Overtime kills.

I'm only 2,000 words into chapter 11 and I'm still replying to reviews (you guys are fucking amazing, okay? just...oh my gosh), but I'm already a week later than I said and I have a vet appointment I'm stressing over tomorrow so new chapter.

Once upon a time, I thought this chapter and last chapter would be a single chapter...ha...

Chapter 10
Conflict

"In love, the paradox occurs that two beings become one and yet remain two." ~ Erich Fromm

It took longer than usual.

Instead of going through the net as two and coming out the other side as one, Fenton and Phantom were enveloped by a white light similar to the rings that heralded Danny's transformations. Their forms started to merge along their sides, beginning at their joined hands. Then the pain hit.

They both cried out, a dual shout that became a single wordless cry as their bodies fused into one being.

Before the light had finished fading, they wrapped their arms around their middle and sank to their knees. Fenton's sore, probably bruised knees. They trembled, panting for breath and trying to will Fenton's heart to stop racing. Fenton's right hand, the one Phantom had been holding, throbbed from how tightly they had squeezed each other in the end, and they had no doubt that if they shifted to Phantom's form, the opposing hand would feel just as tender.

If separation felt like their molecules were being ripped apart, this reunion had felt like they were being stitched back together, needle, thread, and a sever lack of any kind of numbing agent. Phantom, personally, felt it wasn't worth it.

"Danny!" their friends shouted in alarm.

Fenton and Phantom forced their eyes open, but their vision blurred and they grew light headed. The world shifted, and they tipped onto their side and laid on the floor, the concrete cool on their raw skin. They twisted their head and pressed their forehead against the floor as well. Unfortunately, it had no effect on their growing headache.

Two thumps beside their head, and then Sam's hand, smaller but stronger than Tucker's, grabbed their shoulder. They sucked air in through their teeth and waved in their friends' general direction, the heaviness of their arm making the movement jerky. Even with their eyes closed, it felt like the floor beneath them moved like they were in a boat, pitching from unseen waves.

"Fine, we're fine," they said. "Just need a minute." They pressed a hand to their temple and curled their right hand, the one that still ached, against their chest. "Everything is spinning."

From high above them, they heard Jazz say, voice tight, "Is this normal? Did it happen like this last time?"

A pause in which Fenton and Phantom realized the throbbing in their head coincided with the beating of Fenton's heart, and then Tucker said, "He jumped right into fighting Technus last time. It was like he'd never been separated in the first place."

That had been a year ago. They had been younger then, innocent. They never kissed—they hadn't even liked each other.

Of course not, you were a complete slob.

I wasn't the one fighting ghosts with our bedsheet for a cape.

Jealous?

Their lips twisted into a smile before their head gave a particularly painful throb and they groaned in pain.

"How long was he separated the first time?" Jazz asked.

"About a day," Sam said. "Maybe two."

"And this time?"

Another pause.

Tucker said, a bit dubiously, "He said he split himself right before his date with Valerie."

"You don't believe him?"

"If you haven't noticed, Jazz," Sam said, tone dry, "Danny doesn't lie well, and I'd say his human half was even worse at it."

Except Phantom had successfully lied circles around the news reporters, so at least one half of Danny could lie, and while Fenton might have struggled, he had admirably tried to keep their deeper secret hidden. They rolled onto their back and slit their eyes open enough to glare at the three of them. As one, Danny said, "We're in pain, guys, not deaf."

Sam, who happened to be the closest one to their head and so the easiest to focus on, raised an eyebrow. "'We'?"

Of course 'we,' they were-

They blinked at her and curled their right hand into a fist.

No…

They weren't Fenton or Phantom now, they were Danny.

He was Danny.

He was whole again, and Fenton and Phantom were only aspects of his personality that no longer existed.

And yet…his human heart felt strange, the regular beating a sensation that felt at once alien and familiar. His skin was too warm, his knees too sore, his body too heavy. Was this normal? Had it always been this way when they were one? Like every sensation received different reactions? How could he be just Danny when he felt so unlike himself?

Jazz knelt beside Sam and reached past her to touch their—his forehead. "Are you having an identity crisis? It can't be easy for two minds to fuse after…however many days it's been. Do you feel mentally numb? Are you anxious? Disoriented?

Danny winced one eye shut as he squinted up at her. "It's fine, Jazz, we've done this before. Stop worrying."

"There's that 'we' again," Sam muttered.

"You're not exactly making that easy, dude," Tucker said. "Can you even stand? They're expecting you upstairs."

Upstairs. Valerie. Upstairs and exposed because Phantom—because he had protected Fent—himself from Skulker's attack.

"Y-yeah." Danny brushed Jazz's hand away and rolled onto his front again, placing his hands flat on the floor. He took a deep breath and whispered to himself, "Okay, we—I can do this." He slowly pushed himself onto his hands and knees, his muscles twinging oddly—too heavy/normal—but stopped there and stared at the ground as the floor heaved beneath him. Danny licked his lips. "Help?"

As if they had been waiting for just that cue, Sam and Tucker surged forward and grabbed an arm each. His skin still felt a little too raw, but Danny ignored it and gratefully used their strength to pull himself onto his feet. Even once upright, his friends stayed by his side, holding onto his arms as Danny's leg muscles spasmed.

Jazz hovered off to the side, her concern practically tangible. "You can barely stand, Danny!"

"It's really not a big deal," Danny said as he stared at the floor. The swaying floor he stood on because he couldn't fly. Because he was in human form and humans don't fly no matter how much a part of him felt like he could. "Something like this happened last time too."

"When you fought Technus?" Tucker asked.

Danny blinked. Technus? They hadn't fought Technus, they had just practiced…oh. "…Yes," he said, emphasizing the word in the hopes his friends would believe him.

He couldn't see Tucker's and Sam's expressions, but Jazz's eyebrows pinched together. Great. He shook his head, and their headache twinged. His headache. Damn it.

Danny breathed in shakily and glanced at the staircase. He was barely holding himself together. If his parents and Valerie noticed him behaving oddly, if he started referring to himself as two instead of one, if he lost track of who he was during the conversation…

Without consciously thinking about it, his gaze drifted to the Ghost Catcher. Perhaps merging back right now had been a bad idea. His head hurt so much he could barely think, and he needed to think. Not just because Valerie needed him at his best with his parents now in on her secret, but also because of Fenton and Phantom.

They had been feeling things, things that Danny now felt, and he needed to understand exactly what those feelings were. There were so many emotions and memories cramming his head, only he didn't have time to sort himself out.

If they could just separate again, just long enough for Fenton or Phantom to fix things with Valerie—

Danny shook his head again, more violently this time, and stumbled out of Tucker's and Sam's hold, meandering towards the center of the lab. "We just have to walk it off…it'll be fine, I'll be fine."

Behind him, Tucker whispered, "Is he talking to one of us?"

"Probably?" Jazz whispered back.

Footsteps trotted after him, and just as he stumbled, Sam caught his arm, holding him up until Danny regained his balance. "Maybe you should split yourself again," she said, though the tone of her voice made it clear how much she disliked the idea. "You're obviously in no shape to be facing three ghost hunters."

Sam agrees.

Danny's face pinched into a grimace. "Please don't say that, Sam. It's hard enough keeping myself together as it is."

If he even was himself.

He clenched his fists, and the pain in his right hand flared. Wincing, Danny lifted it up to chest-level, spreading his fingers out as he stared down at it. The soreness was still there, but it was fading. They had held hands before and during the merge, Fenton and Phantom. It felt significant somehow. Like…like…

His vision blurred again as tears pooled in his eyes. Danny turned his head away from Sam before she saw and blinked rapidly, trying to will the tears away. He couldn't do this now.

Danny shoved the emotions aside and tried to focus on the moment before his two halves had merged. He remembered Fenton's confusion and Phantom's fear and the way they drew courage from each other, but he couldn't pinpoint the moment their minds melded. If they had melded.

Before, Fenton and Phantom had always been Danny's mind split in two, he was the original and they were the offshoots. But now it almost felt like they were the starting point and he was the by-product.

So was he Danny or were they two people stuck in a single body?

A pang of longing pierced his chest, and Danny nearly gasped, his right hand closing into a tight fist.

Someone clapped their hands together, and Danny looked over his shoulder, eager for a distraction.

"We need a distraction!" Jazz said, standing up straight and wearing her 'determined' expression. "Before Mom and Dad come down here to see what's taking Danny so long."

Tucker, still standing beside her, eyed Danny's sister warily. "You have something in mind?"

"Well…" Jazz deflated a little. "Not yet. But I'll think of something!"

"Well, let me know how that works out."

Danny sighed and pulled away from Sam, once again trying to walk on his own. He heard Sam following not far behind in case he fell again, which was a real possibility. The problem was that Phantom's muscle memory insisted he could fly and that their legs weren't supposed to be this heavy. Fenton knew better, and the two perceptions clashed each time Danny lifted his leg.

Much as he wanted to—much as it would help—he couldn't split himself again. They were—he was falling in love with himself!

Well okay not love, just…like. Phantom at least was starting to…like Fenton. Romantically. And Fenton—

Danny felt himself shy away from those feelings, his face warming and a shiver running down his spine.

Okay, fine, Fenton was feeling whatever (don't think about it, it doesn't matter anymore), but Phantom was definitely infatuated which meant Danny was infatuated with…himself.

So no, he couldn't split himself again no matter how much he wanted to, but he still needed time to adjust, time to remember who he was, time he didn't have because Valerie needed him upstairs. It was his fault her secret had been exposed to his parents. His fault for running away from his feelings instead of merging in the morning or even the night before. He should never have gone to watch the meteor shower with his other half. Now Valerie was unconscious and he had started developing feelings for himself and it was all just stupid. So stupid. What was the matter with him?

"I could always go upstairs and act surprised to see Valerie there," Jazz continued thoughtfully. "Everyone will be so busy trying to keep me from finding out what's really going on that they'll forget about Danny!"

A beat passed in which Tucker didn't respond.

"What?" Jazz demanded.

"You're as bad at acting as Danny is at lying."

"Hey!" she protested. "I've been protecting Danny's secret from Mom and Dad almost as long as you three have. I think I can buy us five minutes at least."

If he had never suggested they watch the stars, if he'd never witnessed his other half fall asleep in his arms, if he'd never taken so much pleasure in kissing Fenton then he wouldn't have developed feelings for someone who wasn't even supposed to exist, they would already have merged before Skulker ever attacked them, Valerie never would have gotten exposed, and losing himself and Fenton wouldn't hurt so damn much.

A bright flash of light interrupted Jazz's and Tucker's conversation and brought their attention back to Danny and Sam. The rings of light that heralded his transformation vanished above Danny's head and left Danny Phantom standing wide-eyed in the Fenton Works lab. Danny's green eyes darted to Sam's face and then to Tucker's and Jazz's before settling on his gloved hands. The fingers of his left hand twitched.

"I…" he said shakily, "I didn't mean to do that?"

Tucker turned back to Jazz, his eyes only slightly less wide than Danny's. "Better make that fifteen minutes."

Voices woke Valerie. A loud voice in particular made her head throb, a man's voice that practically bellowed his words. She recognized it, but the name slipped from her grasp and fear about who stood over her and her unknown location made her mentally reach for the ghostly energy always lurking just beneath the surface of her mind. She was about to summon a laser-shooting glove to her hand when another voice spoke. This one soft. Tired.

Her father.

"Valerie is only sixteen," he was saying, "she should be focusing on her schoolwork so she will be accepted into a decent college. Universities don't offer scholarships for ghost hunting vigilantes. She's risking her life and coming home with serious injuries for no reason."

"Hey now!" the loud voice protested. "The only thing standing between human society and the ghost menace attacking our city are people like us and the Red Huntress. She's not risking her life for no reason, she's risking it to protect others. She's a hero!"

"A hero who is only sixteen!" Damien countered.

Another voice, soft like Damien's but firmer, said, "I admit she is a bit young, but when ghosts attack the school on a regular basis, it's only natural our kids should find a way to defend themselves and their friends. I'm only surprised more kids Danny's age haven't begun to do the same."

Danny...

Danny Fenton.

Maddie and Jack Fenton were the ones talking to her dad. They were talking about her fighting ghosts.

Valerie's eyes shot open. The first person she saw was Jack Fenton towering over her, his bottom lip sticking out in an unhappy pout. He stood by her feet, and although he was facing her direction, his frown wasn't directed at her. Valerie turned her head to follow his gaze and came face-to-face with her father. Or rather the side of her father's head. He knelt beside her, but at the moment he was glaring up at Jack like Danny's father had personally offended him.

Valerie sucked in a sharp breath. The noise grabbed Damien's attention, and he snapped his head back around to face her. The glare instantly vanished from his eyes, and in its place came deep affection. It softened the corners of his eyes and lifted the years gray hair and barely-there wrinkles awarded him. Only his eyebrows remained pinched together, his lips thinned by concern.

"Dad," she croaked around the dryness in her throat, "I can explain."

His expression didn't change, accustomed to that response as he was. "Forget about that for now, Valerie," he said. He cupped her chin and swiped his thumb across her lower cheek. "How are you feeling?"

Valerie pursed her lips. She took stock of her status first by wiggling her fingers and toes and considering the areas of greatest pain. "My head and chest hurt," she said after a couple seconds. "And my muscles feel funny."

"That's to be expected. You received a large enough shock to render you unconscious. Do you remember the attack?"

Valerie frowned. Her eyes roved over her surroundings, taking in the ecto-burns on the walls and the broken furniture. She had chased Phantom here, to Fenton Works, believing him to be a threat to Danny. She remembered the spike of fear she'd felt upon seeing Phantom's arms around Danny, the confusion at her boyfriend defending the ghost's actions, and then the whirlwind of emotions and activity because Skulker, the ghost who only hunted dangerous and unique prey, attacked Danny.

She had formed a truce with Phantom to protect Danny Fenton from Skulker. She hadn't agreed to capture Skulker or to keep Phantom safe after the battle was over, but she remembered Danny insisting that he would go into the Ghost Zone by himself if no one would help him save Phantom. The resolve in his eyes, the way his lips had thinned when she had initially refused to save Phantom...

The grin after she'd agreed to save her enemy, and then Phantom's voice...

"Fenton! Move!"

"No," she said slowly. "I remember agreeing to go into the Ghost Zone with Danny, but after that..."

"Into the Ghost-what?" her dad exclaimed, outraged.

"I couldn't just let him go by himself, Dad!" she yelled back as she pushed herself onto her elbows. "I've been in there before, I could have kept him safe!"

"Why would he even want to go into a place called a ghost zone?"

"He-" Valerie bit down on her lip. It irritated her, she didn't want to say it, but it had been admirable in its own way. He might have wanted to go into the Ghost Zone for the wrong reason, but that he was willing to do it at all showed just how courageous Danny really was. He was just a normal person, after all. "He wanted to save a ghost from another ghost."

Damien's eyebrows drew together. "To save a ghost from another ghost...?"

Apparently that was the limit of Jack Fenton's patience. "Yeah, he wanted to save that no good ghost punk, Danny Phantom!"

The eyebrows that had pinched towards the center of Damien's forehead a second ago instantly shot up towards his hairline. "The ghost that cost me my job? The one you hate?"

"I don't hate him," she said, almost under her breath. "I just don't trust him."

"He's the town menace!"

"Actually, he's more along the lines of a town hero."

The adults twisted to face the kitchen entryway. Valerie had to push herself fully upright to do the same. Her stomach muscles protested, but she ignored them and swung her legs off the couch. Jazz stood in the door way, one hand on her hip while the other held a library book against her chest.

She smiled brightly at all of them, the cheer in her expression at odds with the forceful tone she had used. "Hi, Mom, hi, Dad! Am I interrupting something?"

"Jazz!" Maddie said loudly, the smile on her face just as oddly bright as Jazz's. "Sweetie! What are you doing home so early?"

Jazz's eyebrow rose fractionally, and her gaze flickered to the windows. The dark windows. "The library closed, mom. Like, an hour ago. I actually would have been home sooner, but there was a ghost fight a few blocks down. Between Danny Phantom and some ghost that wanted to skin him."

Valerie grimaced. She didn't want to think about Skulker's motives. Not when they were about Phantom, and definitely not when they were about Danny.

"Who won?" she asked, voice tight.

Jazz's gaze shifted to Valerie. She didn't answer at first, and the younger girl suddenly felt like her actions, expression, the very tone of her voice were under examination. She shifted uneasily. Finally, Jazz said, "Phantom did. But only because I shot the other ghost with the wrist ray Mom gave me."

"You shot a ghost?" Jack exclaimed. He ran to Jazz's side and picked her up a hug that was so tight it made her voice squeak out in protest. "That's my princess! We'll be a family of hunters after all!"

Damien dropped his head into one of his hands.

Valerie looked up at Maddie who stood beside the arm of the couch she leaned against. Danny's mother had her hands clasped beneath her chin, her mouth and eyes beaming with delight. Danny often complained about how obsessed with ghosts his parents were, but he'd never said how much they wanted their kids to join them. Finding out their son was dating a bonafide ghost hunter must have-

Valerie sucked in a sharp breath through her nose and reached for Damien's hand, the one that had held her chin moments ago. Her tight grip must have alerted him that something was wrong, because he looked up and met her wide eyes with a concerned gaze.

"They know?" she barely whispered, mouthing the words more than speaking them. "About...me?"

Her dad nodded slowly, the alarm fading from his expression though the concern remained.

"And Danny?"

At this, Damien hesitated. "I don't know. I haven't seen him."

Valerie sat up a little straighter and looked wildly around the room, as if Danny was going to suddenly pop out from beneath the overturned couch or come running downstairs now that she was awake. What had happened right after she agreed to go with him the Ghost Zone? Did he see her?

"Where's Danny?" she asked in a louder voice, catching the Fentons' attention.

Maddie redirected her grin to Valerie, but Jazz, finally on her feet once more and free of her dad's crushing embrace, looked suddenly panicked.

"Oh he's just-"

Jazz interrupted her mom, speaking almost too fast to understand, "Downstairs! In the basement! He's cleaning up down there, he said it's a real mess, and I peeked down there when I heard him, and he's right it really is a mess. There's exploded glass and unknown substances on the wall, and now that I think about it, I really don't think he should be around that stuff, but..." She paused and looked around, seeming to just notice the damage on the walls and furniture. "It's a mess up here too. What happened exactly?"

"That Phantom creep attacked Danny!" Jack said, his eyes narrowing. "And when I get my hands on that spook..."

Valerie pressed her lips together. She wasn't sure what had happened prior to Skulker's arrival, but harming Danny had been the last thing Phantom had wanted after Skulker showed up.

"Fenton! Move!"

Valerie frowned and placed a hand against her forehead.

"Did you see him attack Danny?" Jazz countered as she glared up at Jack.

"We were upstairs at the time," Maddie said when Jack only pursed his lips. "The only ones who know what really happened are Valerie and Danny."

They all looked at Valerie, and she tensed. She didn't want to defend Phantom, not to Jack and Maddie-they actually studied ghosts. If she said nothing, though, they would continue to focus on Phantom and ignore Skulker, a ghost that was arguably more cruel and gruesome and was for some reason targeting Danny. She shivered, imagining Danny on the island she and Phantom had escaped from.

"I don't know what happened before I got here," she said slowly, "but I only saw Skulker trying to kidnap Danny."

The Fentons frowned, and even Jazz paled, looking far more horrified than her parents for some reason.

Damien squeezed Valerie's hand, and when she looked back at her dad, he asked, "Is that how you got hurt? Because you were trying to protect him?"

"No...I don't think so." She frowned down at their interlocked hands. "I don't remember what happened exactly."

"The ghosts reappeared behind Danny," Maddie said, her voice softening. "The armored ghost-Skulker, was it?-aimed at Danny, but the blast went wide and hit you instead. Jack and I and fired on Skulker before he and Phantom ran away."

"Yeah," Jack grumbled, "but we would have gotten the ghost kid if Danny hadn't gotten in the way. That boy is so grounded!"

Valerie blinked. Twice. "He got in the way?"

"He stood between us and Phantom," Maddie explained. "So that we couldn't shoot at Phantom without hitting him too."

The hand not held in her father's clenched against Valerie's knee. "Why?"

"Because he's a hero," Jazz said, raising her chin. "Even if some people are too blinded by their own prejudices to see it." She looked pointedly at her mom and dad.

Valerie grimaced. That hit a little close to home. "I want to talk to Danny."

The defiance in Jazz's eyes vanished. "He'll be up here soon!" she said quickly.

"I need to talk to him now." Valerie released her dad's hand and stood up. Almost immediately afterwards the muscles in her legs spasmed and she fell back onto the couch. She drew her lips away from her teeth as she began rubbing her legs. "Damn..."

"You're going to stay right where you are, young lady," Damien said. He stood over her, and though his voice was stern, the hands he placed on her shoulders were gentle. "One doesn't walk off electrocution that easily, even with a ghost suit to protect them."

And the attack that had hit her had been meant for Danny. Valerie pressed a hand to her stomach, feeling sick. Why had Skulker been after Danny in the first place? It couldn't be because of her...?

"Jazz, sweetie," Maddie said, a hardness creeping into her voice, "why don't you see what's taking your brother so long. His chores can wait, we have a lot to discuss, and he really should be here with his girlfriend."

"But-" Jazz started.

"Jazz, please, it's important."

Danny's sister looked at Valerie, and something about Valerie's posture or expression must have hinted at her desperation because Jazz's expression crumpled, her shoulders sagging. She breathed in deeply and then let it out in a loud sigh. "Okay, Mom. I'll be right back."

"Thank you, Jazz."

As Jazz left the room, Jack and Maddie Fenton's attention turned to Valerie, and the young hunter tensed. Damien moved to sit beside her, his arm sliding around to wrap protectively around her shoulders. "You don't have to say anything you don't want to," he whispered into her ear. "Just say the word and we can go."

Valerie nodded, but she remained on the couch and watched Danny's parents.

Their expressions looked odd. Like they were trying to be serious, only there were little cracks in the facade, particularly on Jack's face. His lips trembled from the sheer force of his grin trying to burst free. Maddie was a little more composed, but there was an inquisitive glint in her eyes, a desire to pick apart Valerie's inner workings-or more likely her suit.

They looked more excited than stern, but Valerie knew how adults, especially parents, felt about a 'child' as young as her fighting ghosts.

"I won't give it up," Valerie said, raising her chin. "I'm the best hunter this town has, and I refuse to just sit around while ghosts do whatever the hell they like."

Damien sighed, but Jack practically squealed. "Just like a hero!" he said.

Valerie frowned. "I'm not a hero, Mr. Fenton. I just fight back."

Jack clapped his hands together from sheer delight, and Valerie realized she would never understand that man.

Maddie stepped forward, catching Valerie's attention. Her lips were stretched into a smile, but her eyebrows had lowered, making her look conflicted. "You are certainly one of the best hunters Jack and I have seen, Valerie, especially given your age and how long you've been fighting. You've become a formidable hunter within the past two years, and I have no doubt your abilities will only continue to improve. But your father is right." She paused and took a deep breath. "I can't in good conscience let you keep fighting ghosts on your own."

Valerie almost shoved herself off the couch, but Damien's arm around her shoulder kept her in place. She glared at Maddie instead, her jaw clenched. "You can't stop me," she bit out.

Maddie's lips quirked at one corner. "Your suit is ectoplasmic, dear. I'm sure we can invent something."

That caught Damien's attention, and he sat up a little straighter. "Can you really?"

Valerie shifted her glare to her dad as Jack whined, "Maaaddie..."

"Certainly," Maddie said cheerfully. "We already have an invention in the lab right now that can separate ghost energy from human hosts. We had designed it to extract ghosts after Jack had been possessed at our college reunion, but I'm sure it would work just as well on Valerie's suit." She frowned. "You know, ghost technology really isn't safe in the first place, no matter how useful. Where did you get something like that?"

Valerie only scowled and didn't answer. Mostly because she didn't know herself. She had acquired the suit right after Phantom had broken into Axiom Labs a third time, but how it had taken form around her and why it had done so were never answered. She'd been too furious with Phantom for costing her dad his job again that she hadn't bothered to find out.

"If you have an invention that can remove her ghost suit, can we not go down to your lab and do so now?" Damien asked.

"Dad!" Valerie pulled away from Damien, equal parts angry and hurt. "Ghost hunting is a part of who I am, you can't just rip it out of me because you don't approve!"

"It's not about approval, Valerie! It's about keeping you safe, that's all I care about!"

"I have enemies, Dad! Phantom, Skulker-they're not going to stop attacking me just because my suit is gone. How will I defend myself then?"

"We're not using the Fenton Ghost Catcher to destroy the Red Huntress," Jack said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest. His lip trembled, and he added, a little plaintively, "It's just not fair. That's not what I built it for."

To Valerie's surprise, Danny's mom placed a supporting hand on her husband's arm and smiled apologetically up at him. "Of course, Jack, I only meant that we could stop her, not that we would."

Meaning she wanted Valerie to know she held power over her, both through her inventions and Damien's approval. Valerie eyed Maddie warily. "What do you want?"

Maddie breathed in slowly, appearing to brace herself. "I want you to train under me and Jack."

"What?" Valerie launched herself onto her feet and glared furiously at Maddie. "I've been hunting by myself just fine!"

"Coming home every night with fractured bones, sprained ankles, and who knows what else is not doing just fine," Damien scolded, also standing. "It's not a bad idea, Val. You shouldn't be afraid to ask for help."

"I don't need help! Not from them, not from Vlad, and not from Danny stinking Phantom! Why does everyone think I can't do this on my own? I've been doing it for years!"

"Two years isn't that long," Maddie said, "not when there's always more to learn."

"About ghosts?" Valerie scoffed. "What else is there to know about them besides how to hurt them and what to do with them afterwards?"

"How about how one is created?" Maddie asked, narrowing her eyes. "Are you aware that if you were to die as you are, you would likely become the very thing you hunt?"

The words, so close to fears Valerie held close to her heart, made her flinch. As a nightmare it was something she could shrug off when the sun rose, but hearing it from a woman who studied ghosts...

"It's theoretical science only, of course," Maddie continued, "and one no hunter wants to validate, for obvious reasons. But it's something we must always be wary of. Don't become obsessed with the hunt, don't put the hunt above your own safety, and don't, under any circumstance, forget why we hunt." She nodded her head at Damien. "We all have loved ones we wish to protect. Even when that means putting our passion aside."

Goosebumps broke out over Valerie's skin, but she refused to lessen her glare or unclench her fists. She felt trapped. The ghost energy buzzed inside her head, ready to be called. "I don't need help," she said again, quieter, but more forceful. "Least of all from you two."

Something crashed against the kitchen floor and wood screeched against the linoleum in protest. A yelp and then, "Danny, that was the table."

"I know that, Jazz!"

Valerie tensed further and looked past Jack and Maddie in time to see Danny charge into the living room. His blue eyes met hers, and he beamed, as if her being a secret ghost hunter made no difference to him, as if he hadn't been avoiding her in the basement the whole time.

"Valerie!" he said, "you're okay!"

He took a step forward, but his foot must have caught on the carpet because he tripped and fell face-first onto the floor. Jazz was by his side a second later, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet.

"You're such a klutz, Danny!" she said a little too loudly, forcing a laugh.

The ghost energy fizzled out of Valerie's grasp. In its absence, Valerie crossed her arms and tried to swallow her anger before she lashed out at Danny too. There were many ways she had imagined telling him about being the Red Huntress, especially after last night's date. Most fantasies typically involved her saving him from a ghost attack, but they were often soured by the thought of Danny comparing her to his annoying parents or him finding out the ghost that had just attacked him had only done so because he was her boyfriend.

She had never imagined a mess like this one, where she was exposed before Danny and his parents and then pressured into submitting to their idea of training.

Once on his feet, Danny seemed to notice the tense atmosphere in the room and the self-depreciating smile on his lips faded. "Uh, w-what's going on?"

Valerie had a hundred responses to such an innocently poised question, but she bit down on her lip and settled for glaring at Maddie. The woman was looking at her son, but her eyes kept darting to Jazz, and when she spoke, her tone was strained and hesitant. "We just...invited Valerie to train with us, dear. So we can teach her about ghosts and how to...better defend herself."

If anything, Danny's expression became more puzzled and upset, his eyebrows drawing together and his lips turning down. "She goes to school and works two jobs, Mom. She can't just drop all that for additional-" he cut himself off, following his mom's gaze to Jazz, "um, an additional work load."

"Yes!" Valerie straightened and smiled at Danny. "Exactly." He shrugged one shoulder and tilted his head as he smiled back. She suddenly felt a strong urge to hug him, his absence for the past few minutes be-damned. He was on her side!

"One of those jobs is only voluntary," Damien objected, frowning at Danny. "She can put it on hold for a couple weeks."

"Can she?" Danny countered. "It's not like she can just call in on a sick day and expect no one to get hurt because of it. It's not that kind of a job. And even if she does, that still doesn't leave her a whole lot of free time. She still has to find time for homework." The self-depreciating smile returned. "I can't even keep my grades up and I don't work a part time job. Uh, and volunteer work."

"It hasn't done any favors for your guys' relationship either," Jazz chipped in.

Valerie and Danny both winced. Their eyes met briefly before Danny looked away, his cheeks red. "Y-yeah, that too."

Their relationship and how her ex-secret affected it was something they were going to have to discuss in private, not surrounded by their parents and Danny's clueless sister. Valerie lifted her chin and said, "I'm not going to stop volunteering. Even if you take my gear away, I'll keep going out, only with less protection."

Damien drew in a sharp, horrified breath, and Danny's eyes widened as he asked, "Take your gear...?"

"The Fenton Ghost Catcher can remove all kinds of ghostly influences!" Jack bragged cheerfully, as unaware of the atmosphere in the room as ever. If anything, Danny's eyes got wider.

"If Valerie won't quit volunteering," Jazz said before her dad could continue, "and school and her grades are the priority, that only leaves her job."

Valerie scowled. "I hate working at the Nasty Burger, I'd quit in a heartbeat, but I need to save up money for college and it's one of the only places that will hire high school students."

"And if Mom and Dad paid you to learn from them and help them catch ghosts?" Jazz suggested lightly, her eyebrows rising and her lips curling in a smile.

Maddie's attention snapped to her daughter, her own eyebrows rising in admiration. "Like an internship?"

"Yes!" Jazz exclaimed, delighted. "Then she could quit the Nasty Burger, train with you guys, and still get paid."

Damien hummed speculatively beside Valerie. "And she could put her work at Fenton Works down on a college application, especially since your family is funded by the government."

"Bu-but..." Valerie grasped for an excuse, anything other than I don't want to and I'm already a better hunter than the Fentons.

"Jazz...?" Danny questioned quietly, sounding uncertain. His sister put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"And she'll get to spend more time with Danny!" Jack crowed. "He's going to be training with us too!"

That caught Valerie's attention, and she looked at Danny with wide eyes. "You are?"

"I am?" A beat passed and Danny's equally wide eyes got even wider. He whispered, horrified, "I am."

"He had the Ghost Catcher in his room this morning and said he wanted to protect himself from ghosts!" Jack placed his hand on Danny's other shoulder and beamed down at his son. "Just like his old man."

Danny tried to smile back up at his dad, but it looked more like he was a few seconds away from being sick.

Valerie bit down on her lip as she desperately tried to think her way out of apprenticing with the Fentons. Every eye in the room gradually fell on her as they waited for her response, and Valerie felt the desire to activate her suit again and just run away. In the end, she looked at her father, at his tired eyes and weary posture, and the will to resist ebbed.

She eased her stance, relaxing her fists. "All right," she said, quietly, unhappily, "I'll…try. I'll give it a trail run."

Danny's parents cheered, especially Jack, and Jazz smiled proudly. Valerie only had a second to look at Danny before her dad crushed her in his embrace. Her boyfriend had looked worried, and she wanted to confront him on why, but then Damien whispered "Thank you" in her ear, and Valerie relaxed into the embrace, hugging him back.

If being professionally trained by older ghost hunters relieved some of the stress her hunting placed on her dad, then it would be worth every excruciating second she spent learning stuff she already knew. He deserved that much and more.

But by the time Damien released her, Danny had disappeared.

Sam stared up at the Fenton Ghost Catcher with pursed lips. It didn't look as if Jack and Maddie had worked on it, yet it had split Danny differently than last time and when his two halves had merged, they had screamed as if it hurt them. A lot. And afterward, Danny had been too disorientated to even stand up. He couldn't even keep his powers under control, something he hadn't struggled with in years.

Something had to have happened, but if the Ghost Catcher was the same as it had always been, then that meant the fault was with Danny.

Tucker finished his second circuit of the invention and stopped by her side. She glanced at him, and he grinned and said, "It's a shame they had to merge back."

Sam narrowed her eyes. "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking—"

"If they'd stayed separate, Valerie could have kept human Danny and you could have dated ghost Danny!"

He laughed at his own joke and she punched his arm. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough for him to playfully duck and flinch away from her, still chortling. She rolled her eyes at him and waited for Tucker's laughter to end. Her lips might have twitched with the beginnings of a smile, but if Tucker noticed he didn't mention it. His making light of her feelings for Danny made it easier to bear, and she wondered if he knew, if that was why he made so many jokes about it.

"They seemed reluctant to merge back," she said after a few seconds in which Tucker giggled to himself. "Do you think that might be why Danny was so…off?"

Tucker hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe. But we don't know how long he was really divided. Or how many times he split himself."

"So you don't think this was the only time?"

"Do you?" he countered.

She shrugged. "It just seems kind of…" she searched for a word, her nose wrinkling in frustration.

"Fishy?" Tucker suggested. "Weird? Unlikely? Like we're missing something vital that would make it all make sense?"

"Yes to all of that. I mean, the human half was definitely hiding something."

Tucker sighed. "I don't understand why he's keeping whatever it is secret. He knows we're gonna find out eventually."

"It's probably either something dangerous—in which case, we're going to find out when we inevitably get sucked into whatever grand plot is going on—or Danny did something really embarrassing."

They shared a look, one that commiserated with just how many times they had endured Danny's dangerous and/or embarrassing situations. It was an occupational hazard when you were friends with a superhero. It wasn't always pleasant, but they would always be there for him. That's what friends were for.

Danny's tendencies to keep some things secret just complicated matters.

A couple minutes later, still no sign of Danny, Tucker whipped out his PDA and started working on perfecting his program. Sam decided to take a more active approach to the waiting game and started cleaning the lab of broken beakers and spilled…whatever liquid was currently coating the floor and counters. She had just finished sweeping up the glass when Danny charged into the basement. He froze at the bottom of the stairs and stared at Tucker and then at Sam with side, slightly panicked eyes.

The broom clattered to the floor as Sam released it and touched the wrist ray she always wore. "What's wrong? What'd she do?"

"Um…" Danny blinked at her a couple times before he shook his head. "No, there's nothing wrong. Everything's fine." He braced his shoulder against the wall and pressed his forehead against the metal, one arm cradled against his stomach. "Except my ghost-hating girlfriend just joined the family business. That's kind of bad."

Sam frowned but didn't relax or remove her fingers from the wrist ray. "You're saying the Red Huntress and your parents are going to be working together now?"

Danny nodded his head, the black hair trapped between his forehead and the wall tangling as it was dragged up and down. "Mom and Dad are interning her so she can learn more about ghosts and she'll have adult supervision while hunting, which her dad seemed pretty happy about."

"Yeah but," Tucker protested, "Valerie already knows how to hunt ghosts, and she doesn't seem like the kind of person who cares about studying them. What is she getting out of this?"

"Well, she's going to be paid, but apparently Fenton-I signed us up for training with Mom and Dad this morning." He took a deep breath and sagged even more against the wall. "Which means I'm going to be training alongside Valerie. Under my parents' supervision."

Sam sucked in a breath and Tucker groaned in sympathy. "Ouch. Are your powers still acting up?"

Danny sighed. He stood up from the wall and showed them the arm that he had been hiding against his stomach. The arm that was now transparent. Intangible. "Yup..."

Sam gasped and rushed to Danny's side, Tucker only a step behind her.

She placed her hand on his elbow, just above the affected arm, and looked up the staircase to make sure no one was at the top. Tucker ushered the both of them away from the opening, and the two friends lead Danny to the computer chair and forced him to sit down. He flopped into the chair and didn't even protest as Sam and Tucker inspected his arm.

"I don't understand," Sam said, mostly to herself, "why are you losing control of your powers again? How long were you separated?"

"Not that long," Danny muttered. His arm regained tangibility and he pulled it from Sam's grasp. "It's probably nothing. Phantom hasn't had to hide our powers in a while so he's out of practice. Er, I'm out of practice. Whatever."

Sam frowned, crossing her arms. "I don't think you can just 'forget' a learned skill. Not so much that you're shifting forms and losing tangibility for over a minute anyway."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do?" Danny demanded, sweeping his arms outward. "It's either wait this out and hope it gets better or split myself again for however long Valerie's training lasts. And I'm not doing that. I can't split myself again, I don't know if I..." He pressed his hands over his eyes and sunk down in the chair.

"We can join up too," Tucker suggested. "We can cover for you if your powers start acting up."

Danny lowered his hands and shook his head. "Phantom seems to think it'll be a good way to spend time with Valerie. And after everything that's happened, we kind of need that time."

Sam raised an eyebrow. That was the third time he'd referred to one of his other halves. "Phantom?" she questioned.

Danny's eyes focused on her, and for a moment, the blue irises flashed green. "Yes?"

Whatever Sam might have said fled from her mind, the words on her tongue stilled by shock.

Tucker, on the opposite side of Sam and so unaware of the change in Danny's eyes, continued the conversation as if nothing had happened. "I hate to say it, but your safety is more important than my bet—I mean, your relationship with Valerie. If you need help, you just have to ask."

Danny's eyes returned to normal as he smiled at Tucker. "Thanks, but I think I can handle it."

"It doesn't look very 'handled' at the moment," Sam muttered.

Danny gave her a confused look, and Sam realized he was as unaware as Tucker. For that matter, she wasn't sure what had happened either. Had it just been Danny's powers activating? Or had the personality of Danny's ghost half—Phantom—responded to Sam calling his name? And if that was the case, why hadn't Danny noticed?

"So other than your parents getting two students," Tucker said, "how did it go with Valerie? Did you patch things up with her?"

Danny sucked in a breath. "No, I, um, panicked. I…" He stood up. "I should have stayed with her, why did we leave? We need to—" He groaned in pain and placed a hand to his forehead, sinking back onto the chair. "Shit…"

Tucker looked at Sam, but the Goth kept her eyes and her attention solely on Danny. "Valerie probably has enough to worry about right now," she said. "You do too. Until you get control over yourself, you should be careful around her. And your parents."

Danny made a face, lips pinched in displeasure. "I guess…" He sighed deeply and glanced at the staircase. "We should probably get you guys out of here before Mom and Dad decide to give Val a tour of the lab. If she sees you here, she'll assume I told you guys about her secret, and then I'll really be in hot water."

"Like you needed to tell us anything when her voice gives her away," Sam said, snorting.

"Her new suit mostly distorts it now," Danny pointed out. He stood again, and the transformation rings flashed around his waist. After he completed the transformation, Danny grimaced and placed his hand to his throat, blue light surrounding his palm. "I forgot how much it hurt," he said in a softer, slightly rough voice.

Sam frowned and added another tally to the ever expanding list. Now that she thought about it… "Your human form didn't have a bruise there."

Danny's eyes darted away, his cheeks slightly colored. "Y-yeah…injuries don't seem to transfer over if I receive them while I'm, um, divided."

Sam hummed, her eyes narrowing.

Apparently done answering questions, Danny grabbed their hands, and moments later, Tucker and Sam stood in the alley outside Fenton Works. The sun had completely set, and in the dark, Danny's ghost form glowed brightly. Ethereal as always. Sam bit her lip as she watched him float higher. She wanted to ask him what was really going on, warn him about what she'd seen and what Valerie might do if she saw the same, but…

Did she have a right to say anything? As a friend, sure, but as a friend who had a crush on him? How biased were her perceptions? Would Danny even listen to her?

Danny waved goodbye to them before turning invisible and (presumably) floating back inside. Tucker sighed, touched Sam's arm, and then he and Sam began the long trek home.

"That was way more hectic than I was expecting when we decided to track Danny down," Tucker said.

Sam nodded but didn't reply. Tucker gave her an odd look, and Sam hesitated before saying, "How much you want to bet Danny is going to split himself again?"

Tucker frowned. "We're already betting on his relationship with Valerie."

"All right. How about I change my stance to their relationship falling through because he splits himself?" Tucker hesitated, and Sam added, "Double or nothing."

Tucker's eyes widened and he grinned. "You're on!"

A couple minutes later, they stopped at a cross walk and Tucker looked at her, his eyebrows raised in concern. "Do you really think he's going to split himself? Even with how much trouble it's caused?"

"Ohh," Sam said lightly as dread and worry pooled in her stomach, "between training with Valerie and how much trouble he's having with his powers? Let's just say, I don't think he'll have much of a choice in the matter..."

Thus ends the first act. Yay! I have...approximately 8 more chapters planned. But knowing me, it'll be more like 10 more chapters. Aha...Convincing this kid to stay separate and let his bi ass fall in love with himself is not easy, let me tell you.

There's a lot of stuff going on with Danny that I would love to discuss...but it might give a part of the plot away. So...Valerie~ This was actually an idea I had for a Gray Ghost fic a long time ago, or at least very similar to it. It hurts a bit to use it in a Pitch Pearl fic where I know her relationship with Danny is going to fail, but it's also the best way for me to get things moving on her end. And they do need to get moving. I don't want her to be a passive force that's only there to cause tension. Her character drives the plot just like Danny's/Fenton's and Phantom's.

Anyway, I have 2,000 words written for the next chapter (2,000 more that are in a scrap file and 1,300 written for the epilogue 'cause I just couldn't wait) and I'm hoping to keep a three week trend going, especially now that I'll be working less overtime. We'll see.

Btw, you guys are amazing.

Thanks for reading