I'm updating early because I'm not going to be around for the next few days. I'm finally getting a little vacation after being worked like a dog for these past few months :)

When Danny woke up the next day, he groaned at the sunlight peering through the small gaps in the curtains. He rolled over and expected to feel Sam next to him, but she was absent from the bed. He sat up to realize she wasn't in the room either. He was about to get up to find her when she walked through her door, closing it behind her.

"Oh, you're finally awake?" She asked amusingly as she walked over to the bed. "It's only one in the afternoon."

"No wonder I feel like I just woke up from a coma," he joked as he tried to shake the sleepiness from his head.

"Probably because you were up for almost twenty-four hours," she commented as she leaned over the bed to mess up his hair. He only gave her a deadpan look before he snatched her and pulled her close against his bare chest. "Come on, you have to get ready. I made plans with Tucker."

"I don't want to get up," he complained. Sam pulled away to see a pout on his face.

"If only we got our way all the time," she said mockingly, booping his nose as he looked unamused. He groaned as he flung the blankets off of him and stepped out of her bed. He collected his shirt and sweatpants from the floor and pulled them on before giving Sam a look.

"Better?" He asked, although he really wasn't looking for an answer. She only gave him a satisfied smile and a nod. After he headed home to shower and get ready, he found himself in the nearby park with Sam and Tucker. Sam had brought along her old cruiser skateboard and was currently riding around the pavement as he walked with Tucker.

"You just had to get your freedom back during the winter," Tucker complained as he dug his hands into his jacket pockets.

"I didn't exactly plan this. Those damn news people are vultures," Danny responded with a sigh.

"Well, I'm glad your parents are okay with everything. If only the whole town was like that." Danny shrugged.

"They'll come around. I don't know when, but they have to realize eventually I'm just trying to protect everyone." He looked up to watch Sam as she skated, swerving between debris on the ground until she was steadily riding again.

"How can she even do that in this weather? The wind is freezing," Tucker asked through gritted teeth as he shivered and pulled his hood up.

"It's not that bad. I take the cold over being locked in my house any day." Danny's comment suddenly made Tucker feel guilty. While he was able to roam free in life, Danny had the opposite. Although for the past few years he was able to play the role well, Tucker knew he wasn't truly happy, nor did he feel whole. Even when he would agree with his parents' strictness and rules, Tucker knew it was with a heavy heart and confusion. He was starting to think that maybe he didn't advocate enough for his best friend. He did in the beginning, but it eventually subsided when no progress was being made. Then came Sam, someone as headstrong and stubborn as Danny was. She was exactly what he needed. Someone new that accepted him with no questions asked, giving him a sense of hope.

"I'm glad you guys found each other," Tucker finally said after a few moments of silence. "You guys are really happy together. I don't even have to ask, I can see it," he continued with a small laugh, and Danny nodded and smiled at him.

"Yeah. We are." Tucker placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a cocky grin.

"I'm gonna be your best man, right?" Danny actually laughed and pushed his hand away.

"Okay, chill," he told him as Sam skated up to them and skidded to a stop.

"This pavement is so good for riding! Wanna try?" She asked, kicking the tail end of the skateboard and catching it as it popped up. Danny took the cruiser from her and rode away without a word, causing Sam to chuckle. "I guess that's a yes." She looked at Tucker who looked like he was trying to shrink into his coat. "What are you, an Eskimo?" He only rolled his eyes.

"I don't do well in the cold." She snatched the red baret he never gave a day off and held it behind her back. "Oh, come on! Give it!" He cried out, but Sam held it at a distance. Danny watched the scene from afar and started to shout.

"Don't make the park another place you get banned from!" Sam sighed and held out the baret that Tucker snatched, placing it back on his head. She didn't have to be near Danny to know he was snickering to himself.

"He's never gonna let me live that down," she muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You vaulted over a kiosk stand," Tucker reminded her as if she didn't hear it enough from Danny.

"Shut up," she told him with a roll of her eyes. Danny was on his way back to his friends when a blue mist escaped from his mouth, signaling a ghost was near. He gave Sam her cruiser back before ducking behind a tree to transform. When he came out from behind it, he listened for any sign of the potential threat. All of a sudden, the ghost appeared, and it wasn't like any other ghost he'd encountered before.

"There are dog ghosts?" Danny questioned, almost to himself, as he laid his eyes on the animal in front of him. It had green fur, a black collar, and red eyes, but it was far from intimidating. It panted happily and wagged it's tail.

"That's the cutest thing I've ever seen!" Sam practically shouted as she went over to the dog.

"Sam, be careful! It's still a ghost," Danny told her as he and Tucker approached. Sam leaned down to the dog's level and only laughed when it started to lick her.

"Oh, yeah. He's so dangerous," she said sarcastically, then had a puzzled look on her face. "Is it a he?" She asked before picking up the tiny dog and looking at him from underneath. "It's a he." She confirmed, causing Tucker's nose to scrunch in disgust.

"Ew." He simply said, causing Sam to shoot him a look.

"Can we keep him?" Her question was directed mostly at Danny, and the dog went over to him and started to nuzzle his legs. Danny chuckled at his cuteness before leaning down to scratch his head.

"He's a cute guy, but no. He belongs in the Ghost Zone." It was like the dog heard the word and was suddenly triggered. His happy expression became an angry one and he started to growl. The trio watched in disbelief as he grew into the size of an elephant.

"Still want to keep him, Sam?" Tucker quipped. The dog started to run away, so Danny flew after it. It didn't look like he was trying to cause chaos, he was just running back and forth in the park, almost like this was a game to him. Unfortunately, at this size, he was cracking pavement beneath him as he ran, and Danny didn't want him to do any real damage.

"Hey, get back here! Sit!" Danny didn't think it would work, but he was surprised when the dog skidded to a stop and sat down in front of him. Moments later, he returned to the size of a small dog. "That's weird. He's already trained," Danny said as Tucker and Sam approached him.

"What should we do with him?" Tucker asked as Danny picked up the dog.

"Let's bring him to my house. Maybe we can get him to go into the portal." Danny flew away with the dog and Sam hopped on her cruiser, leaving Tucker standing there with his hands in his pockets. He sighed.

"I guess I'll walk."

Danny's parents were already down in the lab when the trio arrived. They took off their hoods and goggles and stared at the dog in Danny's arms.

"What is that?" Jack asked.

"A dog," Danny replied in an obvious tone.

"Yes, I can see that. I meant why do you have it?"

"He showed up in the park. I've decided to call him Cujo."

"Why Cujo?" Maddie asked, but Danny scoffed.

"Trust me. You don't want to find out. He has to go into the portal."

"Wait, that's a ghost?" She questioned as she moved forward to look at the dog more.

"What part of green fur and red eyes seemed normal to you?" Danny said, but Maddie only shot him a disapproving look.

"Jack, open the portal please," she said to her husband.

"You got it!" He walked over to the side of the portal and pressed in the code for it to open. Upon seeing the green aura inside, Danny approached the opening and gently tossed Cujo inside. Jack closed the portal, much to Sam's disliking. A ghost dog would have been fun to have.

"I guess that's done," Danny said, but he was met with surprise when Cujo fazed right through the portal doors and sat in front of him, panting happily. "What the hell? I've never seen a ghost be able to do that with the portal closed."

"Does this mean we can keep him?" Sam asked hopefully.

"No." Danny and Tucker both answered in unison.

"There must be something here that he wants," Maddie said as she bent down to Cujo's level. She reached for his collar and saw a dog tag attached, and she pulled it out to read it. "Axion Labs? They must have had guard dogs at one point."

"Isn't that the new ghost research lab across town?" Tucker asked. Danny sighed in frustration.

"Of course, it's a ghost lab," he muttered. Why couldn't anything be easy?

"Maybe you should take him there. If he gets what he wants, he shouldn't come back," Maddie suggested.

"Need backup?" Jack asked as he hauled what looked like a bazooka over his shoulder way too eagerly.

"I think the three of us can handle it. Let's go, guys."

Down the road from Axion Labs was a coffee shop where Sam and Tucker were at while Danny waited across the street from the lab with Cujo. Tucker had his laptop set up in front of him and the goal was to hack into the lab's system to shut down their weaponry room and turn off the security system so Danny could enter freely and safely.

"Do you think you can do it?" Danny's voice rang out from the Fenton Phones.

"Yeah, just give me a minute," Tucker replied, typing furiously and loud enough that it picked up through the earbuds. Danny looked down at Cujo who was panting happily while staring down the lab in the distance. He seemed eager to go there, so maybe his mother was right after all. "Okay, that should do it," Tucker said after a few minutes.

"If this worked, I'll be super impressed," Sam said, causing Tucker to scoff.

"If?" He repeated, sounding offended.

"Well, here goes nothing," Danny said as he started to float. "Let's go, boy!" He said excitingly to Cujo, and the dog ran in the direction of the lab. Before entering, Danny picked Cujo up and almost held his breath as he fazed them into the building. It looked like most of the employees and security guards were confused, scrambling to find out why they were locked out of the weaponry room and why their security system was failing.

"At least they're distracted," Danny said as he placed Cujo down. "Go fetch, Cujo!" Cujo immediately started to faze through the floor until they got to what Danny assumed was a basement. It looked like they were using it more as a place for storage. There were boxes, cabinets, and shelves everywhere, and he watched as Cujo went straight for one of the boxes, clawing at it desperately. Danny walked over to the box and placed his hand inside, a little surprised when something squeaked. He almost laughed in disbelief as he held up a pink chew toy in the shape of a teddy bear, but as soon as Cujo saw it, he started to jump up and down for it.

"This is what you want so badly? Well, it's yours forever now." He placed it on the floor and Cujo picked it up in his mouth. Danny gave him one last scratch on his head before Cujo disappeared, and he had a feeling it was for good this time.

"What the hell?" Danny heard from behind him. He turned around to see a security guard standing there, looking confused and trying not to show fear, but failing. He was unarmed, so to Danny, he wasn't a threat. "What do you want ghost?"

"Phantom," Danny told him, "my name is Danny Phantom."

"What do you want?" He reiterated. The man's fists were clenched and his whole body was tense, and Danny wondered why he would even think of confronting him if he was so afraid.

"I'm just trying to help."

"How exactly are you helping?"

"For one, showing that your security system is flawed," he almost scoffed, but the goal was to make people accept him, which was the only reason he was entertaining this conversation. The man looked around as if having a sudden realization.

"You did this?" Danny only sighed and started to float.

"Look, I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm trying to keep everyone safe. I didn't choose this life, but I can choose what I do with it." He ended the conversation there and finally flew out of the building, coasting in the sky as he headed back to his house.

"What was that all about?" Tucker asked.

"You'll see." Was the answer Danny gave.

The three met back at Danny's house where they, including his parents, gathered in the living room. Danny had turned the television on to the news channel, and he almost knew that as soon as he left Axion the media would be there. After all, any time there was a sighting of him in his ghost half, the local network always had to report on it. News anchor Tiffany Snow was currently at the scene, going on about how the ghost-kid was seen here last. The man Danny encountered earlier was suddenly being interviewed, and Tucker started to realize Danny's intentions from before.

"You were the last to see him, is that correct?" Tiffany asked before shoving a microphone in his face.

"That's right."

"And he said something to you is what I hear. What did he have to say?" The microphone was in his face again, and Danny stared the man down, wondering if he'd actually tell the truth or lie to get his fifteen minutes of fame. Reluctantly, the man answered.

"He claims he's here to protect us."

"Do you believe him?" The man paused, and on the inside, battled with uncertainty.

"He left everyone unharmed... but no one knows for sure his true intentions." Danny turned off the television and felt the eyes of his family and friends on him. He placed the remote down before giving them a shrug.

"It's a start."

Guys... there's only two more chapters left D: DON'T PANIC, NOBODY PANIC (I'm the only one panicking) Don't you worry, I have another story locked and loaded after this one ;)

Invader Johnny: Rare Danny W LOL

Nathem: I EXPECTED STRUGGLES BUT GOT SNUGGLES IS ICONIC LMAO I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter as much as I did writing it

Guest: Is it really a relationship if you're not constantly ragging on each other? lol