For The Person Who Rights, because she's a massive Grey Ghost fan and it's her birthday today.

Just Maybe

Valerie Gray sat across from Danny Fenton at the Nasty Burger and slowly sipped her strawberry shake. She was watching Danny trying to get the last of his chocolate malt out of the glass. She giggled at his efforts, and he shot an angry glance at her with his bright blues eyes. She stared down at her drink, pretending she wasn't paying attention to what he was doing.

Valerie had given in to Danny's pleading after six months of suffering through it. Their first date was almost over now. It had gone really well. Danny had taken her to a movie on his scooter, he'd had his arm around her the whole time, and now they were just finishing a snack at the nearly empty Burger before he took her home for the night.

Maybe things will be okay with Danny, Val mused. I'm a better fighter now. I can easily save him from any ghost, even Phantom. He's easier to beat than he used to be.

Danny gave up on his malt and nervously clasped Val's hand in his. He looked like he was about to say something sweet and Danny-ish when the temperature of the room dropped several degrees.

Val shifted nervously. A ghost? Here? Now? Why did they always have the worst timing...? Hopefully it would just be the Box Ghost again, because then she could safely ignore him. She might be able to protect Danny, but she didn't want him to know it was her doing it. He might stop being so chivalrous if he did.

In her alertness, Valerie noticed that Danny was also tenser. He must have felt that drop in temperature too. He'd recognize it, she realized, since his parents hunted ghosts and he'd probably been exposed to this sort of thing his whole life, even if he always ran from ghosts instead of fighting them. Now, if Val could just locate that ghost and get Danny away from it...

"Ahoy thar, me hearties!" boomed a rich voice from behind Valerie. "Hand over the loot, an' ye won't hafta walk the plank." Amidst the screams of the Nasty Clerks as they dove for shelter, Danny looked up over Valerie's head in worry and fear. Val turned around and followed his gaze.

The ghost had a large, bushy black beard and a three-corner hat perched on his head. He sported a long, dark green coat, an eye patch, and large black boots, into which was tucked a pair of brown trousers. Around his waist was a massive belt which held three pistols and a scabbard for the huge green cutlass the ghost held menacing in his left hand. And he was positioned so that anyone trying to leave Valerie and Danny's corner booth would be immediately noticed. Valerie closed her eyes and centered herself. She wouldn't be able to activate her battlesuit, and she wouldn't be able to do anything without Danny seeing. This was going to take speed and quick thinking.

She slid back into her seat and quickly grabbed Danny's malt cup and the glass for her shake. She hefted them to get a feel for the weight, then turned to her date, who was still staring at the ghost. Hopefully things would be over fast enough that she wouldn't lose her femininity in Danny's eyes.

"Danny, when I say run, run to the exit and get help, okay?" She made her voice firm and commanding, so it would cut through any blocks his fear had set up.

"Yuh..." Danny breathed. Not as strong a response as Val would have liked, but it would have to do. She drew her hand back and carefully took aim with the malt glass.

"Okay... run!" She threw the glass hard. The pirate caught the movement, turned to face her, and the glass knocked his hat off.

"Arr, a saucy wench!" the pirate grinned. "You think you can fight me, girl? The great Rotten Robert?"

"I know I can!" Val walked out boldly onto the floor, glass in one hand, purse in the other as another weapon. Rotten Robert leered and casually raised a hand towards where Danny's back was leaving the restaurant. The boy stopped in his tracks and found himself flying backwards towards the pirate ghost. Then Robert's thick hand was around the boy's wrist and whatever had been affecting Danny's movement let up, so that Danny ended up dangling three feet in the air. The pirate laughed in his face.

"Some man ye are, boy!" he spat. "Running off and leaving the womenfolk to do the fighting for ye? Not how things were done in my day. In my day, boys your age had ki…"

"Leave him alone, ghost!" Val threw her second glass. Robert deflected it with a flick of his cutlass and laughed again.

"That the best ye can come up with, lass?" Before Val could respond, she found herself zooming towards the back wall of the restaurant. She hit it, hard, and fell to the ground, dazed. She could hear noises — shouts, clangs, bangs — but they didn't seem important at the moment.

Val got out of the crumple she'd been in and stabilized herself on all fours, breathing deeply to calm herself and biting back tears. She couldn't protect Danny after all. He was in the hands of a ghost, who was going to who knows what and was probably long gone anyway, and Valerie had no way to fighting back. She was the reason Danny was going to get hurt. Giving their relationship a second chance had been a bad idea.

But she had to do something. She had her battlesuit, if nothing else, and even letting Danny know what she did in her spare time wouldn't be as bad as knowing she could have saved him and didn't. Val stood up decisively and squared her shoulders. She could do this, she knew she —

The scene in front of her wasn't supposed to be happening. Danny, scrawny, sweet, unathletic, timid Danny, was taking on the pirate ghost, and it seemed like he was even winning. Valerie's resolve left her and she stood gaping while the fight taking place in front of her.

Rotten Robert swung his cutlass at Danny, who ducked and dodged out of the way. The blade sunk into the counter the boy had been in front of, and while the ghost was trying to wrest it free, Danny grabbed a soda hose and sprayed him in the face. Robert screamed and staggered backwards past two discarded pistols, trying to wipe carbonated beverage out of his eyes, nose, and beard.

Temporarily blinded, he didn't notice that he was getting close to the tables in the middle of the floor, and he crashed into them heavily. A moment later, Danny, angrier than Valerie had ever seen him, was on top of the ghost. He had the green cutlass aimed at Rotten Robert's neck.

"So," he asked the ghost in a low voice, "you still think I can't hold my own in a fight?"

"Nay, ye've done well, boy," the ghost said smoothly. "Now, if ye'd be so kind and give me me sword back, I'll be on me way. No more trouble to ye."

"Riiiight." Danny didn't relax his stance, but he did quickly look around the room as if he was seeking something. His eyes passed over where Val was standing and he did a double take.

"V-Val...?" he quavered. "I th-thought... Um, could you bring my bag over here?"

Val blinked, wondering why Danny wanted his backpack in the first place and that he had thought, but crossed over to the booth they'd shared, pulled the object out from under a piece of masonry, and brought it over to her boyfriend. He nodded.

"Thanks. Open it."

Valerie did so, looking confused.

"'Kay," Danny continued, "there should be a thermos in there somewhere..."

Val dug around amidst the old sandwiches and crumbled papers until she found the metal object. She pulled it out gingerly, more confused than ever about why Danny wanted soup now. She shrugged and passed it over helpfully.

Danny looked at her and shook his head. "I'm not letting go of the sword," he told her. "Uncap it, point it at the ghost, and press that big button on the side."

Val followed his instructions and a blue-white cone of light shot out and engulfed the ghost. She was a bit startled at that, then realized that the thermos was probably a Fenton invention, which also explained why Danny had one. She knew his parents were a little paranoid about ghosts attacking Danny, just as Val herself was getting.

When Rotten Robert had vanished into the metal cylinder, Danny dropped the sword, which promptly vanished along with the two guns. Valerie recapped the thermos and handed it to him. Danny took it nervously, then reached out for his bag and dropped the Fenton weapon into it. Only then did he manage to make timid eye contact with the African-American girl beside him.

"I didn't know you fought ghosts," Val said quietly. "You're … pretty good."

"Heh, thanks." Danny rubbed his neck. "Uh, my parents make me train."

"Right." She laughed nervously. "You wanna leave before they show up?"

"Yeah." Danny seemed grateful for the change in topic, and a minute or so later they were moving away from the damaged Nasty Burger. Valerie rode behind Danny with her arms around him, lost in thought.

Danny couldn't have trained with his parents. He was simply too good for that. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton always seemed to make some sort of mistake. Danny hadn't, that Val had seen. That meant he was fighting on his own, like her. And that would explain why he was always late to class when she was, and why he kept leaving during class. It didn't explain why she never saw him during a ghost fight, but maybe he was earthbound or always just behind Val.

None of that really mattered, though. If Danny fought ghosts and was so good at it, then maybe Valerie didn't need to worry about him being in danger because of her. He'd just proved that he could hold his own, and maybe even that he was better than her. And that also meant that Danny would probably be okay with having a girlfriend who hunted ghosts. They could even form a team, maybe!

A few things were bugging her, though. Val was sure that she'd seen a beam like the one from the Danny's thermos before, and there had been something familiar about how Danny had moved during that fight. Perhaps Valerie had seen him fight without realizing it, some glimpse or something... That could wait, though. She was a ghost hunter dating a ghost hunter, and that was all that mattered right now.