AN:WHILE THIS STORY IS ALREADY AU ENOUGH, THERE IS ANOTHER FACTOR THAT WAS NOT MENTIONED. IN THIS STORY, DANNY HAS NOT MET SAM OR TUCKER. YET! FEAR NOT, THOUGH. THEY ARE COMING!

It was early in the morning when we find young Danny Fenton escaping all of life's troubles by peacefully sleeping. That doesn't last long, however, when he is woken up by a weird pins and needles sensation on his hand. Suddenly wide awake, he hobbles his way across his dark room to his lamp on his desk. Scared of what he'll find when he pulls the switch, he turns the light on and hesitantly looks down at his hands. He just manages to stop himself from screaming by pure will power alone. The scales that, last time he checked, only covered his forearm, now occupied half of the top of his arm, to the top half of his hand. They also started on his other arm, but lower, only occupying his hand and wrist. But that isn't what had him so worried. There, binding his fingers together, is what is undoubtedly webbing constricting his fingers. Just like his scales, its black with a green sheen. If he looks close enough, he can see the floor through it. Taking a deep breath, the raven-haired teen slowly sits back down on his bed and experimentally starts stretching his fingers. He notices, with a good amount of dread, that the range of which his fingers could stretch has been considerably limited. Unsure of what else to do, he makes his way to his parents' room, hoping they'll know what to do.

When he makes it down the hall, however, he hesitates. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he slowly opens the door, cringing at how the hinges creek. Slowly stepping into the dimly lit room, he steels himself and goes in for the plunge.

"Mom? Dad?" Despite being almost a whisper, his voice sounds like a cannon went off in the otherwise quiet room. Immediately, thanks to years of training her reflexes, Maddie jumps out of bed and assumes a defensive stance. Unsure of what else to do, the young teen puts his hands in the air. However, thinking better of it, he decides to hide them behind his back instead. Now fully awake, Maddie addresses the situation, and upon finding her son's sudden appearance and behavior weird, suddenly grows suspicious.

"Danny? What's wrong?" While he wants to answer, he truly does, he can't seem to find the right words. Taking her son's silence for what it is, she puts the pieces together. "A new development, huh?" Feeling suddenly self-conscious, he mutely nods his head while staring intently at the ground. Without saying a word, Maddie turns on the bedside lamp and kneels in front of her son. "let me see." Despite the gentle voice used, it was still very obviously a command. Reluctantly, he removes his hands from behind his back and holds them in front of him.

Maddie, for her part, doesn't even look surprised, just saddened. Something Danny takes notice of. Wordlessly, she reaches forward and cups his hands in hers, stroking her thumbs over the top of his scales. Surprised by the sudden action, he looks up and makes eye contact with his mother. Obviously concerned for her son's well-being, she asks,

"Does it feel ok?" Not trusting his words at the moment, Danny nods his head in the affirmative. Because while it was by no means comfortable, it didn't hurt either. Just as promised. Realizing her son needed comfort, she leaned forward and gently wrapped the tiny teen in her arms. "It'll be ok. We'll figure this out." Is what was whispered in his ear. He wished he could believe her, he really did.

It wasn't until the next morning when the rest of his family, Jack and Jazz, discovered his recent development. While their reactions varied, Jazz's was undoubtedly the strongest. She immediately ran up to her younger brother and smothered him in hugs while talking about all of the psychological effects this could have on him. He tuned her out.

Later, when the kids were in their rooms, doing their own things, Maddie and Jack sat down to discuss their son's future.

"Jack, what are we going to do with him?"

Sensing his wife's distress, Jack said "Be there for him, of course."

"No, Jack. It's not that." Seeing her husband's confusion, she elaborated. "What happens when the transformation is complete? Surely he won't be able to live on land anymore. We could keep him in one of our tanks, but I don't want that for him. The only other option, though, is to send him to the ocean. But he wouldn't survive out there!" Now in tears, the crying woman took a deep breath. "And its all our fault."

Jack, being unable to argue with her point, decided to comfort his wife the way that he knew best. He leaned forward and gave her a huge Jack Fenton sized hug. While his wife cried into his shoulder, he discreetly let a few tears fall as well. What kind of father was he if he couldn't even protect his own child from this horrendous fate?

"It'll be alright, Maddie. We'll figure something out."