Chapter 6: The Verdict

A/N: Thanks to my amazing reviewers, DPchick, Earnest Wood, Momorulz, HiyaKitty, Gracie 407, sperry426, BlueWater626, Bookninja15, and SpeakWithAction.

Sorry for the late late late update:( I'll try better with the epilogue. Yep, you heard me right. This is the last chapter, besides the epilogue. Thanks for sticking with me through the crappy updates!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any related characters.

(1st Person POV- Paulina) (Six months later)

Court proceedings went very slow, but apparently that's a good thing. My lawyer wanted to delay the proceedings as much as possible so I got most of my time served in the town holding cell instead of jail.

Oh gosh!

My life is practically ruined. No one told me that Sam Manson was legally a minor because she was so smart she was moved up a grade! So know my lawyer is trying his best to think of as many reason's why what I did wasn't that bad. He even tried to say that I was watching out for her after I slipped her the drug, until the goth freak got a bunch of other losers to say that I left early.

Apparently, she's rich, so her parents hired great lawyers for the civil case to negotiate as much money as possible from me and Papa.

And Papa! He was so disappointed in me. After he lost Mama, I don't know how he will take losing me. I'm so ashamed that I'm putting him through this.

I groaned. If Mama was still alive, she would disown me!

I've even having after thoughts about selling Dash out. I honestly think the police wouldn't have caught him if I hadn't said anything.

Now it's here. The verdict. After almost six months of waiting, the jury was getting ready to deliver their verdict.

(1st Person POV- Sam)

Finally. Six months of cyclic waiting, getting frustrated, calming down, and waiting again, and this is the moment that could end it all. Justice will be served, and everything will be normal in Amity Park.

Gosh, you would think that we are celebrities or something. Well, Danny was already, but still. I guess I can see where they're coming from. An innocent girl getting drugged at a school function is pretty unheard of in our small, Midwestern-style town.

Paulina and Dash are the villains of the whole story. Even though part of me hates their guts for what they did to me, any human being would feel bad about what's going to happen to them after they get out of prison.

They will be shunned, forced to the fringes of society. No one will reach out to them because anyone who would could be thought of as "guilty by association" in the public's mind.

They won't be able to get a job because of their criminal record, even if they move to a different town. All in all, it's a lose-lose situation for the two of them.

But now's not the time to second guess my decision to go after them, though, at least not with the head juror heading to the podium, getting ready to deliver the verdict.

(1st Person POV- Danny)

Just looking over at Sam, I could tell exactly what she was thinking. It was what she was always thinking these days. She's doubting her decision to sue Paulina and Dash.

But it wasn't her decision. I pressured her to do it because I was frustrated that I couldn't save her from something. What if, instead of it being Paulina slipping her roofies, it had been one of my ghostly foes slipping her poison?

I couldn't live with myself if I lost Sam. After spending my freshmen year chasing after girls who hated one half of me or the other, I finally found the perfect girl for me, Sam. She is in love with all of who I am (ghost and human), and I love, among other things, that kind of acceptance.

Still, it's not Dash or Paulina's fault they slipped through my defenses. Making me mad is not a capital offense, so why should they pay for it like one?

Snap out of it Fenton, I commanded myself. Don't dwell on mistakes. Try to fix them. So I vowed I would.

(3rd Person POV Limited- The Head Juror)

The head juror took her time heading to the podium. Apparently it was her civil duty to determine the fate of two delinquent brats. Whatever.

"In light of her confession, Paulina Sanchez has been found guilty of giving illegal substances to minor without her consent. For this, the jury's decision is to give her 6 months of jail time and 40 hours of community service. Because she spent 5 months and one week exactly in jail already, her sentence is almost over. She will be allowed to finish her sentence in the Amity Park holding center. Also, this incident will be written on her permanent record.

"In light of his confession, Dash Baxter has been found guilty of drug possession and distribution. Normally drug sentences are determined by the amount of drugs on their person at the time they were caught, which is normally in the act. But Mr. Baxter admits to these crimes dating back approximately 3 years, his sentence was determined accordingly. With good behavior, he will spend 1 year in rehab and 2 in jail," the head juror concluded as she walked back to her seat. She could wait to go home and spend some time with her kids. This case has been consuming so much of her time lately that her family's probably feeling neglected.

(1st Person POV- Danny: At Sam's home, after the verdict)

"Sam, I'm sorry I pushed you so hard to prosecute them as harshly as possible. I'm going to visit Paulina tomorrow and tell her how sorry I am for ruining her life," Danny told Sam as they cuddled on the sofa in Sam's room.

"It's my fault to. I would stick up for my thoughts, which was really weird for me not to do. I'll go with you tomorrow," Sam agreed with Danny. With a clear conscience, they snuggled together watching TV, with clear conscience and a real plan.

A/N: So what do you think? Can you tell what's going to happen in the epilogue?