Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom.

Note (8/30/2020): To "Dp-Marvel94" yeah, Dani is out of the loop with a lot of things and Vlad has stated before when Danny first wound up in his care that he wasn't going to bother hunting her down anymore and was pretty much content to leave Dani to rot, which is the sad truth. Vlad has changed a lot it's true, but he has a long way to go before he can really be considered fully redeemed since we've seen some of his old habits flare up from time to time.

Vlad might reconsider brushing her off though when he finds out that the Guys in White have been hunting Danny Phantom for months but mistook her for him since they have the same ghost signature. Not to mention Danny would get really mad if he didn't help stabilize Dani since she's been slowly deteriorating this entire time and suffering random mutations in her DNA. Also, on a side note, I really need to pace myself better since I've been cranking out way too many chapters at once so after this I'm going to dial back a little again and get ready for the time skip.

Chapter 19: I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

Valerie's POV

Dad wasn't happy when he found out what happened at school. But he decided to go easy on me and didn't to ground me since they were already going to punish me for my fight with Sam by making me do manual labor getting the gym's storage room cleaned up so they could store everything as usual during the dance in about two weeks. He told me was probably punishment enough that I was going to be stuck with Sam the whole time doing it and he hoped it would give us a chance to hash things out without tearing each other's hair out while our hands were too busy picking up gym equipment. Then again, since I only slapped her and Sam's the one who went for the jugular I'd say she's the one who overreacted first. Even dad agreed with me there after he came to pick me up from school so we could say goodbye to Danny.

I wasn't sure if Sam or Tucker would show up at the hospital too or if Vlad would even let them but I was going to do my best to stay out of their way. The last thing I need is to get into another fight, and I've actually had two today. Obviously the first one was with Sam but the second one was with a ghost that was too stupid to give up when they couldn't get past the ghost shield protecting the school grounds. It was the perfect chance to test my new and improved battle suit and I was happy that in place of a helmet this sort of head visor screen sort of thing appeared to protect my eyes from the wind and help me lock onto my target just like before...

Too bad my hair kept whipping around my face so I made a mental note about it for later since I was going to have to either cut it or keep it tied up from now on to avoid this problem unless we built another helmet. I'm kinda surprised I didn't get a new one like I did with the hoverboard to be honest. Then again, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth and as long as I could still fight and use my usual weapons then that's fine by me. It's possible the helmet part was deactivated by accident and since we were in such a hurry to finish up last night Vlad might have overlooked it.

Anyways, the ghost I fought may have been acting all full of themselves at first but I had them on the run before too long and caught them in the thermos. Yeah, you heard right. As embarrassing as it is, since I still had it and knew what it was actually supposed to do now when I brought it up with Vlad he actually told me how to activate it this time. It was up to me to figure out how to send the ghosts back but Vlad told me that Danny's parents could help with that and we could make a routine of me giving a thermos to my dad before he went to work and once Vlad made more for me I could keep one on hand at all times and trade off then dad would give it to them so they could send the ghosts back to the Ghost Zone.

I asked Vlad why he couldn't just build another portal here but all he told me was that it would have been a safety hazard not to mention draw too much attention to Axion Labs by the government which I guess makes sense. He already warned my dad not to reveal too much if the Guys in White showed up for some reason to 'inspect' the place but we already knew that. Those guys talk a big game but when it comes to actually helping people during a crisis and not just hunting ghosts or taking samples, they're worse than I ever was.

The way Vlad said it was a safety hazard and the way his expression turned a bit pained for a second it made me wonder if he was referring to his accident and Danny's the infused them with ghost DNA or how reckless Danny's parents have been in general with their own portal. I didn't pry into it any more than that though since I doubted Vlad would answer me anyway. But still, even though we're still trying to figure things out and he's leaving the rest to us I'm glad he's at least trying not to be such a bad guy anymore. Not that I'm about to forgive him, oh no, but like I told him before as long as Vlad takes good care of Danny I'll look the other way.

I really hope things will get back to normal soon, or as much as possible anyway with Danny leaving too. I just hate that he's not even awake for this. I can't even begin to imagine what must've been going through Danny's head last night, but it had to be bad if this is what ended up happening to him. Dad told me the jist of what he knew so I had some idea at least of what set Danny off so bad.

Glancing at my backpack I sighed, wondering if the farewell present I chose would be even remotely good enough for him when Danny wakes up. He's going to be living large with Vlad from now on and considering what he's been through I'm glad Danny will have it a bit easier in some respects at least. I hope he wouldn't take it the wrong way either since I just wanted to show him I still think of us as friends. Well, more like I've gotten over a lot of my hang ups after finding out his secret after seeing how hard Danny's been pushing himself to help us when he's the one who needs it more.

"I hope he's going to be ok..." I accidentally said out loud and looked up when my dad took one hand off the steering wheel to put a supportive hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sure Vlad knows exactly how to help in ways that we don't really understand so he'll be fine. I tried to help Danny too but it was out of my hands," nodding to himself and putting both hands on the steering wheel again dad admitted worriedly, "And to be honest I think something like this was bound to happen if Danny stayed here too much longer whether it was his friends or something else that upset him since he's been so tense ever since everything happened. Besides, Vlad also pointed out that just the night before Danny did already have another mild meltdown so I'm sure he was already feeling apprehensive from that and more than a little overwhelmed by what's been going on recently."

"Yeah...when I found out Sam and Tucker hurt his feelings last night I kinda lost my temper too with Sam especially. Danny's been so busy being a peacekeeper between Vlad, his parents, his friends, and me so I don't blame him for finally snapping," I frowned when we reached the hospital and dad parked the car and we just sat there for a minute so I could finish my thought.

"I just feel bad that even though Danny was only trying to help by asking Sam and Tucker to look out for me and tell me what they know if I ever need help with a ghost, in the end it only put pressure on them too and sadly they aren't as willing to do their part. And to be fair, it's not really Danny's choice to make for us. That's why I let them off the hook since Vlad offered to let me have access to some of his ghost files so I can find out about that stuff myself, and I have you so...I don't want Danny to worry about me. He's done enough so I want him to focus on getting better now."

Smiling my dad, gave me an awkward side hug in the car and told me, "I'm very proud of you Valerie and I know you're going to do a great job protecting this town. And I'm glad you're doing what you can on your own too, but I'll always be here for you too so don't ever hesitate to ask for help either. Promise?"

"Promise," I smiled back, giving him a small squeeze in return before we both let go and got out of the car.

Looking up at the hospital again I sighed since I hoped we wouldn't have a reason to come back here so soon after dad recovered but this was going to be my last chance to see Danny for a while and I wanted to make it count. And if Sam and Tucker did show their faces, well, I'd do my best not to make the same mistake I did at school because this isn't about me anymore. It's about Danny, and it's up to them if they want to fix the bridge they might have just burned acting like they were too good to do one simple thing for their best friend.

Honestly, after what happened this morning I can't say I'm surprised when I didn't see any sign of Sam or Tucker here because thanks to that fiasco I never got the chance to actually tell them when Vlad and Danny were leaving. So unless they magically showed up in about the next hour, they'll have missed their chance to say goodbye to him. It's possible that Tucker might have only chickened out since he's scared of hospitals, he told me that once when we were trying to get to know each other better when I wound up here myself after overdoing it with the ghost hunting. Tucker wanted me to know it wasn't that he didn't want to visit me, its that he was uncomfortable with hospitals.

As for Sam, since her parents picked her up from school early I assume maybe she was already grounded from seeing Danny off as punishment for getting into a catfight with me. Her parents are strict like that from what I've heard so it doesn't surprise me. I felt guilty for some of what happened but again, she started it as far as I'm concerned and is the one who blew her top and straight-up attacked me.

Either way, I was sad but kinda relieved I didn't see either of them there so I let down my guard a bit to focus on the most important thing which is saying goodbye to Danny. We checked in at the visitors center and they told us to wait for Vlad since he's Danny's legal guardian now so we did. They sent someone to Danny's room to let him know he had visitors too and after a couple of minutes they came back to give us the ok and led us to the private room.

Dad and I looked at each other since we didn't expect to be helped so quickly but then again, we figured it's because Vlad is the richest man in the world so he had the means to pull the right strings and motivate people to make him their top priority. Anyways it saved us having to wait in awkward silence together with Sam and Tucker if they showed up or Danny's family. According to the nurse at the front desk though Danny's parents left earlier after seeing him and keeping an eye on their son while Vlad was busy with something or another which I assume still has to do with taking care of Danny's ghost-half under the radar so that just left us as the last people who would get to see him before they transferred Danny to a hospital in Wisconsin via helicopter. At least, that's what it would look like to everyone else but Vlad probably had something else in mind to help him more quickly.

When the nurse showed us in after knocking, Vlad didn't even bother to look up and greet us or pretend he was still trying to be professional. The tired concern on his face as Vlad rubbed his temple while resting an elbow on the side of the chair next to Danny's bed was hard to miss. He did notice us eventually when the nurse cleared her throat to tell him Danny's visitors were here and he straightened up a bit and waved her off after muttering a hollow thank you. She sighed and gave him a sympathetic look before closing the door behind us.

"How is he?" dad asked before I could open my mouth after placing his hands on my shoulders and standing off to the side of me after we stepped closer to them.

"Daniel is stable as far as the doctors here are concerned and assure me his condition is the result of too much stress, sleep deprivation, and anemia but it's not as if those weren't already painfully obvious before when he's been suffering from nightmares for the past two weeks that aren't just Dan mentally tormenting him," clenching his fist, Vlad continued, "As much as I hate that this happened to Daniel at such a critical time...as far as I can tell he is sleeping peacefully which is the only silver-lining about any of this. But regardless, it shouldn't have happened."

Nodding my dad added, "I agree, and I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help him. I tried calming him down as best I could after that argument with his friends."

To my surprise, Vlad's smile almost seemed genuine when he said, "I know you did, but as I said last night over the phone I knew helping Daniel would be something beyond any of you so it falls to me to see to it that he never feels like this again..."

As if not even talking to us anymore Vlad continued, "When Daniel wakes up everything is going to be just fine, I will make sure of that. He will go to a new school and make new friends who won't abandon him in his hour of need for their own convenience or hold him to some absurdly unrealistic standard; every day he will come home knowing he's safe from ghosts and can come to me with all of his troubles; and most of all Daniel won't have to shoulder the burden of taking care of anyone other than himself for once. Because when Daniel gives too much of himself for the sake of others, what does he have left but the fear of being shunned by those he cares for for speaking his mind too and expressing his feelings openly with those he thought he could trust?"

"Not that I really care but um...are you ok? You kind of lost us for a minute," I pointed out sheepishly, and I'm not sure why I bothered trying to cheer him up by saying this but before I realized what I was doing I said, "If you makes you feel any better I did tell Sam and Tucker off at school today. Sam and I got into a catfight over what happened last night and are stuck helping with clean up duty. Bet they're feeling pretty stupid right now."

I shuttered when Vlad's tone darkened and he muttered, "Is that so? Well maybe now those two will realize exactly what they still had left to lose by repeating the same mistake as last time. I let them off too easy that day when they hurt him this deeply, but now, Samantha Manson especially will rue the day she spurned Daniel's kindness and spat on his good intentions."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Vlad finally stood up and sighed, "Ah, forget what I just said. I didn't mean to say that aloud but to tell you the truth I haven't slept much since Daniel was admitted and I had some urgent business to attend to very early this morning. Now that you're here though you may bid farewell to Daniel and we'll be leaving within the hour."

Gliding past us and turning his head to tilt thoughtfully in our direction before looking at Danny again, Vlad concluded with, "He's still in no condition to respond to much though so if I were you I'd make this quick and clean for his sake and your own, my dear. And given that you're the only friend of his with any sense left, I'll be gracious enough to inform you when he does wake up eventually considering that you and your father both bravely attempted to help him in your own way when this all happened. Either way, I'll be just outside if you need me and as I said, do try not to take too long."

After setting his gift on the end table along with mine that people would normally put pots of flowers on like you see in the movies, my dad was the first to say goodbye to Danny and wish him luck getting his life back together. He also apologized again for not knowing how to help before and promised we'd protect this town and everyone in it to the best of our abilities so Danny didn't have to worry about us anymore. I had to give it to him but my dad sounded like he really respects Danny now and he probably does too which is a surprise since he used to be so skeptical like everyone else since Danny's parents are ghost hunters...

Then again, it's hard not to respect someone who saved your life and willing to die for you when you made the mistake of thinking of them as the enemy when they're the exact opposite and it turns out you were directing your anger at the wrong person. Plus my dad is super mature like that. Anyways, after dad left to go check on Vlad so I could say goodbye privately, I put my hands on the railing around the bed, my grip tightening as I let out a hollow laugh.

"Danny, you big dummy. I told you I could take care of myself so why did you have to drag your friends into this? I know you trust them, but honestly, they need to show that they trust you more then maybe this wouldn't have happened. Those two seriously need to grow up," gingerly touching his hand, I smiled sadly and continued just to get it off my chest even though he couldn't hear me, "But I don't want you to blame yourself for how they acted either Danny because that's the thing, we all have our own decisions to make just like you did and we have to own up to everything we've screwed up as your friends and try to make things better. So just worry about yourself from now on, ok? You don't have to babysit us anymore."

Leaning closer to him I whispered in his ear, "Don't let anyone else control your life, Danny. Don't let us sabotage your happiness anymore..." my eyes started welling up with tears but I blinked them away and softly kissed Danny's cheek like that time I told him we couldn't go out since I wanted to protect him from the dangers of my ghost hunting, not knowing he'd been doing that for much longer.

Frowning when it just didn't feel like a good enough goodbye, I lifted my head and then leaned in much closer, wanting to give Danny something I should have a long time ago when I seriously fell for him. It was now or never so as my last goodbye I pressed my lips to Danny's and gave him a real tearful heartfelt kiss before pulling back and wiping my eyes since I knew I'd never get the chance to do this again.

If we're lucky he'll probably find another girl who's better for him than Sam and I ever were. I just hope she becomes someone Danny can love and trust enough to accept all of him like I've been trying to. Or if nothing else, I want him to make friends that won't judge him as harshly and will let him be himself around them and share his interests for once. I want him to meet someone as into space as he is, who loves the stars, and sees what a wonderful person Danny is that it took me this long to finally appreciate.

"Goodbye, Danny. I'll never forget how much you've done for me and how much I loved you. And I promise I'll make you proud of me," blushing a bit after that kiss, I coughed into my fist and put on a brave face as I scoffed haughtily, "Anyways, you don't have to worry about me anymore! I'm going to become the best ghost hunter in Amity Park just to show off! As for Sam, well I told her before she had her chance with you as far as becoming your girlfriend, but now it looks like we've both lost. But if you meet a new girl and she hurts your feelings, I'll fly over to your place personally and make them regret it, because that's what friends are SUPPOSED to do."