A/N: Well, what was supposed to be a DP oneshot turned into a much-longer-than-anticipated fic. So, I separated it into chapters. Here's chapter one. I'm not sure how many more I'll have to split it into, but we'll see. Set post-Phantom Planet (I know, I'm just as shocked as all of you).

As a precaution, the beginning may seem a tad bit slow. Hopefully, it'll pick up speed toward the end and in later chapters. Danny and his friends are 16 or 17 years old in this story, just as a disclaimer for later on. Thank you and enjoy.

Steadily Fading

At first, we thought it was a good sign. His powers were failing him in battle less and less. Whenever he got hurt terribly, he would stop reverting back to human form. We thought he just got used to it. We thought he was getting stronger.

But we were about as wrong as we could get.

I remember the first time I became suspicious of his newfound strength. He was battling some severely angry and adamant ghosts who just wouldn't let up on him. They attacked relentlessly, and Tucker and I were being held captive by them, so there was nothing we could do to help.

Not that Danny would have let us help him fight such ruthless ghouls.

Tucker whistled lowly when he saw Danny get slapped upside the head by an adversary. Danny lost his footing for a moment, and the ghost's little friends all attacked with ectoplasmic goo simultaneously. I visibly winced and turned away, afraid that, like watching a tense baseball game where you want one specific side to emerge victorious, I would jinx the entire battle with my subconscious support.

Tucker noticed my discomfort and decided to comment, as usual with the worst timing of anyone I've ever had the "pleasure" of knowing. "It must be tough dating him."

I shot him an icy glare, but he chose to ignore it, as he'd come to learn to do around me. "I mean, it's hard enough for me, being his friend, to watch him do all this, but as his girl...wow. It must be pretty difficult."

I turned away from Tucker now, eyes still narrowed. "It's not so difficult," I defended myself needlessly.

"Still," he dumbly continued, "it must make for some pretty awkward situations, what with his ghost sense constantly going off. He probably has to leave you at the most inopportune times, huh?"

I blushed, but by now daggers were shooting out of my eyes as I turned back to him. "Not as inopportune as your yapping!"

Tucker held his hands up defensively. "All right, all right. I get it. I'll shut up now. Just thought you might like some conversation, that's all."

I grumbled at him, unsure of how to treat the dolt. I swear, if it weren't for Danny, Tucker and I would NEVER have become friends. But Danny, ever the peacemaker, made sure that the two of us got along well enough to tolerate each other.

Suddenly, our attention was turned to an uproar of commotion in the battle. Tucker and I glanced up nervously and watched in helpless concern as we saw our friend get clobbered by the nonstop onslaught of malignant ghosts. Danny disappeared, screaming, under a mound of attacking spirits, and Tucker and I both held our breath in anticipation.

Please let him be okay, please let him be okay...

The next second, a wave of insurmountable energy erupted from the heap and Tucker and I were blown back within our confinement, forced to look away as the power emitted from the center of the horde of ghosts. I nervously peeked back at the raucous, and relief flooded my mind when I saw Danny standing, panting, in the middle of the battlefield, victorious.

My face only fell when I realized that this was the first time I had ever seen him use his ghostly wail and not revert back to human form.

Oblivious to my wonderings, Danny hurried over to me and Tucker and unbound us from our restraints.

"Are you guys okay?" Danny asked pointedly at me.

However, Tucker was the one to answer. "Yeah, man, we're fine. But I think you need to cut back on the Nasty Burgers. Your breath smells putrid!" he exclaimed sarcastically, holding his breath and waving his hand in front of his nose.

Danny laughed, and I rolled my eyes at the immaturity of my two best friends. I guess that's what I get for hanging around with teenage boys. I motioned for them both to follow me and we began to walk down the street to our original destination before our little detour: my house.

It was about halfway down the block that I realized Danny had still not changed form, and I became slightly worried.

"Danny," I commented, "aren't you uncomfortable walking around as Phantom?"

Apparently, I had not made my own discomfort evident enough for him to care, as Danny simply shrugged and replied, "Nah. I'm fine."

Was it me or did his voice sound a little shaky? Perhaps I was just reading too much into things, but the nervous glances that Danny and Tucker exchanged had me more worried than before. I, however, bit my tongue, content in knowing that if anything was wrong, Danny would tell me. I was his girlfriend, after all, so I got first priority on his "confidence" list.

Right?

I shook my head slightly so as to shake these uncomfortable wonderings from my mind. If he felt the need to walk around as his ghostly alter ego, that was his decision. It didn't matter anymore, as everyone knew that Danny Fenton was, in reality, Danny Phantom, resident hero. He still had to dodge the paparazzi and we usually continued to live life on the down-low. The only thing that had really changed significantly was that Danny and I were now officially together...finally. So, while we meandered to my house, no one thought it odd that Tucker and I were waltzing around with the ghost boy.

About twenty paces to my door, I shot Danny a warning glare and cleared my throat as if to signify something. He pretended not to notice, but I could see in his darting eyes that he was purposefully avoiding me. I grunted in frustration, but continued to my door anyway.

As expected, my parents were lounging in the living room when the three of us entered. I tried to keep quiet and tiptoe to the basement unnoticed, but Tucker in all his brilliance allowed the door to slam behind him and my parents were alerted to our arrival.

The fact that Danny was the ghost boy had not served in his favor at all in my parents' eyes. Quite the opposite, in fact. That I was hanging out with one of "those vulgar creatures" only made them more wary of my friend--oh, wait--even worse: boyfriend. Not only did they naturally dislike Danny in all his quirkiness and his support of my rebellious spirit, but they despised ghosts and NOW, they had the natural disdain that all parents of teenage girls have for her first boyfriend.

My dad cleared his throat angrily and stated, as calmly as possible, "Mr. Fenton, would you mind changing back into your normal self while you're in this house?"

Danny blushed slightly and nodded curtly. He shut his eyes and crinkled his forehead. At first, I thought it was just out of embarrassment that he wanted to hide from my parents' stares, but then I noticed that it took about two seconds longer than usual for him to change back into his human form.

Strange, but perhaps he was distracted by something else.

I scrunched my eyes in his direction, alerting him of my suspicions of his awkward character recently. I would find out what was up with him, even if it took all of the arguing and protesting tactics in the book.

As we made our way to the basement, I noticed with growing preoccupation that Danny seemed more uncomfortable now than he was before.

Normally, I would have attributed this to the general rudeness of my parents, but today, I knew that something else was wrong. I didn't know what, but I would. I'd get Danny to tell me. I had to.

DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP

The next day at school started as usual. At least, it would have seemed that way to anyone who was simply observing the three of us from a distance. Sure, we all entered Lancer's classroom, smiled at each other in a friendly, secretive sort of way and began to pass notes to each other.

However, I was not an outside observer. I noticed the dark circles under Danny's eyes that even the creases of his smile couldn't hide. He always looked tired, but today he looked especially exhausted. He always came to class late, but he was five minutes later today than his average tardy arrival. He seemed nerve-wracked by something and he was starting to irritate me with his lack of cooperation in telling me.

The worst part about the awkwardness of this day was the sudden muteness of the usually impossible-to-shut-up Tucker. He just sat in class as though he had changed on a dime overnight and decided that learning English was the most important subject in the world to him. Even in our note-passing endeavor, Danny and Tucker seemed to be holding back. Neither would comment about my subtle questioning.

Finally, when the bell rang and signaled the final period of the day, I confronted Danny in the hallway, ready to burst from my curiosity and apprehension.

"Danny," I began heatedly, "please just tell me what's up. I know something's going on."

Danny searched my features haphazardly, and when he realized that I was not going to be played for a fool today, he let out a short breath and whispered, "I--I can't."

I jerked back from him in disbelief. "But I'm your girlfriend, Danny. More than that, I'm Sam: your best friend since middle school! You can trust me with anything."

Danny nodded, smiling slightly. "I know. I just...I don't want to talk about it here. Not with all these people and in the middle of the day."

I pursued him further. "Oh. Well, then, why don't you just phase us into the janitor's closet? I'm sure we'd get some privacy in there, judging by the lack of cleanliness in our school. The janitor must have disappeared," I noted ironically, knowing full well that, in Amity Park, this was indeed a distinct possibility.

Danny hesitated and placed his hand nervously on the back of his neck. "I...I really can't."

"Why?" I asked incredulously. "You never tell anybody anything, Danny. You're going to end up exploding one day from all the pressure. Just tell me now, please," I begged.

"I won't explode," he countered, quick to get defensive. "I talked to Tucker about it..."

He cut short, clearly acknowledging, much too late, that that was definitely the wrong thing to say.

I glared at him. "Oh, I see. You can tell Tucker but you can't tell me. I get it. You know, Danny, sometimes you're just such a jerk!"

I turned and promptly stomped away, not aware of his babbling apologies and excuses. I was too angry to hear him out.

It was only later that I realized that I regretted doing so. Shallowly, not because I had lost my temper so quickly, as I often mistakenly did, but because I hadn't figured out what was wrong with Danny yet.

DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP

I sat in my room later that night, absently brushing my hair. My eyes were open and peering into the mirror, but I wasn't really seeing anything. I was far too pensive. What was Danny not telling me? Did I ruin my chances at gaining his trust by scolding him? Would he EVER tell me the truth?

I was only shaken out of my reverie when I felt a cold draft of air waft toward me. I shivered, but turned around nonetheless, knowing what this breeze meant. I made sure to hold my head up high, too stubborn to admit to anyone but myself that I may have made an error by yelling at my boyfriend. I narrowed my eyes and glared at him, but my eyes quickly softened to worry when I saw the beads of sweat trickling down his face and that he was cradling his left arm which held a rather large gash.

He gave me an innocent half-grin, "I, uh...got into a ghost fight. Didn't quite escape unscathed..."

I sighed and went to retrieve the gauze that was readily available in my bathroom cabinet, set aside particularly for days like this. I returned and silently handed him the bandage, hand on my hip in exasperation. Danny flashed another fleetingly guilty grin and mumbled his thanks before he got to patching himself up.

"Why'd you come here?" I asked, miffed. "It's not like you couldn't just fly to your own house with that insignificant scratch," I condescended, wincing at the green blood that oozed from said wound.

Danny winced, probably both from the pain and from my stabbing tone. "I felt bad about earlier. I didn't think we should just leave it there," he explained. He heaved a long exhalation. "We need to talk, Sam."

I immediately sobered upon hearing Danny's suddenly and abnormally solemn attitude. Deep concern filled my thoughts as various theories of rejection buzzed through my head. "What?" I inquired finally, only now realizing that I may not have wanted to know the answer.

He took a long and shaky breath before his intense, green eyes met mine. "Tucker and I have a theory about something...and it's not good."

I nodded, deciding to bring up the subject of trusting Tucker more than me later.

"You've noticed that, lately, I haven't been changing back into my human form so much, right? Well, I originally thought it was just because I was getting better at this. I was getting used to this whole ghost-fighting routine. But...more recently, I've noticed that...it's actually difficult for me to change back."

I tilted my head confusedly. "What are you saying?"

He sighed. "It's...I don't know. Hard to feel my human half. I can't change back easily anymore. I struggle. I try and I try and it just takes so long to feel it," he continued, his voice trembling with uncertainty. "It's not just a matter of subconsciously willing myself to turn back anymore...I have to strenuously concentrate. And even then, it takes a lot longer than I know it should.

"Sam...I think I'm slowly losing my human half. I may be dying and becoming a ghost, permanently," he finished, his voice barely above a whisper and fearful tears filling his eyes.

I stood numbly, unable to comprehend. It didn't make sense. Danny was...dying? Randomly and for no reason? What had set this off? Why hadn't he told me? Why was this happening?

"Danny," was all I managed to mutter before I realized that tears were threatening to emerge from my eyes as well.

It hit me all of a sudden, like a ton of bricks, exactly what Danny's implications entailed. I felt suddenly weak and had to sit down on my bed. Danny quickly followed suit. I looked over at him, still in Phantom form.

"Change back," I told him, needing to see proof of this theory.

Danny nodded slowly, then squeezed his eyes shut, clearly concentrating hard. I could see his brow twitch every once in awhile. The effort obviously pained him, but I could see that he, too, wanted to change back horribly. I bit my lip as another drop escaped my eyes. It had already been a full minute.

Just as I could see his resolve diminishing, white rings formed around his waist and Danny Phantom slowly but surely reverted back to Danny Fenton. Both of us gave a sigh of relief, and we breathed slightly easier, but I could tell that something was, indeed, very wrong.

"So...how exactly do you guys think this works? Why is it happening now? Why you and not Vlad?" I interrogated him endlessly, blurting out questions faster than either of us could think.

Danny breathed heavily, still exhausted from his transformation, but he understood my need to understand, so he calmly provided, "Basically, little by little, the more ghost powers I use, the more used to being a ghost my body becomes. The longer I'm in ghost form, the more of my human half I lose. That's why I've been cutting down on ghostly powers lately. I had to run to school instead of fly this morning. And I couldn't phase us into the closet because I didn't want to risk using up more of my powers.

"We think it's either been gradually happening since the accident or something recently spurred it...what exactly, we're not sure. We don't know exactly when it started, how long it's been going on, or," he shuddered slightly, "how long I have left.

"As for why this hasn't happened to either Vlad or Dani, we're not positive. It might have something to do with the fact that all three of us were 'created,' so to speak, in very different manners. Vlad through a small portal in the 80's, Dani through cloning and me through a full portal created in modern times. It might be stronger...more influential, I guess. It's all just theories...but they all make sense."

My breath hitched in my throat. I was in shock and unable to think of anything else to ask or to comment. I shook my head and just looked at him. I scanned up and down his body; his seemingly perfectly normal human body.

I laughed hollowly. "I'd suggest going to a doctor, but...I don't know how much a doctor would be able to help with a human-ghost hybrid."

Danny's half-hearted smile was meant to reassure me, but it only served to make me more worried and more nervous. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I asked softly.

His now-blue eyes shut in anguish and he hung his head guiltily. "I didn't want you to worry. I mean...I know I'm going to die, Sam. I needed to figure out how and when to tell you the right way. I guess I forgot how brilliant you were, and I was dumb to think you wouldn't notice anything different. I told Tuck because I needed to know what he thought was the right way to tell you," he explained, his voice thin and weary.

I nodded again, not feeling compelled to say anything more. What were you supposed to say in this kind of situation? Actually, I doubted anyone else in the world had ever been in this situation, so who knew?

"I can't just stop using my powers," he continued to rationalize, probably for both our sakes. "I need to protect the town."

And in the process, we lose you, I thought bitterly, but I decided to bite my tongue.

"I'm going to tell my parents about it tomorrow. Maybe they'll be able to think up some crazy invention that actually helps ghosts for once," he smiled ironically. "Do you think you could be there with me when I tell them? I'd like some moral support."

I nodded furiously, but still refused to comment, afraid that the lump in my throat would jump out if I opened my mouth.

I simply let my fatigue get the best of me and I leaned into Danny, resting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my back and settled his own head atop mine. I closed my eyes and let myself soak in the rare moment of peace and love in our lives. I tried not to think that this could be one of the last times I would sit in my room with Danny Fenton.