After losing the helicopters using his invisibility, Danny arrived back at his house and paced back and forth in the living room. His mind was racing and he felt so stupid for not paying enough attention to his surroundings. Even though it was almost four, there was no way he could sleep now. His parents would wake up in a few hours and his ghost half would be plastered all over the news. It would probably be the first thing they see. He fell into the couch and put his arm over his eyes. Telling his parents everything the way he wanted to was out the window. He was lost in his thoughts and even though he thought he was too anxious to sleep, he must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, he was awoken by something being thrown at his stomach. He woke up startled but saw what was tossed at him was a remote. His parents were standing in front of him, arms across their chests with cross expressions on their faces as the news channel was playing on the television.

"I didn't mean to-" he started, but Maddie interrupted him.

"What were you thinking?! Why would you do this? Haven't we warned you enough over these past five years to hide your ghost half? And now it's all over the news?" Maddie threw up her hands in exasperation and Jack stepped in with his choice words.

"You just threw everything down the drain for what? To fight ghosts?!"

"What if I want-" Danny tried, but Maddie interrupted him again.

"You know what? Maybe we can still fix this," she said, sounding frantic but a little calmer than before. "If we find a cure relatively soon, then to the rest of the world, your ghost half would have just disappeared. There'd be no reason to look anymore and there'd be no harm done." Jack nodded in agreement.

"We'd have to start right away-"

"No!" It was finally Danny's turn to interrupt them, and they were both taken aback by his outburst. "Have you ever thought that maybe I like my ghost half? That maybe I like fighting ghosts? Have you ever thought about what I wanted at all? Well, I don't think you have! You only care about yourselves!" If his parents said anything, he couldn't hear. He was so mad his ears were ringing as if something exploded right next to him. He only stomped up the stairs and slammed his bedroom door so loud that he was surprised it didn't break off the hinges. His phone was blowing up with texts and calls from Sam, Jazz, and Tucker, probably regarding the news, but he couldn't focus on that right now. He sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. This isn't the way he wanted things. This isn't the way he excepted everything to go. There was silence for a very long time, at least that's what it felt like to him until there was a knock on his door.

"Danny?" Maddie called from behind it, but Danny only turned so his back was to the door.

"I don't want to talk anymore," he snapped, stirring in his feelings. There was anger, fear, anxiousness, and a little bit of sadness. He heard the door open anyway and both Maddie and Jack came up from behind him.

"Danny, we're sorry. You're absolutely right," Maddie started, and Danny turned his head slightly to the left but didn't turn around to face them. She saw this as an invitation to keep speaking, so she did. "We were always so concerned with your safety. We would never want anything to happen to you. I guess we were so wrapped up in that we forgot the opinion that mattered most. Yours." He heard them get closer until they were both sitting down behind him.

"It's up to you, son." His father was speaking now. "If you like your ghost half, you can keep it. If you like ghost hunting, you should do it. We just wished we knew sooner just exactly what you wanted." Danny finally turned around to see them.

"Really?" He asked.

"Of course. You know we love you no matter what, right?" Maddie asked, reaching out a hand to ruffle his hair. His expression finally softened and he nodded.

"I know that. Thank you," he reached out to hug them, something they gladly returned, and everything felt right. This is what he was afraid of? This is what he was running from for all these years? Now he was mad at himself for waiting so long to tell them how he felt, but he couldn't change that now. All that mattered was he didn't have to hide a part of himself anymore. As they separated, another thing crossed his mind that he should probably tell them.

"Oh, and also... I'm dating the housekeeper."

"You're what?!"

Danny felt like he was on some sort of high as he flew to Sam's house. His parents accepted him, he was able to fight ghosts, and now he was no longer confined to his house. He was able to come and go as he pleased, something he hadn't been able to do in a long time. When he arrived at her window, he peeked his head in before entering and transforming back to human. She was sitting on her bed, but when she saw him, she stood up and crossed her arms with an annoyed look on her face.

"Are you mad at me?" Danny asked.

"You got me fired." She stated matter of factly.

"What? My parents didn't seem mad before."

"They weren't mad. Your mom called and said you told her everything. She was happy that you had me but now that they don't have to be in the lab all the time finding a cure for you, they don't need a housekeeper."

"Oh, good. Now you can spend more time with me," he countered as he put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. He tried to kiss her but she playfully leaned back to avoid it.

"Did you call Tucker and Jazz back?" She asked.

"Yes. I spoke with them before I came here." She broke from his grasp and sat down on her bed.

"What do you think of all this? Half the town thinks Phantom is evil, the other half thinks you're helping." Danny only shrugged.

"I can't please everyone. I know I'm doing the right thing so that's the only thing that matters, right?" She smiled at his response and held out her hands for him to hold which he took.

"Well, I'm really happy everything worked out for you. I'm glad you're happy." He gripped her hands and suddenly pulled her off of the bed.

"Let's go do something. I have freedom now! We haven't done anything during the daytime since we met," he started, but she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Aren't you tired? What'd you sleep, three hours?"

"That's what adrenaline is for," he said as he waved a hand in dismissal. "Race you downstairs!" He said before shooting out of her room, leaving her shaking her head.

"Oh, he's gonna crash," she said to herself amusingly.

"So this is what the beach looks like," Danny said as he and Sam returned to the same beach he took her to when he asked her out. They had already dubbed it theirs and came here frequently, even if it was winter. Dressed in their beanies and hoodies, they were able to keep the cold at bay. "It looks so much bigger in the daylight." The good thing about it being winter was it was vacant, so it was like they had it all to themselves.

"Funny what the sun can do," Sam replied as they walked along the shoreline.

"I loved the beach when I was a kid," he told her. There was that word. Love. He shook his head as if to clear any thoughts of it from his mind.

"I was never a big fan," she replied with a shrug.

"What a surprise. The queen of darkness doesn't like sunshine," he said sarcastically causing her to elbow him playfully.

"Hey, I love all kinds of nature." There was that word. Again.

"Well, now we can explore stuff like that together." He took her hand in his and flashed her a warm smile, one that she returned.

"I love how happy you are now."

And I love you, he wanted to say, but he couldn't. Not yet. He'd have to wait a little longer. Instead, he decided to tease her, even if it meant resorting to acting like an elementary school kid with a crush.

"You know what makes me really happy? Getting on your nerves." Her eyebrows squinted together in confusion, wondering what that meant just to end up regretting it. He grabbed her up tightly and got closer and closer to the water with her, ignoring her shrieks of protest.

"Don't you dare!" She was shouting as she tried to escape his grasp, but he was practically dragging her towards the water. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso as he entered the water up to his knees. "Are you kidding? Are you trying to get pneumonia?" She yelled, but he only laughed at her concern.

"I'm used to the cold. I'm half ghost, remember?"

"Yeah, great, cool, can we leave the ocean now?" He leaned his head back so he can look at her face, then his eyes looked her up and down.

"I kind of like the way you're on me right now," he remarked with a smirk, and even in this weather, her face turned red as a blush formed across her cheeks.

"I'm avoiding getting frostbite, doofus!"

"Well, that's not very nice," he said, walking a little deeper so the water was up to his thighs.

"Okay, okay!" She pleaded, looking him in the face. "Can we please leave the middle of the ocean? Pretty please with gummy bears on top?" He gave her a satisfied grin before nodding.

"Aww, that's very cute. Yes, we can leave the ocean. And not just because my legs are going numb," he added as he walked out of the water and back onto the sand where he slid Sam off of him. He turned intangible to get the water off him so he wasn't freezing anymore before trying to give her a kiss, but she dodged it. "Oh, come on. Are you mad?" She only crossed her arms and pouted. "You're being unbearably cute right now to not give me a kiss." She kept her stance and turned her head away from him. "What do you want from me?"

"Movie marathon at my house. I pick the movies," she said but still had her face turned away from him.

"Okay, deal." She turned her head back to finally give him the kiss he so badly wanted. She wanted it badly too, but if he was going to tease, she'd do it right back. In the back of her mind, she knew he had her in the palm of his hand. Oh man, was she smitten by love with him.

For the rest of the day, they found themselves in the basement where their movie extravaganza resided. Sam contemplated playing movies he didn't like on purpose to try to get back at him, but she decided against it. When night fell, they found themselves up on her roof to stargaze, something Danny did alone for one too many years. They had a blanket down under them and another one wrapped around their shoulders to keep warm.

"Okay, NASA professor. Show me the constellations," Sam said with an amused grin as they looked up into the sky.

"How about you point to the ones you know?" Danny suggested, and she shrugged and started to point.

"The big dipper,"

"Correct."

"The Lil' Dipper," Danny raised an eyebrow before scoffing.

"It's not someone's rap name, it's a constellation." She laughed at his remark and wrapped both arms around his torso, and he could feel the heat spreading through his face. Good thing her gaze was up at the sky or she definitely would have teased him. "Is that really all you know?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Wow," he said, drawing it out long and sarcastically.

"Hey, isn't being well-versed in ghosts good enough for you?" She asked as she looked up at him. He smiled down at her and cupped the side of her face with his hand.

"You're enough for me." His answer made her heart melt, and she pressed her head against his chest, feeling him rest his chin softly on the top of her head. All she could hear was the calm of the night sky and the beating of his heart. How badly she wanted to shield him, protect him from any threats or danger. Anything to keep that heart beating. She looked back up at him to stare into his bright, blue eyes, him looking into hers before she closed her eyes and rested her head on his forehead. They stayed like that for a moment before Sam softly scoffed to herself and pulled back a little.

"What?" Danny asked, and she shrugged, shaking her head a little as she did.

"Nothing... just thinking."

"About?"

"About how much I love you." It was like her heart stopped as soon as she said it, scared that it was too much. Scared that it was too soon. Scared that all this time spent together was ruined because she couldn't keep her emotions in check. Too scared to look at him, but too scared to look away. Danny's expression softened while his eyes lit up, and he took her hand and placed it against his chest, right over his heart.

"I love you, Sam. This is yours," he told her. It felt like forever before he answered, but she knew it was probably only a few seconds.

"Oh, good. I was starting to think I was whipped but-" He cut her off by placing his lips over hers. Although not one to like being interrupted, she was happy with how he did it. After a little while longer up on the roof, Sam finally checked the time. "It's really late. We should probably get to bed." She stood up and nodded towards her window. "Let's go."

"Wha... Are we about to have our first sleepover?" He asked as she placed the blanket over her head as a makeshift hood.

"Mhmmm."

"Is something eventful gonna happen at this sleepover?" He playfully suggested, causing her to scoff.

"Not with that attitude." He gave her a cocky smirk in return.

"Oh, I'll change that."

Oh, so cheesy. But they are. I eat it up. No crumbs.

See you guys next week :)

Invader Johnny: Poor Danny can never catch a break D:

Nathem: OMG noooo I would never do Danny like that lol

Lisa-24-7: Aww thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying this story :D