continued…

A/N: Proofread? What's that? XP

I also wrote a one-shot Danny Phantom story the other day, if any of you missed it and are interested. :) It's short and canon, can be found in my profile, and is called Icebreaker. Hope you all enjoy and see you for chapter 22 very soon!