Maddie would always love her son-both of her children-without hesitation. All the love that she felt often led to concern over what they were doing in private. When Danny had been going through that horrible rebelliousphase at fourteen, Maddie had been terrified that he was heading-more like running-down the wrong path and she couldn't stop him, let alone pull him back. She'd lost a lot of sleep at night worrying about her son and how much time he was spending with friends over family. She would never admit it to Jack, but she'd actually searched his room in a moment of weakness. But she hadn't been able to find anything! There was nothing to signal to the world that Danny was struggling. No drugs (thank God). No (God forbid) condoms. Although, she was debating if that meant something worse altogether. She hadn't even found a collection of adult magazines under his bed. She'd been at least expecting those. Instead, she had found one of her lipstick ecto-rays. That had brought out a whole other level of concern.

But, that was all worry for fourteen and fifteen-year-old Danny. Sixteen and seventeen-year-old Danny had been an abrupt change of pace. Danny had brought his grades up. Maddie was sure that he at least had a B in most classes. He'd stopped missing curfew. They'd actually gotten to regularly eat dinner together as a family. And Danny just looked healthier. He'd always been on the thinner side and exhausted. But Maddie could see that Danny was taking on a leaner frame that filled out his clothes better than his fourteen-year-old self could. She'd already taken him shopping for new clothes a few months ago. There was something about this Danny that gave Maddie a sense of hope for her son as well as guilt that she hadn't been the cause of his 180 degree change in lifestyle.

"See you later, mom. I'm gonna go pick up Kagome before we head to the arcade," Danny said as he placed his empty cereal bowl in the dishwasher. To his credit, he even kissed her cheek before quickly dashing towards the exit.

"Danny?" Maddie called out behind him. Danny froze in the doorway mid-step before looking back at her in question. "Just you and Kagome are going out today?"

"No. Tucker and Sam are meeting us there. Why?" Danny replied.

Once upon a time, Maddie had been sure that Danny's relationship with Sam had been more than platonic. It just made sense with how much time the two spent together along with the interest they had shown in each other. But, now? Maddie was more concerned about Danny's relationship with Kagome. Kagome was a nice girl- smart, kind, and very polite. Maddie had no issues with the two dating. Though Danny had never admit it and probably never would. (He could get so embarrassed.) But, Maddie could see it as plain as day how much her son cared about that petite, Japanese girl.

"Oh. Well, enjoy your date, sweetheart," Maddie replied while pouring herself a cup of coffee. She smiled as she took a sip from the steaming mug.

"It-It's not a date, mom. We're just hanging out. Sam and Tucker will be there!" Danny objected. Maddie could see the tenseness in his posture and the way a blush was creeping up to his cheeks and out to his ears. He couldn't even look directly at her!

"I didn't say, "date". I said, "day", sweetheart. I know that you and Kagome are just friends," Maddie lied to save face.

"Good... Because we are..."

What did that sound like? Nervousness? Anxiety? It almost sounded a little sad. Or maybe it was disappointment? Maddie laughed into her hand. Now she knew where Jazz got her interest in psychology and examining others from.

"Don't laugh, mom!" Danny exclaimed in a tone that reeked of embarrassment. "I gotta go," he rushed before dashing out of the kitchen. Seconds later, Maddie heard the front door shut.

"Did Danny just leave? I wanted to show him something down in the lab," Maddie heard Jack say.

Turning around, Maddie spotted her husband towering in the doorway. She smiled softly at him. "He left to pick up Kagome. They're going to the arcade with Sam and Tucker," Maddie informed.

"Sam and Tucker? Why would they go on a date with Sam and Tucker around?" Jack asked with an adorably confused expression on his face. Her husband may not always be the brightest bulb, but he was always astoundingly observant and understanding. He often caught on to some things before she did.

"They aren't dating, Jack," Maddie reminded him. Jack snorted loudly before shooting her a slightly patronizing look. "They're just friends, Jack. I think we'd know if they were really dating."

"I'm telling you, Mads. Those two are together," Jack insisted before going over to the fridge. He pulled out a plastic container with some fudge with an excited expression. "They remind me of us!" Jack exclaimed and took a bite of the delicious fudge. (Maddie always did make the best fudge.)

"Us?" Maddie parroted. As far as Maddie knew, Danny's soft-spoken and awkward demeanor was a far cry from Jack's loud and boisterous tendencies. And Maddie had never seen Kagome act the slightest bit forceful or aggressive. Not that Maddie was aggressive. She was just opinionated.

"Of course! Trust me on this one, Maddie. They're more like us than they realize. Just wait and see. I'm sure Danny will be the one to take over the ghost hunting business for us. He'll be the crazy fool yabbering on about ghosts to anyone who'll listen. And he'll be lucky to have Kagome who'll actually know a whole lot more on topic than he does. She'll probably end up being his right hand in battle," Jack said with a grin and lidded look to his eyes.

"Oh, Jack..." Maddie swooned before gesturing for him to bend down towards her. Once he was closer to her level, Maddie placed a kiss to his cheek. "Let's hope he gets your way with words."

~:~

Danny fought down the blush that was threatening to show the world just how embarrassed he was. Shaking himself out, he quickly crossed the street before walking up the steps to Kagome's house. Just as he was about to knock on the door, said door was pulled open by none other than Kagome herself. She jolted to a stop with surprise on her face just before smiling brightly. "Hey, Danny. What's up?" she greeted.

"Nothing much. I just came over to see if you were busy. Tucker wanted to go to the arcade so Sam and I are going with him. I wanted to know if you were coming with," Danny said. A confused frown slowly slid onto his face. "But you look like you're about to go out somewhere..."

"Yeah. I'm meeting Paulina and Star at the mall. We're gonna go shopping and get mani-pedis. You're welcome to join us," she said with a teasing smile.

"Pass. But, thanks," Danny replied. He watched Kagome shut and lock the door behind her before descending the steps. "Wait a second. Let me walk you to the mall."

"That's okay, Danny. I can get to the mall by myself. I promise I won't get lost," she said with another smile.

"I just want to make sure you get there safe. Or I could fly you there," Danny suggested. He could have just offered to fly her there. Why did he start with walk? Oh, right. Because his mouth was faster than his brain. He'd actually been looking forward to going to the arcade with Kag- all his friends.

"I actually wanted to walk. It's such a nice day today," Kagome said and looked up at the clear, blue skies. She looked back at Danny before shrugging. "We can walk together. Come on. Give those ghost powers a rest and just be human for a change."

"Sounds good to me," Danny replied and descended the steps quickly. And like that, the two were off.

~:~

Paulina checked over her nails again while Star busily tapped away on her phone's screen. The two had been standing outside the Amity Park Mall for about ten minutes awaiting their friend. Kagome had already texted them to let them know that she was on her way. So what was taking her so long? "Do you think she stopped somewhere?" Paulina asked Star.

"Hmmm. I doubt it. Kagome takes being on time freakishly serious. I'm surprised that she's actually late. It's usually her waiting for us," Star answered without taking her eyes off her phone.

Paulina folded her arms over her chest before looking around again. In the middle of scanning faces, Paulina finally saw her. And then the Latina's eyes widened. "I think I know why she's late," Paulina said with a smirk.

"Why?" Star asked and finally looked at her friend. She noticed that Paulina's gaze was trained on something in the distance. Turning to look, Star had to search for only a few seconds. The blonde smirked.

Kagome tried to join her friends as quickly as she could. Danny was trailing behind her now because of how fast she was going. Despite the mall being clearly in sight, he was still following her. Most likely determined to make sure that she made it all the way to the door. It was a sweet gesture. When she finally made it, Kagome offered Paulina and Star apologetic looks. "Sorry I'm late. Time just ran up on me while I was getting ready this morning," Kagome said.

"It's cool. We get it," Star said slyly as her eyes glanced at Danny.

The raven-haired boy raised a brow in confusion while glancing at Star and Paulina. Seeing matching, slightly predatory looks on their faces, Danny instantly felt that it was time to go. "I'll see you later, Kagome. I'm gonna go," Danny said while maintaining eye contact with Paulina. Even though he had long since gotten over his crush on the Latina, she still left him feeling anxious for completely different reasons.

"Sure. Have fun at the arcade," Kagome replied, blissfully unaware of Danny's discomfort. She watched him go, slipping into the crowd of patrons entering the mall. She spotted Danny ducking behind a car only seconds before she saw Danny Phantom quickly fly away from the area. She shook her head with a small smile.

"Let's go. We'll try your mom's store first, Kagome. I've got summer shopping to do. I need a new swimsuit for my pool party," Paulina said and led the way into the mall.

"Are you having it at your house or the country club?" Kagome asked.

"My house. My parents will be out of town that weekend so it'll be a pool party in the afternoon and then the after party at night," Paulina said with a wink. "You are coming. Right, Kagome?" Paulina asked. She'd lost count of how many times Kagome hadn't shown up at a party because she was busy with Fenton and his friends.

As the girls entered the store, they each grabbed a shopping bag at the front to hold their clothes. The trio decided to browse the sale racks first. Most of the store was devoted to women's clothing, but there were some men browsing and children trying on new, summer clothes. The chorus to an upbeat, pop song was playing on the speakers.

"Kagome will go as long as Danny does," Star said with a smirk.

"You know. I'm actually starting to worry about you, Kagome. You can't spend so much time with a boy, even if he's your boyfriend. He'll start to think that you're clingy," Paulina advises sagely as she examined a sea green, strapless dress.

Kagome felt her jaw drop in astonishment. "Not you guys too," she groaned. "I don't know how many times I can tell people that we're not dating."

"There's no shame in dating Fenton, Kagome. You could do worse. Besides, he's kinda cute," Star acknowledged. In the middle of critiquing an extremely cute top, Star felt twin gazes on her. With a brow raised, she looked up at her friends. "What?" she asked at Paulina's strange look and Kagome's amused one. "You have to admit that he got cuter last year."

"Anyways, it doesn't matter what you tell people. Everyone in this town has nothing better to do than gossip about others. Especially since there haven't been any ghost attacks lately," Paulina mused.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyways. We're just friends. I know it and Danny knows it," Kagome said resolutely.

"Oh no..." Paulina sighed.

"You didn't," Star accused.

"What?" Kagome asked in confusion.

"Don't tell me that you told him that you want to be "just friends". Kagome, don't you know that you can never be "just friends" when one of you is already catching feelings?" Paulina pointed out. "And don't try to deny that Fenton is totally into you. Even a blind person can see it."

"Boys make everything so overly complicated. You can't be nice to them without them thinking that you're suddenly dating now," Star scoffed and put back the top.

"I've actually dated Dash and I know for a fact that he's nowhere near as into me as Fenton is into you. Good luck trying to convince Dash to walk me to the mall and not ask for anything back," Paulina scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Kagome frowned as she stared down at the clothes rack. Maybe Paulina and Star were right? The two of them definitely had more experience with boys. But Danny wasn't like other boys. Literally. He was one of a kind even without the ghost powers to set him apart. Before Kagome could voice her concerns, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Turning quickly, she smiled brightly at her mother.

"Hello, girls. Doing some early, summer shopping?" Kimiko questioned with a bright smile on her face.

"You bet, Ms. Takahashi," Star replied with a bright smile.

"I came in for a new swimsuit, but I always end up buying more than I come in for," Paulina schmoozed.

"Well, you girls can have a free swimsuit on me. I hope it will make up for me taking my daughter away from you for a while," Kimiko said with an apologetic frown.

"Are you kidding? Keep her for as long as you want!" Star urged.

"Sorry, Kagome," Paulina replied sympathetically with a small shrug.

Kagome shook her head with a smile. "I get it. It's a free swimsuit. I just hope you pick cute ones," Kagome said before leaving with her mother. She followed her mother to the elevator with a confused frown. Once they were alone in the elevator, Kagome asked, "What's up, mama?"

Kimiko had a serious frown on her face. "I wouldn't expect you to have picked up on it, but there's a ghost in the store."

Kagome balked. "Is it Danny? What about Vlad?"

"I'm afraid not. It appears that the ghosts are no longer on vacation," Kimiko said and walked out once the elevator had taken them up to her office.

"So what do we do?" Kagome asked and quickly followed after her mother. "Should we call Danny?"

"Absolutely not. No offense to Danny, but I'd rather not have an all out brawl in the middle of my store," Kimiko said and walked over to her desk. She pulled open a drawer before taking out a small chest.

Kagome moved in close to observe. With a raised brow, she asked, "Is that salt?"

"Yep," Kimiko said before pouring some salt out into her hand.

"I didn't think that the salt thing actually worked on ghosts. I've seen Danny put extra salt on his fries all the time," Kagome said dubiously.

"By itself, salt doesn't have the ability to ward of spirits. Regular humans think it does though. You need a bit of magic to get it going. After that, it can do more than just ward of spirits," Kimiko explained.

"You know a lot about ghosts, mama," Kagome commented.

Kimiko stilled for a second before putting away the container of salt. "Well, I wouldn't be able to write over a hundred scientific papers on them if I didn't know a thing or two," Kimiko replied with a wink. "Watch and learn, sweetheart."

Kagome stood back and watched her mother whisper a few words to the salt in her palm before throwing the salt towards the middle of the room. Suddenly, a large figure flickered into existence before falling to the floor with a loud thud and groan. From where she stood, it looked like a metal suit shaped like a man with a flaming, neon green mohawk and matching goatee. He was glaring up at her mother from where he laid on the floor. "Perhaps you would be so kind as to tell me why you are skulking around my store," Kimiko questioned with her arms folded over her her chest and a brow raised.

"I came to see if the rumors were true. I had heard that there was a powerful witch living in this town," the ghost said before pulling himself onto his feet.

"You've seen for yourself. So now, you will leave peacefully. I don't take kind to ghosts causing problems on my property," Kimiko said in a warning tone.

"Your property!? That's just like a witch. You think everywhere is your keep. I'll have you know that I have been around quite a bit longer than you have. Let me tell you. This is not your town to rule," the ghost said with a harsh glare as he threateningly stepped closer.

Kimiko didn't back down. "Leave. Now. I will not ask again," Kimiko said.

"Any ghost would be a fool to oppose a witch after she's shorted out his powers," the ghost said before turning and walking away. "Luckily for me, I am more than capable of fighting my battles without my ghostly abilities," the ghost said before raising his arm and firing a glowing, green net from a gun that was poking out of his wrist. Eyes wide, Kagome shouted to her mother fearfully. Kimiko cried out in pain as the neon net ensnared her and pinned her to the wall behind her. Kagome attempted to run to her, but the ghost spoke up again. "I wouldn't touch her if I were you. That net is charged with 150 milliamps. It's a bit difficult to do magic when you're essentially paralyzed. I give her a few minutes before she's a goner and I can add a witch's pelt to my collection."

"Let her go or else!" Kagome threatened. The ghost's suit managed to raise a brow at her before he started tapping away at a keypad on his forearm. Looking around her quickly, Kagome spotted a broom in the corner. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. "I mean it. Let. Her. Go."

The ghost looked down at her wooden broom before guffawing loudly. He tossed his head back and held his stomach before wiping away an imaginary tear. "Run along, little girl. This is no place for-" the ghost said, but was cut off by the end of the broom smacking him roughly in the face. He didn't get much chance to cover. Within seconds, he was being hit from all sides by that stupid broom. "Stop that!" he shouted in irritation before gripping the broom by the handle.

"Let my mother go!" Kagome fired back before roughly striking him in the gut with her knee. She watched the ghost cough a few times as he stumbled backwards. Her knee was going to be bruised by tomorrow for sure. That suit was a lot harder than it looked. She'd never get anywhere with just trying to hit him through that suit. Looking down at her hands, Kagome glared at the ghost again. She ran at him quickly, quickly deflecting his punch at her head before charging her hands with her magic and shoving them at the ghost's torso with a shout. She had to duck her head to avoid getting any of the electric sparks that were flying from his suit in her eyes. When she looked up again, the ghost was slouched against the far wall of the room, his suit sparking wildly and singed.

Not wasting any more time, Kagome ran over to where her mother was pinned against the wall. She gripped the net, but quickly pulled her hands away. Her mother didn't keep any rubber gloves around her office, did she? Trying again, Kagome tugged as much as she could of the net out from where it was implanted into the wall. Once she had half the net out, she pulled her mother out of its hold before laying her onto the floor. Blinking away the tears forming from the burning and stinging feeling in her hands, Kagome held her unconscious mother to her. She didn't bat an eye at the ghost's clumsy attempt at fleeing the scene. She only knew one healing spell. She just prayed that it would be strong enough to fix this.