Epilogue

When Danny opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was how bright it was. The second thing he noticed was how much his head hurt and he winced to himself and closed his eyes again in discomfort. Trying again to open his eyes to see where he was, he realized he was staring at a white ceiling. He trailed his eyes down to see he was in a hospital room with his parents and sister by his side dozing off. Jazz was the first to see he was awake and practically jumped on him to hug him.

"He's up!" She said to her parents, shocking them awake from their nap. They rushed to his side and Maddie put a hand to his face.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, receiving a groan in response.

"Like I fell two stories down. Oh, wait. I did," he added, and his sense of humor seemed to calm his family down more. "What happened with-"

"We took care of him," Jazz answered, already knowing what he was going to ask.

"Where are-"

"Tucker and Sam are right outside. They're fine," Maddie told him, knowing that would be his next question. He sighed in relief and relaxed more into his bed.

"Why am I at a hospital?"

"Well, after the fight you wouldn't wake up. We got scared and-" Jack shook whatever thoughts were in his head and gave his son a smile. "But you're fine now. That's all that matters."

"Can I see Sam and Tucker?" He asked, and Maddie smiled and nodded her head.

"Of course." Jack and Jazz sat back down in their chairs before Maddie opened the door to let his friends know they could come in. They practically ran through the door and rushed up to his side, both giving him hugs that nearly suffocated him.

"Guys, I'm fine," he said with a laugh as they separated.

"You had us worried," Tucker told him as Sam held onto her boyfriend for a little while longer.

"I'm sorry," he started, addressing it to everyone in the room, "I didn't mean to scare everyone."

"Don't apologize," Sam scolded before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You're okay. That's all that matters." Even though his memory was foggy, he tried to remember exactly what happened. He remembered fighting Skulker and losing so badly that he needed his family's aid, but after falling everything was fuzzy.

"How'd you guys beat Skulker? The Fenton Peeler?" He guessed, and Jazz nodded.

"The Fenton Peeler," she confirmed.

"You should have seen the size of the little guy under all that armor!" Jack laughed, causing Tucker to chuckle.

"Yeah, he was literally a green blob," he said, causing Danny to raise an eyebrow.

"Huh, I guess that explains the robot suit," he said.

"I took a picture. Want to see?" Tucker pulled out his phone and all of a sudden, a wave of anxiety rushed over Danny's body. His last memory before blacking out was of people's phones pointed at him. Right before he transformed back into human.

"They recorded me, didn't they?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but they knew this was coming. They all exchanged concerned glances and Danny could feel all the color drain from his body at the realization that he was right. "Is it out there?" Everyone looked at Sam as if to say that Danny would probably take the news better if it came from her.

"Yes. Everyone knows," she told him, and he didn't even know how to react. Shocked and horrified were the only emotions he could process at the moment. He didn't even want to know what people were saying about him. Have they decided that he was a monster that needed to be stopped? Were there already nails in his coffin with people deciding what he was for him? "Hey, it's okay," Sam said, noticing his panicked expression. She grabbed his hands in hers and didn't let go, even if he didn't realize he was holding on to her for dear life. "Listen, most of it is positive."

"Most," he reiterated, knowing that meant not everything was good. "What about the bad things being said about me?"

"You know you can't please everyone," Jazz started, "but you already won most people over before this. Now everyone knows your just a kid trying to do the right thing." He looked around at everyone, trying to read their faces but failing.

"Are you lying to make me feel better?"

"We're not lying, Danny," Sam told him, and she felt his grip on her soften a little bit. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. There was nothing he could do about it now, he knew that. Maybe this was a good thing. It was easier than trying to hide who he was all the time. But now he would be getting unwanted attention from all ends. It would have to die down eventually, though. Then after that, everything would start to feel as normal as it could get from here. This was his fate, whether he liked it or not.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it," he finally said, and his family and friends visibly relaxed.

"One thing at a time. Let's just focus on you recovering, okay?" Maddie asked, and Danny smiled in return.

"Sounds good to me."

The next few weeks were certainly an adjustment period. Cameras followed him everywhere, everyone wanted a picture with him, interviewers were trying to contact him, and journalists wanted statements from him. The thing he entertained the most was the journalists, only trying to get the message out that he was just doing what he thought was right. After that, he basically ignored everything else. He got his point across and there was nothing else he wanted from them. It wasn't until the end of the summer that things started to settle down more. To his surprise, things were looking up. People started calling Danny Phantom a hero, something he didn't expect to happen so fast. His family told him he was way too hard on himself. He didn't do anything wrong. As he kept fighting for his town, people realized more and more that he gave his all to protect people every time. By the time Fall came around, he was old news. It seemed everyone was used to the ghost kid in the sky, much to Danny's pleasure.

Currently, he was up on Sam's roof with her, watching as the sun started to set. She wasn't paying much attention, though. Her science textbook was open in her lap, and Danny scoffed before closing it.

"Hey!" She protested, but Danny took it away and held it hostage.

"You're missing a beautiful sunset!"

"I have to study. You should be studying, too," she told him, causing him to roll his eyes playfully. They had both joined Tucker at their community college for the Fall semester with Danny majoring in astronomy and Sam majoring in paranormal studies. At first, people gaped in awe at Danny, but now it seemed they could care less, and he liked it that way.

"I can't believe I'm begging you to watch a sunset," he said, and Sam finally sighed and gave in.

"Fine. You win." He smiled triumphantly and put an arm around her. She rested her head in the crook of his neck and put her arms around his torso. "I can't believe how fast this year went," she said.

"I know. It's crazy how much your life can change in just a few months."

"Yeah, but one thing will never change," Sam said, causing Danny to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah? And what's that?" She looked up at him and smiled.

"That I love you." He smiled back at her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"I love you, too. Forever. So you can't get rid of me." She laughed at his comment.

"Good. You're not allowed to go anywhere." He sure was right about change. Just to think about how his life was a few years back compared to now was astounding. The accident caused so much doubt and shame that consumed him for so long. He struggled to be at peace with his ghost half, almost resenting it for so many years. All he wanted was to be accepted, and he had just that. Not only by his family, but by the whole world, and most importantly, himself. He didn't need anything else. He knew as long as he had his family and friends by his side, he had everything he needed.

He was finally happy.

He was finally whole.

I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying *is actually crying* I can't believe this is done. Thank you to everyone for reading, especially the ones who stuck around during my absence. And thank you to the OGs who have been with me since the beginning. I know who you are :)

Fear not, for I will be posting a new story very soon called The Ethereal Plane. I'll see you guys there :)