Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, and Happy Holidays to all my readers! I know it has been a long while since I last posted on any of my stories, but I wanted to get new chapters out for all my stories before the New Year!

So, with that, here is Chapter Two!

~BlainexKurtxLovex

Danny didn't know what had come over him the minute he saw Maleah Evans on the front step. It was like, one look at her and Danny wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hold her close. He recognized her face and her eyes from his dreams, but he wasn't sure if she would recognize him. He was almost always in his ghost form in them so the possibility of her knowing it was him saving her was slim.

Either way, Danny was struck dumb with how perfect she was with her blonde hair pulled out of her face with just a bit of bangs hanging in her sky-blue eyes that accentuated her high cheekbones. She was slender and petite, fragile, if Danny thought about it long enough. It was like she hadn't been eating or sleeping and if Leah was the one in his dreams then he couldn't blame her. He knew he found it hard to do either of those things while trying to hunt ghosts, keep from getting captured, and not flunking out of school.

The one thing he did know was that even though Maleah seemed fragile, she was strong. She had to be to make it this far. Maleah could have given up after her mother's passing, but she chose to live and to move away from everything she knew to stay with them. She wanted to keep living and Danny knew that he would do anything to make sure she did. Even if he didn't know why.

Sure, Danny had been opposed to having another person in the house, but only because it would add to those he was already hiding his secret from. Ghosts attacked regularly, and he often had to dash out, find a place to hide, and change into Danny Phantom. It wasn't always easy and sometimes he had to improvise, or Jazz, Sam, and Tucker had to cover for him. Now that Maleah was here, however, he didn't mind in the slightest.

What he did mind, however, was the panic attack and any attacks in the future. Anything could trigger them and at any time. Danny had managed to bring her back before she passed out, but if he wasn't here to deal with them would his parents or sister be able to handle them? Jazz might, but if she wasn't home would his parents even notice if something was amiss? Probably not and that scared him because he wanted Maleah safe for any harm no matter what.

But, as he stood in the kitchen hugging Maleah close he felt a calm settle over him and his worries faded a bit into the background. He knew he would protect this girl no matter what it cost him because he knew deep down that she was worth fighting for. Maleah didn't seem to mind either as she pulled him even closer. Danny waited for her to pull away because a part of him didn't want her to feel hurt or alone if he pulled away first. He knew his parents and sister were staring at them, but his focus seemed solely on the girl in his arms.

Slowly, Maleah pulled away and released him, but didn't move far from his side. He had to repress the urge to keep one of his arms wrapped around her slim waist. Danny contented himself with the fact that she was still near him and within reaching distance. He knew it was too early to be feeling like this about a girl he just met, but he couldn't help it.

"Why don't Jazz and Danny show you to your room, Maleah," his mom offered.

Maleah nodded, and it was only then that he finally realized how truly tired she was. The dark circles under her eyes were well-concealed with makeup, but if anyone looked closely they would see them standing out against her pale skin. It seemed to him that she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. Jazz came forward and took Maleah's hand to pull her from the room and Danny followed as if by an invisible thread.

As the three of them reached the stairs Maleah went to pick up her bags. Danny intercepted her and waved her hands away. Jazz just gave him a questioning look, but he pointedly ignored it.

"No, I've got it," he assured. Maleah glared at him for a moment as if he had greatly offended her. Danny shook his head and chuckled. "It's only this one time, Maleah, I promise. After this time, I will never offer to carry your bags again."

That seemed to pacify her as she gave him a small smile and a nod. Jazz just continued to stare at him as if he had lost his mind before pulling Maleah up the stairs. Danny didn't blame her. He was pretty sure he had lost his mind as well.

Danny followed them and listened on as Jazz asked Maleah school-related questions. Maleah answered with reserve and Danny wondered if she didn't want to talk about it. Jazz must have noticed at the same time because she changed to subject to her favorite hobbies. Maleah answered those in earnest before they came to her room. In a short amount of time, Maleah had told them about her love of singing, but only in private, and her love of reading. She even mentioned crocheting and Danny had to raise an eyebrow at that. His dad did needle point, but he was sure it wasn't the same thing. However, the thought of her on the couch with a crochet needle talking to his dad made him smile.

Jazz stopped them in front of the guest bedroom that had now been turned into Maleah's room. She opened the door and allowed Maleah to go in first. He and his sister watched as she took in her surroundings. The room had the basics: a bed, desk, closet, dresser, lamp and a new computer. Any school supplies Maleah could possibly need were on the desk along with a new backpack. A purple down comforter covered the bed with black pillows at the head of the bed.

Maleah inspected the room and Danny thought she looked a little overwhelmed by it all. When she turned back to them there were fresh tears in her eyes.

"None of this had to be done right away. Your family has already done so much," she stated.

"We wanted you to feel at home. Mom and dad wanted you to have your own things and space," Jazz responded.

Danny moved into the room then to place Maleah's duffel on the bed and her suitcase on the floor. He stepped back into place next to his sister and waited for what the other girl would do next.

Maleah crossed to her duffel and opened it. She pulled a plain silver picture frame out and, even though Danny couldn't see who it was, he was positive it was a picture of her mother. She kept her back turned to them for a moment before facing them with a small smile.

"This is all lovely, thank you."

Jazz and Danny nodded at the same time, but it was Jazz who spoke, "We'll let you unpack and rest. One of us will come and get you for dinner."

Jazz turned and left the room, but Danny stayed rooted where he was for another moment. In truth, he didn't want to leave. He didn't want her to be alone in a new place. Jazz called for him out in the hallway and he waved at Maleah before exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

When he turned around Jazz was just standing there. She had a stern look on her face and her arms were crossed over her chest. Danny raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders in response. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say.

"What was all that about, Danny? You were the one most opposed to her coming to stay with us," Jazz demanded.

"I can't have a change of heart?" Danny offered. He knew it was weak, but he didn't know how else to explain it.

"That was not a change of heart, Danny," Jazz countered. "That was a full-on 360! I have never seen you that at ease with a girl and Sam doesn't count."

Danny sighed as he turned away from his sister to head to his room, "I don't know what you want me to say, Jazz. I just…."

"Do you like her? Is it love first sight?"

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "All I know is that...all I feel is that she needs me. It's like a pull...I can't explain it."

Jazz came closer to him and whispered so no one could hear her next question. "Do you think it has something to do with your ghost half?"

Danny hadn't thought of that, but it was possible. There were things he didn't understand about his powers just yet and maybe this was one of them.

"Maybe."

She nodded, "Do you have anyone in the Ghost Zone you could ask?"

Danny scratched the back of his head. He didn't know how many of the ghosts in the Ghost Zone would take the time to talk to him about this. None of them were halfas like him and the last person he wanted to get involved in this whole thing was Plasmius. Vlad will ridicule him for it or come after Maleah himself and Danny would fully die before he let that happen.

"I don't know, but I'll check tonight anyway," he offered.

"After dinner?" she prompted.

He nodded in agreement and that seemed to satisfy her as she nodded and went back downstairs to join their parents. Danny sighed as he looked back at Maleah's closed door. He shook his head and went into his room to attempt some of his homework before dinner was ready. He didn't want to have to worry about it in the morning should he get "summoned" out in the dead of night to fight ghosts.

Danny was about an hour into his homework when he heard it. A terrified scream came from down the hall and Danny didn't waste a moment. He threw his pencil on the floor and quickly stood up. He waited to see if his ghost sense would go off, but when it didn't and there was another scream from Maleah's room. Danny ran even when his heart clenched in his chest at the sound of a third scream. He wasn't sure how his family hadn't heard Maleah's screams, but he was sure they would be up in moments.

"Maleah?" Danny called with a knock on her door. There was no answer, but Danny thought he could hear whimpers coming from the other side. His heart squeeze again at the thought of Maleah in agony. He turned the doorknob and opened the door as he called, "Maleah, I'm coming in."

Danny opened the door slowly and peaked inside. Maleah as lying in bed with the covers wrapped tightly around her. Sweat was making her bangs stick to her face and her breathing was shallow. Her face was contorted in terror and another whimper slipped past her lips just before another scream tore from her throat. Danny didn't waste a moment opening the door all the way and rushing inside to sit on the edge of the bed. He called out to her but got no response as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He ignored it as he shook the girl awake.

"Maleah, hey. Shh...wake up." Maleah didn't respond. "Maleah!"

Maleah's eyes flew open, but they weren't focused. Her breathing was still labored, and she was shaking. Tears filled her eyes and she turned her head to look at him. He knew the looked worried, but he tried to put a small smile on his face to calm her.

"Hey, you're safe," he cooed.

"Why won't they go away?" she asked softly. Danny raised an eyebrow and she continued. "Why are they tormenting me like this?"

Danny heard his family walk into the room. He raised his free hand to signal them to wait. He was afraid that if they came in now she would shut off from him and it was clear that something was bothering her. He knew, if she was the same girl, that it was spectral entities attacking Leah in her dreams.

"Who are "they," Maleah?" he prompted.

"You'll think...think I'm crazy," she replied as more tears spilled from her eyes. "Everyone already does."

He smiled sweetly at her because what he really wanted was to find those people and blast them for hurting her. "Try me, Maleah."

He noted that his family was still quiet behind them. He appreciated it and wondered if they were thinking the same thing he was, that Maleah had been bullied and told her experiences weren't valid. If anyone knew anything about that it was the Fenton family.

"Ghosts," she whispered. Her bottom lip trembled as her eyes squeezed shut.

Danny's eyes widened in understanding. One thing was for certain, Maleah was the one in his dreams and from his experience in their shared dreams he knew that they weren't pretty. The nightmares usually included any number of the ghosts that he knew attacking her and draining the life from her.

"You don't believe me, either. No one ever believes me."

"I'm the son of two ghost hunters, Maleah," Danny stated grabbing her attention. "I'm probably one of the few people who do believe you."

Her eyes widened at his words and Danny had a split second to catch her as she threw herself into his arms. Her face was buried in his chest and her hands were fisted in his shirt. Danny could feel her tears soak his shirt, but he didn't mind. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her just a bit closer. His free hand rubbed soothingly up and down her back as he rested his cheek on the top of her head.

He met his family's shocked looks and gave them a small smile. He had it under control and they could head back downstairs if they wanted too. His parents nodded and left while Jazz moved forward to sit on the other side of Maleah. She rubbed the girls back as well in attempt to soothe her. Maleah didn't make any indication that Jazz was even there, but her crying slowly ebbed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jazz inquired. Maleah shook her head and Jazz looked at Danny with a smile. "Did you know that there is a good ghost in Amity Park?"

Danny's eyes widened in fear. What was Jazz up to? Was she planning on blowing his cover already? Jazz just continued smiling as Maleah began to pull away from his chest.

"Really?" she inquired as she wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve.

"Yep. His name is Danny Phantom. He protects and watches over Amity Park from all the bad ghosts."

"You're lying to make me feel better," Maleah accused.

Jazz only smiled at the girl, "No, I'm not. Danny and I have seen him."

Maleah turned her head so she could look up at Danny. Maleah was a wreck and it killed him. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her cheeks were blotchy. The dark circles from earlier looked more like bruises under her eyes now and her skin seemed even paler than before. At this point, Danny would say anything to bring the light back into her eyes.

"Is it true?" she pressed when he didn't respond.

Danny nodded and smiled with a simple, "Yep."

"See!" Jazz squealed. "So, when you have that nightmare again just think about Danny Phantom coming to your rescue!"

Maleah still looked skeptical. "How can I do that when I don't know what he looks like?"

Jazz jumped up and ran out of the room. The two fourteen-year-olds watched as she left. Danny couldn't help the feeling of exasperation at his sister's enthusiasm. He really did love that she was so supportive of him and what he was doing to protect the town, but sometimes she just was too much.

"Where is she going?" Maleah inquired.

"To get her Danny Phantom scrapbook," he replied with a groan.

"Her what?"

"Her scrapbook that has every newspaper clipping of every good thing Danny Phantom has ever done," he further explained.

"Does she have a crush on him?" she asked seriously.

Danny sputtered and then laughed. "No, no. Jazz just thinks it's nice that someone is looking out for the town. There are a lot of people that think he is the enemy when all he wants to do is help."

Maleah nodded and looked up again when Jazz ran back into the room. The older girl sat down and opened the purple scrapbook to one of the clippings. Maleah pulled away from him to look at it. It was a photograph that had him looking and smiling at the camera. It was also one of the few pictures that were in color. One could plainly see the neon green eyes, white hair, and black jumpsuit with white gloves and boots. The insignia Sam had designed was a stark white spot on the suit.

"Now you know what he looks like," Jazz stated. "And whenever the ghosts come you have a hero to protect you."

Danny's face fell at the awe and wonderment on Maleah's face. It was possible that she was remembering him from the dreams he featured in or she just could be as infatuated with his ghostly image as everyone else. He should be used to everyone, or almost everyone, preferring his other half. But, seeing that look on her face almost killed him. He knew that he and Phantom were one in the same, but it was hard to be a hero on one side and a loser on the other. Hell, to some, his parents included, he was public enemy number one while others, like his sister, considered him a hero.

"Dinner's ready kids!" his father yelled up the stairs.

"Coming, dad!" Jazz called back. "Why don't you go wash your face and come down for dinner. I'm sure you're hungry by now."

Maleah nodded in agreement as Jazz got up with her scrapbook. Danny went to stand as well to give her some privacy when their gazes locked. Danny tried his best to hide his disappointment but he knew he was failing. He went to move away from the bed when Maleah's hand shot out to wrap around his wrist before moving to take hold of his hand.

"Thank you, Danny, for believing me," she stated. Danny smiled down at her because there was no way he could be mad at her. "It was nice of Jazz to share her scrapbook and tell me about Danny Phantom."

"You're welcome. Phantom is a pretty decent guy and he seems to care about the city," Danny replied. "I'm sure he'll be able to protect you in your dreams too."

Maleah shook her head and Danny raised an eyebrow at her in question. She squeezed his hand and pulled him back to sit on the edge of the bed. Once he was settled she leaned forward and rested her body against his chest. She rested her chin on his shoulder and wrapped her free hand around his shoulder with her hand resting on the back of his neck.

"Maleah?"

Danny was pretty sure his heart was beating against his chest. Maleah was so close, and he could smell the perfume she was wearing. He couldn't place it, but he knew he could spend the rest of his life breathing it in. Danny was also sure that he was blushing hard as her hold tightened on him.

"I won't be thinking about Phantom protecting me when the nightmares come back," she stated matter-of-factly. Danny just stayed silent and waited for her to continue. "I'll be thinking of you, Danny."

"What?" Danny exclaimed.

Danny was shocked and thrilled at her declaration. He expected, like everyone else, that she would prefer his ghost half to his mortal half. He was surprised to know that it wasn't the case this time. It made his heart soar and his blush only grew. Maleah pulled away, to meet his eyes and when they did Danny thought, for just a moment, that everything was perfect.

"I feel safe with you and I know that sounds weird, but the minute I shook your hand something told me that as long as it was you, I would be safe. I mean, you talked me down from a panic attack within minutes of meeting me," Maleah admitted. "I don't want to think about someone I don't even know or a hero that I don't yet believe in."

Danny just stared at her, "Maleah, you don't even really know me yet."

"That may be true, but I would rather be protected by you, the first person to ever believe me, than some ghost boy I haven't even seen."

Danny was floored by her admission and as much as he wanted to accept it, he couldn't. "I'm flattered, really, but I don't think…."

"You looked like you needed to hear that," Maleah interrupted. "But I wouldn't have told you that, Danny, if I didn't mean it."

Danny didn't know what to say to her. He was stunned, but incredibly happy at the same time. Maleah had started getting off the bed, but before she could move away and release him Danny pulled her back down. Danny hadn't meant for her to land straddling his lap and the blush on both of their faces could clearly be seen, but Danny wasn't about to let her go just yet. Instead he placed a kiss on her cheek which only seemed to make the blush on her face spread down her neck.

"Thank you, Leah," he whispered. Maleah looked at him surprised. He hadn't been calling her by her nickname much after their first initial hug, but the look of happiness on her face was worth it. "You prefer a nickname over your given name just like I do."

She nodded before replying in a whisper, "You're welcome, Danny."

Danny dropped his hands so that she could move again, but for a long moment she didn't get up. The two of them were staring into each other's eyes as if they had just shared the deepest secret. Danny was smiling at her and Leah was smiling back with a light in her eyes that Danny found enchanting. He could stare into her eyes for days and never regret a moment of it.

"Danny! Leah!" Maddie called from the stairs. "Come and eat!"

"Coming, mom!" Danny called back.

Leah finally removed herself from his lap to leave the room. Danny didn't stop her this time and when she turned to give him a small smile Danny couldn't help the feeling of happiness that washed over him. Leah left for the bathroom and he just sat in her room for a moment to collect himself.

After a moment, Danny left the room to go down for dinner. He still didn't know what the feeling was that he had around Leah, but he knew where he could get some answers. The Ghost Zone was full of his enemies, but they were also the only ones who could tell him what he needed to know. He wouldn't go to Vlad unless absolutely necessary. Once Vlad knew about Leah she would be in danger.

The one thing he did know was that this feeling was nothing like what he had felt for Paulina or Valerie. It was deeper and more profound. He didn't lust after Leah like he would for Paulina or any other popular girl at Casper High. He wanted to be the reason for Leah's smile and her overall happiness. He wanted to hold her close and watch horrible movies until they were both laughing so hard they couldn't breathe. He wanted more than anything to kiss her till she saw stars and have her kiss back with an equal amount of passion.

He only hoped that someone in the ghost zone would know what this feeling and desire was, otherwise, Danny was sure he would go mad.

Well, there you have it! Chapter Two is done and ready for your reviews! Thank you all for waiting so patiently for any new updates on this and any of my other stories.

Again, Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, and Happy Holidays! See you in the new year!

~BlainexKurtxLovex