So this is the last chapter devoted to the argument. After this one, I promise things will get more interesting. Until now I've really been setting the stage and doing character development but it will get more action packed.

It was starting to get dark by the time Danny phased through the front door. Sam was sitting in the living room on her laptop. She was probably writing her next book on Danny Phantom. Lilith was sitting at the table in the kitchen doing her homework. They had both already eaten. Danny knew that his dinner would be in the microwave ready to be reheated. Danny walked into the living room and sat beside Sam. "Hey, so how did your talk go with Lilith?" Danny asked conversationally. Sam quickly saved her work and put the laptop to one side and looked up at Danny. "It was… emotional. Danny… she asked me why she didn't have any ghost powers," Sam replied. She waited to see Danny's reaction.

Danny frowned. "What did you tell her?" Danny ventured carefully. "I told her what Jazz theorized when she was a baby," Sam answered simply. Danny frowned again. "Did she say why she asked that?" Danny inquired. He knew that Sam was gauging how he felt about Lilith not having powers. She was trying to figure out how the conversation would have gone if Lilith had asked Danny and not her. In all honesty, they hadn't thought about reason why Lilith didn't have powers since she was a baby. It wasn't important to them. They loved their daughter deeply and it didn't matter if she had powers or not.

"She feels that she is a disappointment. She told me that people have asked if we adopted her and don't want to talk to her when they find out she doesn't have any powers," Sam explained softly. She knew that Danny would be upset to hear this, after all she had been upset. However this was caused by Danny Phantom. It wasn't his fault but it was a consequence of his existence. Danny was stunned. He opened his mouth and closed it. He didn't know what to say. He cleared his throat. "You know I don't feel that way," he croaked. Sam smiled sympathetically. "Of course I know that. Lilith said that she's knows that too. Whether she meant it… I don't know. But she said it was the others that were disappointed in her," Sam assured him gently. She understood why their daughter hadn't said this to them before. She didn't blame them. It was no one's fault. It was just a difficult situation. However it had all come out today because Danny Phantom had been seen by the majority of the student body fighting a ghost at Casper High.

"Sam, what should I do? Should I have a word with the school? Should I tell the students off? Should I stop being Danny Phantom?" Danny asked quickly. He wanted to make this right, he just wasn't sure on how. "Danny, you can't do anything. If you have a word with the school or the students, then things will probably get worse. Lilith wouldn't want to be accepted because you intervened. And you know that you can't stop being Phantom, even if you tried. Unless you've forgotten about the time you got rid of your powers. Danny you can't change who you are or how others see our daughter… but you can be there for her and try to understand," Sam answered kindly.

Danny nodded numbly. "I've asked Valerie to respond to any ghost attacks around Casper High or the mall and the Nasty Burger after school times. I've dealt with the ghost I caught today and want to give Lilith a spectre deflector to wear in public places. I'm going to try and keep Danny Phantom away from her," Danny informed his wife. Sam smiled, she knew that he had gotten some advice. "Who suggested those things?" Sam prompted. Danny rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Jazz," he answered quietly. Sam shook her head good-naturedly and smiled at her husband. "Danny, you should probably talk to Lilith. Explain to her why you broke your promise," Sam suggested. Danny nodded. "Jazz told me to explain everything too. She said to wait until Lilith came to me… or wait until you suggested it. She said I shouldn't force myself on her," Danny explained. Sam smiled. Jazz always gave good advice.

Lilith bit the end of her pencil as she considered the sum in front of her. She was really struggling with it. She looked up when she heard her father come in to the kitchen. She had hoped it would be her mother. Sam could usually help her with her homework, Danny… it really depended on the subject and maths was not one of them. He punched in the time for his dinner to cook in the microwave and pressed the started button. He sat down at the kitchen table and took a small calming breath. "Hey, Lilith. How's the homework? Anything I can help with?" Danny asked softly. He was trying to gauge how forgiving his daughter was feeling. She refused to meet his eye. "Difficult maths sums. So unless you have a new power that makes you brilliant at maths… no you can't help," Lilith replied haughtily. Danny knew that this was going to be a difficult talk. However he knew that he really should talk to her as soon as possible. The microwave pinged and Danny took the plate out and began to eat. He watched Lilith struggle with the sum before scribbling down a guess and moving on to the next sum. He couldn't help but be reminded that he had been the same when he was at school much to the annoyance of his sister and parents.

Once he was finished, he placed the plate to one side and waited until Lilith finished the sum she was scribbling an answer down for. She obviously had an actual answer for this one. She rubbed out a number and rewrote it and blew the pieces of rubber off the page. Danny took his chance. "Why don't you take a break and we can have a little talk," Danny suggested. He wasn't going to force Lilith to listen to him if she really didn't want to. However he would wait at the dinner table with her until she was ready to talk. Lilith realised this and sighed in annoyance. She scowled at him but she was listening.

"Lilith, I'm sorry for breaking my promise. But I promise I won't break it again. I've asked Valerie to respond to any attacks on Casper High in the future. I'm going to try and be a better father from now on. Your mother told me how you feel and I want to be there for you in any way I can be," Danny started. Lilith's scowl softened slightly. "Why did you break your promise in the first place?" Lilith asked softly. Danny cleared in his throat. "I panicked. When I saw that the ghost alarm was at Casper High, I didn't think about what I was doing, I just rushed off to Casper High. I couldn't let a ghost hurt you. I wasn't thinking and I'm sorry," Danny explained. Lilith thought back to the ghost attack. She hadn't noticed before that he had been furious at the ghost. He hadn't said a word during the entire encounter. Danny Phantom was renowned for having witty banter with his ghost foes. He would put on a show usually, especially if it was an easy ghost to fight and there was a big crowd. Now that she thought about it, it was unusual for her father to be so furious with a ghost.

"Why were you so angry with that ghost?" Lilith ventured nervously. She wasn't sure how her father would react to the question. She rarely expressed much of an interest to her father about his battles. Danny cocked an eyebrow at his daughter. "It was that noticeable huh?" he remarked softly. Lilith shrugged. Danny smiled at her. "I was angry because that ghost attacked your school. When you were born… I told the ghosts in the Ghost Zone to stay away from you or I'd go after them with everything I had. I'm pretty powerful and have a reputation in the Ghost Zone community. Until today, no ghost has dared go near you. I was so angry because I was afraid. I was afraid that this ghost would attack you and you'd get hurt and I wouldn't be able to protect you. Which is why I'm giving you this," Danny explained and took the spectre deflector belt from his jacket pocket. He placed it on the table and allowed Lilith to examine it. "It's a spectre deflector. When you're wearing it, if a ghost touches you, it'll shock it. It is very painful. I know from experience. I'd like you to wear it when you're not in the house. It'll make me feel better knowing that you have this protecting you," Danny informed his daughter.

Lilith stared at the metal belt with green wires. It had a large buckle with a locking mechanism. It wouldn't win any fashion competitions but she understood why her father wanted her to have it. She understood that he was just concerned about her. She realised that her father was just being protective. She smiled at him. She had forgiven him. Danny pulled his daughter into a hug and kissed her cheek. "I love you Lilith and I'd do anything to keep you safe. You know that right?" he whispered in her ear and she nodded into his shoulder. She sniffed and laughed as she pulled away and wiped away a tear. "Sorry, I'm just being silly now," she muttered as wiped her cheek with her sleeve. Danny smiled gently at his daughter.

"Lilith, I really don't care if you have ghost powers or not. You're special and I love you regardless. And if I can do anything to show that to everyone then let me know, alright," Danny assured his daughter as she sniffed again. She nodded slowly. "Dad, remind me. How did you get your powers anyway?" She asked carefully. Danny scowled slightly. "It was an accident in my parents' lab," Danny answered cryptically. Lilith frowned. "Yeah, but what kind of accident?" Lilith prompted. Danny shook his head. "I don't explain the details Lilith, ever. Only Tucker, your mother and I will know that. And everything is a little hazy for me," Danny replied firmly. Lilith scowled. "Why? Why have you never explained how it happened?" Lilith inquired.

Danny sighed. "I don't want anyone to cause another accident. Before you start thinking that I'm being selfish, I have my reasons. There are only two halfas that were created the way I was. Me and Vlad. Vlad's evil ghost half made him try and take over the world. He suffered from a very painful and serious disease called ecto-acne. I was luckier. However halfas are rare and some ghosts fear and hate us. They attack us and try to… get rid of us. Ghost powers are dangerous. I can't tell you the amount of times I hit Tucker with a ghost ray when I was trying to figure out my powers. And that's the best case scenario Lilith. What if something went wrong? What if the ghost half was unstable? That once happened to Dani. Her ghost half started to dissolve into nothing and if her ghost half went, then her human half went too. That's assuming the accident worked in the same way. What if the accident killed someone who tried to copy me? It's too dangerous to explain exactly how it happened Lilith," Danny explained. He hoped that Lilith understood that having ghost powers wasn't as great as it seemed. He left out that Jazz knew what the accident was as she had seen him reverse the accident to get rid of his powers.

Lilith nodded again crescent-fallen. She understood, she didn't like it but she knew why her father refused to reveal any details. She thanked him for the spectre deflector and for asking Valerie to take over the ghost attacks at Casper High. She then turned back to her homework and Danny left to get changed and spend some time with Sam. He couldn't help but be concerned about the ghost snake and what it meant that it had attacked Casper High.

So, the argument is resolved. Here's where things get exciting.

So, until the next chapter.