A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been posting lately, finals and all that. We should be back on track now, and a few chapters a week at that. I always consider trying to write a few more than I need and building up a buffer, but I'm just like "naaaaaaaah I'll post it right away."

Anyways, enjoy!

Star is rudely awakened by a bright light shining in her eyes and a sore back.

No wait, check that, everything was sore - as to be expected. She groans at the pain and cracks her eyes open, seeing three familiar forms hovering over her and staring.

"Uh, hi?"

"Good morning… Star?" Jazz says, twisting her name into a question. She tilts her head a bit.

Seems like it runs in the family.

"Yeah, it's me. Is Danny still…?"

Sam nods. "Yeah, he's probably still sleeping. Healing generally takes a lot out of him."

"Oh. Cool." Star awkwardly examines the room she's in. Dark purple walls, a myriad of records, a gaming system, and various posters accent the decor. She looks down at herself and notices that her waist and chest are wrapped in bandages, and she's gained her pajama pants. She feels a twinge of embarrassment knowing that either Sam or Jazz likely got her into some clothes, but it doesn't linger. She waits a bit, avoiding eye contact with the rest of the group, but eventually thinks screw it.

"Did you guys get any sleep?" she asks, and for a moment, all eyes are on her. They glance at each other.

Jazz shrugs. "We took shifts, but we're used to it by now. How are you feeling?"

Star tries to shift before grimacing and responding. "Sore, and really stiff." She pauses. "And pretty hungry too, I guess. The last thing I ate was a shake at the Nasty Burger."

Tucker nods in agreement. "Heck yeah, I can get with that. I'm starving." He looks at Sam for a second, and she pulls out her phone.

"I can get us a few pizzas if you want from the 24-hour place. What do you like, Star?"

"Anything's fine, I'm not picky."

"Oh really?" Sam types a few things in on her phone. "If you say so. Tuck, the usual?"

"Triple meat, if you could." He smiles at her and blinks a few times, and Sam rolls her eyes.

"Anything's fine for me too, and oh- Star." Jazz stands up and brings Tucker's backpack over. "We got a few things from your house, average sleepover stuff. If you need anything else I can run over and grab them for you, but you should be able to sit up soon if Danny's estimations were right, and probably walking by the end of the day."

"Really? Wow, that's… pretty amazing." She raises her hand up to her head and touches her face, gingerly tapping the injured area. She feels a small stirring at the back of her mind, and then a long yawn.

Huaaaah~ you should see me when I'm actually functional if you think that's cool.

"Danny?"

The rest of the people in the room pause, and Danny laughs.

Mhmm. You can just 'think' to talk to me if you don't want them to hear... like, a one-sided conversation.

Star looks at the group and sees them smiling.

"Nah, this is probably fine. My head hurts too much to think that hard anyway."

Well, it's up to you. What time is it, by the way?

"Hey guys, what time is it?" Star asks. Sam checks her phone again.

"About 5:45, and hey Star, if you want to do us a favor, tell us before you two switch, okay? We can't really tell if it's you or Danny, and I know he's going to want to mess with us." She rolls her eyes.

Whaaaat? No, of course not. They're telling lies, don't believe them.

"He says to not believe you."

You weren't supposed to tell them that!

"Oops."

Everyone laughs, enjoying the lighthearted moment before Star breaks out in another coughing fit. Sam leans behind her and grabs a bottle of water, uncapping it and bringing it to her lips. Star drinks a fair amount before thanking her.

Hm. If it's alright with you, I'm going to swap with you to check out your injuries and stuff… is that okay?

Star thinks for a second, preparing herself to have that weird feeling of losing feeling of… well… your entire body, then nods. "Yeah, it's fine. Oh- before that though, can I see my phone?"

Tucker shuffles over to the bed and unplugs her phone, handing it to her.

"I cleaned it up and told your parents you weren't going to be home for a while- for a sleepover, but they didn't respond."

Star sighs. "Yeah, that's typical. They probably won't be home til Tuesday or something like that, so we don't really have to worry. It's good you sent that text though, I usually sleep over at Pauly's so they won't think it's weird." She cycles through her recent notifications to glance at the other messages received. A number from Pauly and Kwan, and a few in their group chat. She puts her phone down once she decides that none of them need her immediate attention. They're not going to be up this early anyway.

"Okay Danny, um… I'm ready."

Mkay. I don't know if you remember from last time, but you'll feel like you're falling for a second.

"Okay."

Star closes her eyes and steels herself, waiting for that strange feeling again. Her body tingles and then feels as if she's being slowly lowered into a warm bath, a shockingly different sensation than before. Once she feels as if she's been 'fully submerged' she reopens her eyes to see a misty rendition of the view from before, with all eyes on her for a third time that morning.

"Danny?" Sam asks. Danny smirks a bit, and Sam raises an eyebrow. He rolls his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, it's me." He sits up and stretches, yawning once again.

What? Danny! I could barely move!

Ahaha, sorry. I'm used to it. Your wounds have closed enough for it to be alright to move around now, the pain isn't too bad, for me at least.

"You good?" Tucker asks.

"Yeah." Danny scoots over next to the bed and uses it to support his back. "Sam or Jazz, can you take off the bandages so I can check on things?"

Star gets anxious again at the realization that she's not wearing a shirt underneath the bandages, and Danny glances at Tucker.

"And Tuck, uh… mind grabbing some ecto-dejecto from my place?"

Tucker raises his hands and shakes his head. "Say no more dude, I'll be back."

Danny nods, and Tucker leaves the room. Danny speaks up.

Thanks, Danny.

No problem. I can tell most of how you're feeling- uh… sorry by the way- so I knew how you felt.

It's kind of dumb though, after all you guys have done.

It's understandable to want some privacy, and we're a… pretty understanding group, we have to be. He laughs

Star giggles as well. I've noticed.

"Earth to Danny, hello?"

Danny removes his hand from the back of his neck and glances up at a Sam waving her hand in his face.

"Ah… ha. Sorry. It's uh, hard to keep track of two conversations at once."

Sam shakes her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm gonna start to cut off the bandages, it'll probably be easier that way. I'll keep the top half on, Star."

Star lets out a quick breath. Tell her I said thanks.

"She said thanks. I can tell she's got a fractured, maybe broken rib, but she can probably get into regular clothes after this."

Um, you might have to do that Danny. I can't really move much.

Yeah, I'll have Sam and Jazz help.

Sam rummages through the medkit and pulls out a scalpel that glints in the morning sunlight. Sam says something, but it's lost in the sudden panic that's surging through Star's mind, unable to tear her gaze away from the sharpened steel. She can feel her body's breathing quicken, and she becomes confused and frustrated at the sensation, further escalating the panic.

I'm… why? What's going on?

Star can feel Danny take a deep breath and calm a bit. Sam's voice is still in the background, feeling surprisingly soothing to hear... reassuring. The dread recedes, but she can still feel her heartbeat thrumming frantically in her chest. Danny swallows, still keeping his eyes on the scalpel carefully cutting through fabric.

S-sorry, Star. That's me. Scalpels and surgeries and… stuff. Not really… um, they're pretty scary to me I guess. I freaked out a bit there.

Oh, yeah, I was… confused. I'm not typically- like... needles don't bother me or anything.

She pauses for a second, and the sound of Danny's mind racing a mile a minute comes to the forefront of her thoughts. She's not even sure he heard her.

Danny? Are you going to be okay?

Uh… yeah. Danny closes his eyes and it's suddenly like a curtain's been pulled across a window. It feels as if the two of them are the only ones in existence.

Any particular reason you're… afraid?

Danny shrugs. When you're basically a walking scientific contradiction there's a lot of people who'd want to d... analyze you. Heck, people already want to analyze Phantom without knowing he has a human side. Kind of makes you nervous.

Star sees a few images- people- flash through Danny's memories, recognizing a few of them.

I- your parents.

Yeah...

She remembers the few times that the Fentons have been on the scene alongside the ghost boy as well as recalls (from Paulina's venting, mostly) that they aren't particularly fond of Phantom. As Star brings her attention back to her current resident, she can tell that Danny's getting more distressed as this conversation goes on. Nevertheless, a few more questions rattle through her mind, but she hastily drowns them out.

Sorry Danny for bringing that up, the questions and comments and stuff, they just… they kind of pop into my mind.

Danny shakes his head. No, no, it's not a problem. It's hard to hide your curiosities when you're inside each other's heads. He pauses for a second. I don't even think we can lie in here, at least not without the other knowing.

Star giggles. Boy, would Pauly love to get a shot at this. An honest interview with the famous ghost boy.

Danny grimaces. Yeah, remind me to never possess Paulina then. That would be a nightmare.

Oh boy, imagine if she figured out that the boy that she dreams about marrying is actually Danny Fenton…

Yeah, I really… that's not an um… ugh.

"Alright, I've removed the bandages on her waist. Do you need help getting to a mirror?"

Danny opens his eyes and shakes his head, thankful for the distraction. "No, I think I'm good." He stands up without much effort, and Star gapes.

Danny laughs. Like I said, a little more durable. Now that I'm awake my healing has sped up a good amount, too. You should be able to walk on your own by the end of the day.

Danny makes his way over to the bathroom for both Star and himself to take a look. He stands in Sam's full-length mirror and waits, observing her wounds closely

Gosh, you stand like such a boy-

Star's thoughts go silent as she takes in her appearance. A deep red line and a few yellowed bruises mar her otherwise clear face, enough that Star has to rationalize that it is her she's seeing. Her hair is wild, matted, and her usually platinum blonde hair takes on a coppery tinge from the dried flecks of blood scattered throughout it. She can faintly see the bruises on her neck, wrapping around her like a noose, and more half-healed bruises peek out of the mess of bandages tied over her chest.

But that's not the worst. Star looks at her stomach and can feel tears prick at her eyes. She moves her hand down- when did Danny give her control of her body? -and flutters her fingertips over the scarred area, her skin bunching and pinching in ways that it never should. Dried blood lingers in the cracks the wounds make, having being underneath the bandages all this time.

Star gets the immediate urge to start scratching at every speck of blood on her, getting it off, off, off, and comes close to doing so before an unseen force halts her hands mere millimeters from her stomach. The tears bubble over, and Star feels her strength weakening. Her legs shake and give out, and a strong arm catches her from falling. She doesn't look up to see who it is, but they gently lower her to the ground and simply let her cry.

She sits there for a while, her cut stinging as she rubs her tears down into it, but the pain is secondary- a million more things are running through her mind.

She vaguely notices some time pass and the door behind her shut, as well as the absence of anyone else near her. She sits with her thoughts for a while, wondering if Danny has made himself quiet to give the illusion that she was alone- before realizing that she didn't really care. He's learned more about her in the span of a few hours than she's ever told anyone ever.

Not that it surprised her, given the circumstances.

"Star?"

Danny? She calls out to him in her mind, only to raise her head and see his iconic white t-shirt in front of her, kneeling.

She didn't miss how he was blocking the mirror.

"I was trying to reach you, but… you couldn't hear me." He bites his lip and leans down further to look her in the eyes. "I was trying to tell you that- um, your injuries, they'll be almost invisible after healing." He pulls up his t-shirt sleeve to point out a faint line that curves around his arm and disappears towards his shoulder blade. "The one on your face wasn't nearly as deep as this one, and you can barely see it, right? A-as long as I'm with you for the next day or so it should be-"

"That's… I don't care about that Danny. Not as much as you'd think." she mumbles. He lets his arm fall to his side and just… listens.

"I'm just… it's been a lot." She looks up at him and notices that this is the first time she's seen his real, human face since the Nasty Burger. "It was too easy to just… think it was all a dream or something."

The both of them sit there for a little bit, Danny awkwardly thinking about what to do while Star picks at the grime beneath her nails.

"Do you… want me to get Jazz? She's good at the psychology stuff and um… she..." he trails off when he sees Star silently shake her head. He deflated at that, furrowing his brow.

"I want to take a shower." She whispers. "But I don't think I can stand."

Danny bites his lip again. "If you can let me heal you a little bit more then I think… in a few hours, you'll-"

"I want to take one now." She interrupts, still barely audible to a normal human- but firm.

Danny sighs, looking at Star and then around the bathroom. He thinks for a little bit, and then stands.

"I'll be right back, I'll grab some clean towels… I- um... would you rather have Sam or Jazz help you?"

She thinks for a moment. Honestly, she would rather have Danny help her, but she can understand his apprehension.

"Jazz."

"Okay, um, I'll get her then." He heads over to the tub and runs the bath, plugging the drain and dumping some soap in after peering quizzically at each label. Star smirks a little at that, and then Danny is replaced by a soft speaking redhead.

Jazz and Star don't exchange any more words than the necessary, and she's thankful. She wonders if Danny had something to do with that, but doesn't dwell on it too long, instead focusing on rubbing the red off of every inch of skin she could easily reach. The soap stings, but only a little bit, probably not enough to aggravate her wounds too much.

Hopefully this won't give Danny any more trouble. She thinks.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Star finishes her bath and Jazz helps get her dressed in a baggier, off-the-shoulder top and leggings. The only bandages she wears now are new, clean ones on her stomach, and even then they're mostly to keep her wounds from rubbing.

"I'll go get Danny to help you into the other room."

Star nods, and Jazz opens the door, beckoning Danny over and stepping back out of the bathroom. Danny takes her place and takes a seat next to Star on the side of the tub.

"Um, are you… feeling better?" He asks.

Star shrugs. "My head still hurts, but I feel a lot better now that I'm clean."

"Good, good." He pauses. "Pizza's here. We saved you some pepperoni, and I think there's still more veggie left if you want that."

"That would be nice. Did you eat?"

He gives her a small smile. "Yep, I'm all ready to resume healing, and I've gained back some energy too. I'm ready when you are."

"I'm… I'm good. Go ahead."

Danny nods once again and stands, backing away a few steps to transform. White bands bleed up his body, starting at his feet, and Star stares at them as they travel over his form, replacing black hair with white and creating a hazy glow across his body. He notices Star staring and smirks, only giving her a quick "Here we go!" before overshadowing her.

Danny!

"What?" He stands up and glances in the mirror, fixing his top before walking back into the bedroom.

Give me a better warning next time! She yells, but there isn't a hint of malice in her voice, so Danny laughs.

"What are you talking about? I did warn you." He takes a seat next to his friends. "So, what kind of pizza do you like?"

A/N: I'm sure a few of you are confused about the transformation Danny showed Star. I'm running with Hartman's testimony that said Danny knows how to morph in multiple ways, he chose this one (a bleed effect that began at his feet and slowly traveled upward) because he wanted to save Star's eyes from the flash as well as conserve energy. I have a few ideas for his transformations that I'm excited to use!