Danny Phantom: The Choices We Make

Chapter 1

Danny and Sam were all alone at her mansion. Sam's parents had gone off to a soiree, that's what they liked to call it, and Sam had all the servants go home, she didn't need them. Sam looked at her boyfriend of four years; he was a whole lot different now. Four years ago he was pathetic as a human; she could beat him at any physical pursuit. But four years of ghost fighting and training himself had changed him, a few growth spurts helped too. Danny Fenton stood as tall as his dad Jack now, and he hadn't inherited any of his girth.

Danny looked like a professional fighter, broad shoulders, muscular body, trim waist, God, why did I make Grandma that stupid promise? Sam asked herself for the millionth time. Her Grandma made her promise to wait for marriage last year, the next day she was dead. Just sitting next to Danny in her home theater made her sweat. They had skirted the edge, almost every time they were alone now at least one of them got aroused. But, Danny kept it in his pants, and Sam stopped wearing skirts.

The movie was over, and Danny yawned, and wrapped his muscular arm around Sam's slim shoulders. "What now?" Danny asked her. Sam got a mischievous smile on her face, why not? We're both eighteen now. "I know where Dad keeps the keys to the wine cellar." Danny looked at her; I guess any promise can be broken, even when Sam makes them. "Lead on, Ms. Manson." Danny got up and bowed as he said this. Danny offered her his hand and she got up and mock curtsied, "Come with me, Mr. Fenton."

They walked all the way across the Manson Mansion. Eventually they came across a marble bust of Plato. Sam said, "The key should be in a hollow cavity in his forehead." "Then why aren't you getting it?" asked Danny. "My parents fingerprint it all the time to make sure I haven't gotten it, it's all on you." Sam told him. Danny nodded and made his left hand intangible. He found the key, and pulled it out. Danny flicked it into the air like a coin, and Sam caught it, "Next stop the wine cellar."

Sam and Danny walked around till they spotted the door. It was chained up good, with only one padlock. Sam pushed the key in, and turned it. The padlock gave way, and she and Danny went into the Manson's wine cellar. It was stocked with all kinds of rare, and potent, drinks. Danny pulled one out and saw that it was absinthe from the 1930's. "Your family had a very checkered past," he joked to Sam. "So do the Kennedy's," Sam laughed, and got a bottle opener. Danny gave her the bottle of absinthe, and she opened it.

She had Danny sniff the liquor; it was potent but still consumable. Danny grabbed it and was about to start chugging it down, but Sam snatched it out of his hand and said, "You can't drink this stuff out of the bottle, this used to be the strongest stuff money could buy aside from pure ethanol." "Then how do we drink it?" Danny said, getting irritated. Sam motioned for him to follow her, and they replaced the chains and locked up the padlock. Sam had Danny replace the key and then headed for the kitchen.

Once they got there Sam got some cups out and some ice and two large spoons with holes in them. Sam placed the spoons on the cups and the ice on top of the spoons. She then slowly poured the yellow liquor into the spoons. "This dilutes it, and makes it ice cold at the same time." She explained to a growingly impatient Danny. "Where did you learn all this?" "My Mom taught me; back when she hoped I would be her perfect pink princess."

Danny nodded and took one of the cups full of now cloudy yellow absinthe. Sam took hers, and they entwined their arms, "To getting hammered," they toasted, and drank. Sam felt it burn through her throat and gasped a little at how good it felt. Danny drank his own drink in one go. Sam finished hers, and they put the glasses down. "One more for good measure," Danny suggested, raising the bottle. Sam's head felt like it was floating a little, but she nodded, why stop here.

Danny put some more ice on the spoons and poured it, his hand slipped a little while pouring his, either I'm a wimp, or this is REALLY strong shit. Danny thought that being half-ghost made it harder to get drunk, apparently that was not the case. They entwined their arms shakily this time, but managed not to spill any of the absinthes. "Like Grandpa Fenton used to say, here's mud in your eye." And again, slower this time, they had their drinks. Sam felt it this time, yep, Sam old girl, you are drunk.

Danny held his head a little before slurring, "I'd better put this back." He grabbed the absinthe bottle, replaced its cork, and went Ghost. He flew back and just remembered to make himself and the bottle intangible before he hit the door. Danny replaced the bottle in the wine cellar then flew back to Sam. The Goth girl was seeing pink elephants then saw Danny. She got up and nearly tackled him to the ground, forcing her tongue into his mouth.

Guess I'm not that drunk after all, Danny thought as he felt his manhood rising. He reluctantly pulled Sam off of him, and set her down. He then reached into a pocket inside the denim jacket that he was wearing, and pulled out a black cube. He had scrounged and saved everything he made as a part-time dishwasher at a fancy restaurant for the last two years to buy what was in this cube. His hands drunkenly fumbled, but he got it open to show a pure gold ring, with two opals on either side of a supernaturally clear crystal. Danny had made the crystal himself; it was an ice crystal that was as hard as any diamond.

Sam's head was spinning even more, as Danny said, "Samantha Manson, will you marry me?" Sam fell on her knees and yelled, "Yes, Danny, yes," before she fell on him again. Danny managed to keep his concentration and placed the ring on the right finger. The two lovers then thought fuck promises; this girl/boy's becoming a woman/man tonight. Sam fumbled to unzip his pants, and Danny reached inside her shirt to unhook her bra. Then Sam's body quivered; and she turned her head and threw up right next to Danny. Danny's erection died right there, motherfucker.

Sam trembled above him, and Danny stood up and kept her standing. "Well, that killed the mood," Danny joked. "Sorry baby, it's just between the booze and the ring…" Sam mumbled. "It's okay, let's just get you to bed, I'll think of something to clean this up," Danny said, but inside he was thinking something along the lines of fuckshitsonofabitchIwassogod damnclose. Danny forced a smile and flew Sam to her room and placed her in bed. He then went back to the vomit, mumbling, "What's a guy gotta do to get laid around here." Tucker and Valerie had already done the deed, Tucker couldn't help but brag about it every other day, and he and Valerie were getting married in a month.

"It only took Tucker two years, I'm the guy that saved the world, and I've been dating Sam for four years. A few more minutes and oh BABY!" Those thoughts died as he looked down at Sam's vomit. Danny went Ghost and made the ground around it intangible, allowing the vomit to sink into the basement. Danny then remembered about the basement, and flew down there to make it intangible too. THIS time the vomit sank into the dirt. Danny was feeling queasy himself by the time his task was done, and headed for the nearest bathroom.

After he was done puking his guts out, Danny realized how late it was. Technically it's still sleeping with her, Danny thought, and returned to Sam's bed. Sam was already fast asleep, Danny didn't even bother getting under the covers; he just lay next to his new fiancé and went to sleep.

Chapter 2

Danny woke up to see Sam starting to wake up, and then the hangover hit him with a vengeance. Why me? "UUGH! MY HEAD!" Sam screamed out loud as she opened her eyes. "That's the last time I let you talk me into drinking eighty year old booze." Danny agreed. "You chose it; I was hoping to get some beers, that's' all. But you just had to pick the closest thing to actual poison out of all the beverages in my house!" Sam yelled; then clenched her head at the sound of her own voice.

"Tell you what; I know a café nearby that's supposed to have a cure for the hangover. See you there as soon as we're washed up." Danny said, quietly so as not to aggravate his and Sam's condition anymore. Sam just nodded, they didn't even bother kissing goodbye as Danny went Ghost and flew, slowly, back to his house. The sunlight was evil, but Danny made it home, went into the bathroom and went intangible, then stepped out of his clothes. He turned the water to lukewarm and washed himself off, then brushed his teeth and got dressed.

As he got out he saw his Dad in the hall, "Hey, Danny, how was your date?" I want to cut my brain out right now, but aside from that, everything's fine. Danny forced a smile and said, "Fine, Dad, everything was just great. Sam and I are meeting Tucker over at that new café place for breakfast." "Alright then, Oh, don't forget, you have to change the Ecto-Filtrator by seven tonight, or you know what will happen," Jack reminded him. Life just keeps getting better and better, "Got it, see you later Dad."

Danny went ghost, then turned invisible and flew over to the café. He saw Sam's car and Valerie's too. Well, what are the odds that I actually tell the truth when I'm lying? Danny thought, then walked in. It wasn't busy, and he soon saw Tucker, Sam, and Valerie sitting at a table, Sam already drinking the 'After a Bad Night Special'. Danny got the same drink and sat with his friends and fiancé. Valerie was admiring Sam's engagement ring and asked "How much did this set you back?"

Danny took a big gulp of his drink before saying, "It's a good thing Sam's an heiress, that's all I'm gonna say." Sam lightly ribbed him, and he kissed her in response. She tasted like mint. "So, how was it?" Tucker asked. Sam glowered at him and said, "We didn't get that far." Tucker dropped the subject. Suddenly gunfire went off and the four of them ducked under their table.

An average built guy with a red bandanna over his face had an assault rifle pointed at the cashier, yelling "GIVE ME THE FUCKING MONEY NOW!" The cashier was crying his eyes out, and stammered, "We just opened, its' not that much…," he was blasted away. The gunman then pointed at the waitress, "Open it NOW BITCH!" The waitress walked back to the cash register and tried to open it, but couldn't. Danny knew what was going to happen to her, and got up from under the table.

"Hey, ugly, try me on for size!" Danny hit his left palm with his right fist, turning Ghost just in time to go intangible as the bullets harmlessly passed through him. He heard Valerie, Tucker, and Sam scream, then flew over and hit the gunman so hard in the jaw that he heard a crack. Danny turned to look at his friends, and saw Sam lying in a pool of blood. "NO!" Danny yelled as he got to her. Danny picked her up like a baby and blasted off towards the Hospital. "Stay with me Sam!" Danny told the woman. He felt her blood and tears soak through his suit, and she weakly said, "Danny…" "That's right Baby, just stay conscious, we're almost at the Hospital." Danny crashed through the door and screamed, "MY FIANCE'S BEEN SHOT; HELP!"

Two doctors put her on a gurney and wheeled off. Danny ran beside them, holding Sam's hand. "Dan…ny…" Sam weakly moaned, then her eyes closed. "SAM!" Danny screamed as doctors pushed themselves in front of him and put an oxygen mask on her. They then rushed off to the Emergency Room, leaving Danny Phantom standing there, his suit stained with the blood of the one he loved. Danny looked down at himself, there was so much blood. He stood there in the hallway for five minutes before he sat down at the waiting area, still covered in blood.

Other people stared at him, and he couldn't care less. Some people actually got their phones out and took pictures of him. A nurse walked over, "Sir, we need to see if-" "I'm fine." Danny's tone was enough to get her to leave. He looked down at his gloves, now stained red with blood. This is all my fault, I had to go intangible, I had to say something, I couldn't have just gone invisible and overshadowed that bastard. No, I'm eighteen now, and I'm still acting like it's all a game. Danny saw a red drop hit the floor.

He got up and went to a nearby restroom, red drops trailed after him. Danny looked into the mirror and saw that he was actually crying blood. He knew it was blood because of how it felt, and he actually tasted it, he was crying blood. Danny went back to the waiting room, and asked for some towels. The nurse from earlier gave them to him, and he went back to the bathroom and went intangible, letting Sam's blood get soaked into the towels.

Danny carried the now crimson stained towels back to the nurse, who disposed of them. Danny went back to his seat, and turned human. Everyone knew who he was, had known for four years, there was no sense in keeping his secret, it was an open one. Danny sat there silently for what felt like an eternity before looking up to see Tucker and Valerie sitting next to him. They silently hugged their friend then waited for what felt like another eternity before someone called "Who is here with Samantha Manson?" The three of them stood up and were directed to Sam's room. She was laying there, an IV tube sticking out of her arm and an oxygen mask helping her breath. They couldn't believe how small she looked, Sam was always the one to take charge, to dominate, and no one could conquer her when she was awake. But now, she only looked like a weak victim.

A doctor walked in and said, "Where is Danny Phantom, we need to talk to him." Danny went Ghost and asked, "What's wrong with her?" The doctor collected himself and said, "She was struck by three high caliber bullets through her abdomen and chest, one of them punctured her left lung, one struck the right kidney, the last one hit her intestines. It was touch and go for a while, but we managed to get the blood out of her lung and remove the bullets, along with several feet of intestine and her kidney."

"How long until she wakes up?" Danny asked, the doctor said, "I don't know, she lost a lot of blood; we don't know how much, her brain could have been deprived of oxygen because of it. She could wake up in the next minute, or never." Danny just nodded and took a seat next to his unconscious fiancé, and took her left hand, "Where's her ring?" The doctor took out a small bag that held the engagement ring. Danny took it out of the bag and put it back on her ring finger.

Chapter 3

It was almost two in the afternoon when Danny felt himself get pulled out of his chair and slammed into a wall. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Sam's father Jeremy screamed at him. Danny couldn't stop himself, he was too angry, and grabbed Jeremy and yelled, "You think THIS IS MY FAULT?! WHO DO YOU THINK BROUGHT HER HERE!?" Jeremy yelled back, "IF YOU HADN'T PLAYED HERO, SAMANTHA WOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" "IF IT WASN'T FOR ME SHE WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN LASTED THIS LONG!" Danny yelled back. Before Jeremy could continue, Danny lifted him above the ground.

"You didn't give a damn about her as a person, you only saw her as someone who wouldn't be your 'little princess'. You weren't there when she was crying her heart out at how much it ate at her, she loved you, but you didn't love her for who she was; only what YOU wanted her to be! You weren't there that night two years ago, she had a knife to her throat, and was going to cut it, and I know she wanted to so bad. IF I HADN"T BEEN THERE FOR HER, SHE WOULD HAVE KILLED HERSELF A LONG TIME AGO!"

Danny was practically shaking Jeremy like a ragdoll by the time he finished yelling, then dropped him and went Ghost and flew out the room, he couldn't look at Sam's parents right now without thinking about how they had abandoned her for so long. Danny flew and flew then his Ghost Sense went off. Good, something to actually use this anger on! He thought as he saw Skulker and Technus attacking an electronics emporium. Danny flew at over two hundred miles an hour and grabbed his old enemies and threw them into the air. He flew even faster and grabbed them and smashed their heads together. The two ghosts then blasted him back with ghost rays. Danny yelled, unleashing a Ghostly Wail before Technus or Skulker could do anything else; Danny Wailed and Wailed, until cracks started appearing on Skulker's exo-skeleton.

Danny then used the most powerful ghost ray he had ever unleashed, reducing Technus and Skulker to ectoplasmic goo. Danny sucked up the remains of them and said, "Go to Hell this time." Danny was still pissed off, and went invisible and stayed that way before dropping them off at the Ghost Portal, and changed the Ecto-Filtrator while he was at it. An alarm went off when he was done, and Jack and Maddie appeared, ready for battle. Danny went visible, and Jack said, "What happened?" Tucker you jerk, my fiancé gets shot and you don't even bother calling my parents?!

Danny went human; it was that or unleash a Ghostly Wail out of anger. "Sam's been shot!" Danny's knees buckled, as if saying those words made it more real. Jack and Maddie hugged him tight, and Danny couldn't stop himself from crying. He then stood up and went to his room, went Ghost, and flew off, his tears turning into blood. As he flew around the city, he thought of everything he had ever done with Sam, where they first met at elementary school, all the places they had fought ghosts together, the tree where they shared their first kiss after Danny had saved the world, and the bloody tears flowed.

The mourning half-ghost heard a cry for help, and saw a liquor store being robbed. After taking the money, the thief shot the unfortunate owner. NOT AGAIN! Danny thought as he flew into the store and kicked the robber's head so hard that he flew into a shelf, and didn't stop until the shelf hit a wall. The man was bleeding, DIE! Danny thought, then saw that the store owner was still alive. He grabbed him and flew him to the same Hospital Sam was staying at.

The doctors attended to the store owner, and Danny flew to Sam's room. Her parents were still there, asleep. Probably didn't have another soiree to attend, Danny angrily thought. He was invisible as he flew over a still comatose Sam. His tears hit her face, making her look even worse. Danny wiped them off and gave he a small kiss on her cheek, then flew out again, went to his room, and did the only thing he could do, cry himself to sleep.

But even sleep wouldn't give him rest. He dreamed that the events of the last two days had been a dream. He and Sam had just been married, when the man in a red bandanna appeared and shot at them. Danny got in front of Sam, did NOT go Ghost, but it didn't matter. The bullets passed through his body just the same, Sam screamed in pain behind him, and he was still unharmed. Blackness engulfed him, and he saw two versions of himself.

One on the left looked like an older human version of himself, wiser. The one on the right was about the same age as the human version, but his eyes glowed red, his hands were stained in the blood of thousands, and his hair was a white inferno. His suit was the same as Danny's Ghost form was now. The older human Danny said, "Love," while the older Ghost Danny said, "Lust." Human Danny said, "Hope," Ghost Danny said, "Despair." Human: "Charity," Ghost: "Greed." Human: "Protect," Ghost: "Dominate." Human: "Peace," Ghost: "Anger." Human: "Mercy," Ghost: "Vengeance." That one word rang in the eighteen year old half-ghost's head like a bell:

vengeance. Vengeance. VENGEANCE. VENGANCE! VENGEANCE! VENGEANCE! VENGEANCE!VENGEANCE!

Chapter 4

Danny woke up and prayed that it was all some cruel dream. It wasn't, he saw this when he saw how his family looked at him as he came down for breakfast. It had all really happened; Sam had been shot, for real, and was lying in a coma. Danny could barely keep himself from screaming, but he only opened his mouth to eat toast that was too dry. He said nothing, only kept his head down and concentrated on eating his too dry toast and not screaming. After the last dry morsel was eaten, Danny went to his bathroom and put the shower on as hot as it could get, praying it would burn the day away.

It didn't, it only washed the sweat from last night away. Danny went to a mirror and realized that he hadn't shaved since the day he had proposed to Sam. Jack called him saying, "It's the police." Danny went invisible, got dressed in his room, and walked as a human to his house's living room. A tall policeman asked him to sit down and asked about the day Sam was shot. As he answered the police's questions Danny raged inside, Why are you asking me? Why don't you talk to the son of a bitch that shot her, and the cashier?!

Danny kept in control, then went Ghost and left his house as soon as the police were gone. Danny flew over an alleyway and saw a ghostly police officer attacking a guy. Danny flew down and bashed the ghost so hard that his head went into his neck, and sucked him into his Thermos. He then saw he had saved a drug dealer. The dealer offered him some crack, and Danny's eyes glowed in anger, and he shot a ghost ray through his eyes, knocking the dealer back and out for the count.

Danny called the police to phone in an anonymous tip and left, heading for the Hospital. Jeremy and Pamela Manson were still there, and Danny still couldn't stand them, so he went in through the window invisibly and watched Sam for two hours before he left, his heart cracking at how he left her. I'm sorry Sam, but the city needs me. For three hours Danny flew over the city of Amity Park, begging it to give him action so he could unleash his rage on it.

He got his wish when he saw the Box Ghost attacking yet another warehouse. The Box Ghost sent packages his way when he saw Danny, but the half-ghost let them pass through him and slowly advanced on the Box Ghost. Danny cracked his knuckles before grabbing the unfortunate ghost, now screaming in absolute fear. "Whenever I need something to punch, you're always there, thanks," Danny said, then pummeled the Box Ghost mercilessly. Danny grabbed one of his arms and was about to tear it off before he thought, No, I'm done for now.

The now pacified half-ghost took a good look at his defeated foe. His eyes were so swollen the Box Ghost couldn't see, his whole body looked a nasty shade of dark purple, and his jaw wasn't in a very natural angle. Yet the Box Ghost was still begging for mercy, promising up and down that he would never bother humans again. "I'm done with you for now," Danny told the still begging ghost, and sucked him into his Thermos. The Box Ghost sighed in relief; in the Fenton Thermos he was safe from Danny Phantom.

Danny then thought; I should feel guilty about this. But then he thought; He had it coming, for all the times he annoyed me. Danny continued to fly around Amity Park, but nothing else happened. He got home around eleven at night and looked at himself in the bathroom. His eyes were red, and his hair was now a small flame. Danny punched the mirror then woke up to realize he was asleep on a Park bench. He had never made it home; he had never seen himself in a mirror.

Chapter 5

Sam woke up in Clockwork's tower, dressed in the clothes she had on when she went to the café, when was that? Danny! She thought, where's Danny? Sam looked around and saw where she was. "Am I…dead?" Sam couldn't be die yet, she hadn't married Danny, or had children, or told her parents how much she really cared about them, there was so much more she had to do with her life. "You're not quite dead yet, Samantha," Clockwork said in his old man form, "but you're not quite alive either." "What happened?" Sam asked the time ghost.

"You got drunk, went to a café to cure the resulting hangover, and got shot." Clockwork told her. "Right now your body lies in a coma at Amity Park General Hospital. This event has incredible repercussions," Clockwork turned into a baby and showed her Danny, blood pouring from his eyes as he obliterated Skulker and Technus, kicked a man so hard that he had brain damage, blasted another regular human with ghost rays coming from his eyes, argued with her father, and beat the Box Ghost to a pulp.

Sam gasped at how…different Danny was. "This can't be, not my Danny, he wouldn't." Clockwork turned into a young man and said, "Danny's anger has always been locked away, and kept that way because of you. His love for you was stronger than his anger; it was your love that kept him on the path of the hero for so long. Now, without your love, his anger is coming out, with a vengeance. If he isn't stopped soon, he will do something that not even I can undo, and his soul will be lost forever." Clockwork told her.

"Got it, I have to show myself to Danny and tell him everything is okay, right?" Sam said. "It's not that simple," Clockwork said as he changed into an old man, "You are neither alive nor dead, you exist in between humanity and ghost. You cannot be seen by anyone, or heard either, conventionally. I can only talk to you at all because I am omniscient, I do not hear you with my ears, or see you with my eyes."

Sam felt fear creep into her as she realized the gravity of the situation, "Then what can I do?" "Think of something, fast, Danny's time is running out," Clockwork told her as he turned to a mirror showing Danny losing it all.

"It's all his fault." Danny told himself. That bastard, I'll kill him. It was a dark spring night, and Danny had just finished a whole bottle of vodka. He looked up into the face of a fourteen year old Danny Phantom, holding up the world with one arm. Danny threw the now empty bottle into the statue's face. I won't be a hero anymore, I am an avenger now; Danny thought to himself as he went Ghost and flew off towards the city jail. The shooter had been arrested on the spot, and was now in the medical center, Danny's punch had broken his jaw.

Danny's eyes glowed as he thought; I'll kill that bastard this time! Danny turned invisible and flew into the medical station. The man was awake and complaining about how he couldn't eat. Danny turned visible and grabbed him by the throat, "I hope you enjoyed your last meal, you son of a bitch!" then turned intangible and flew off with the now screaming criminal. Danny silenced his screams by tightening his hold on the man's throat, and flew off to the window of Sam's hospital room.

Danny shoved the man's face against the glass and said, "This is all your fault! LOOK AT HER!" Danny shoved him so hard into the glass that it squeaked. He then turned to look at the man and said, "You are going to die today, and I'm going to enjoy…every…last…second…of…it." Danny flew to the top of the Hospital, and held him over the edge. Danny loosened his grip, and the man who shot Sam, his Sam, was actually begging for mercy.

"Please, don't kill me. I'm not really a bad person; I just made some bad choices…" "Like when you chose to bring that gun to the café? When you shot that cashier dead?! When you were about to kill the waitress because she couldn't open the register?! WHEN YOU SHOT MY FIANCE!?" Every single cell in Danny's body screamed for him to let the man go. The man in his steel grip was actually crying now, begging even harder for forgiveness, "I did all that, I know. Please, you can't do this; YOU'RE A HERO FOR GOD'S SAKE!" Danny's eyes glowed dark as he said, "Not tonight."

Don't do it Danny! Sam's voice screeched in his head. Danny blinked at the sound, and then shook his head. Danny relaxed his grip, and Sam's voice yelled, HE'S NOT WORTH IT! "Life isn't worth it, without you." Danny said as his bloody tears came out again. Look into his eyes, that isn't you, Sam's disembodied voice said. Danny looked into his still crying would-be victim's eyes. He saw inside his pupils, himself? It couldn't be; this Danny Phantom had eyes almost black they were so red, and his white hair was in flames.

Don't become that, Sam, his sweet Sam, begged. Danny felt the tears flowing, and screamed into the sky. He then took his prisoner and put him back in jail. Danny turned human as soon as he got to the top of the hospital. What am I becoming? He asked himself, as he thought back to what he had done over the past three days. He could have killed people; he had wanted to kill people. Danny thought back to every blow he had landed, and how angry he had been, how much he had fallen.

Danny threw up as he thought about it all; praying something vital came out along with his dinner and the vodka. Only semi-digested food and alcohol came out however. Danny dry heaved for the next two minutes before picking himself up and going into the hospital. Danny went into Sam's room to see Jeremy and Pamela there. Danny knew what he had to do, and went down on his knees and hands.

"Forgive me," he said. Tears were pouring out his eyes as he swallowed all his pride and anger. "I love Sam, as much as anyone can. Please, let me see her, I can't bear the thought of losing her." Danny begged Sam's parents. "I never meant for any of this to happen, the truth is, we both took some liquor from your wine cellar and got drunk on it. We were hung over when we got to that café and trying to cure it. It's all my fault that she's here now. Please, forgive me."

Jeremy put his hand on Danny's shoulder and said, "I know, Danny, I forgive you. You were right, I never cared about Sam as a person;" Jeremy turned to Pamela, who nodded, "we never cared for her as a person, only for what we wanted her to be. Over the past three days, we've thought back to everything that's happened to her, it was our fault too. If we had been better parents, she would never have wanted to drink." The Manson's left Danny alone with Sam.

The tears were still pouring out, and Danny talked to the prone form of the only one he truly loved. "Sam, thank you. I don't know how you did it, but you saved me. Please, stay with this idiot guy a little longer, I need you, Tucker needs you, Valerie needs you, and your parents need you now. Don't leave us now, please, come back to us." Sam groaned, and slowly opened her eyes.

"JEREMY! PAMELA! SHE'S GETTING UP!" Danny yelled, and the Manson's ran back into the room. Sam looked at her parents and her fiancé, and smiled. A doctor showed up as well and flashed a light in her face. "No brain damage, thank God. We need to keep her here for a few more weeks, but after that, she can go home," the doctor said. He was almost crushed as Danny, Jeremy, and Pamela all hugged him for the good news. The three of them were much gentler with Sam, who weakly wrapped her arms around her family.

Chapter 6

Two weeks later

Danny pushed Sam on her wheelchair to a waiting limousine. Danny helped her up, and guided her in. "You don't have to be so careful with me, the doc said I'm fully recovered," Sam complained. Danny kissed her and said, "I know, I just can't help myself sometimes." Danny's Ghost Sense went off, Damn! Sam and Danny both thought, they had been hoping to make up for lost time in the limo. Danny kissed Sam's hand, the one with her engagement ring, and said, "I'll be there by eleven." And he went Ghost and flew off.

Sam sighed then said, "Home Sampson." Her valet drove her home and said, "Miss Manson it is very good to see you again." When she stepped out of the limo she hugged the valet and said, "It's good to see you too." She then turned to see her parents, and hugged them; they hugged her back like they would never let her go. "Samantha, we have a lot to talk about." Pamela told her as they went inside.

Two hours later Danny arrived and went to her room as a human. Sam was reading one of her horror stories, but threw it away as soon as she saw her fiancé. They kissed passionately, and Sam said, "Everything's going to get better now. My parents truly accept me, we're finally engaged, its' like a dream come true." Danny kissed her again and said, "You have no idea."

That night Danny flew home, and heard a familiar voice say, "Time out." Danny saw Clockwork floating there. "Danny, you have never come closer to becoming like Dark Danny and endangering the world." "I know; do what you want with me." Danny told him. Clockwork turned into an old man and handed Danny what looked like a small mirror. "This will show whoever holds it and looks into the mirror the consequences of their choices. Your choices were poor Danny, and almost led to the end of everything you have ever held dear. From now on, look at this device regularly, and do NOT go that way again."

Danny opened it and saw how he had almost become a monster. He then closed the device and said, "Is the future ever written in stone?" "Only when it ceases to be the 'future' and becomes the 'past', otherwise, the future is always in motion, dependent upon the choices we make. Start making better choices; and things will get better. Start making the wrong choices…" Danny nodded, and put the mirror in his jacket pocket.

Clockwork smiled and said, "You're on your way to achieving real happiness. Don't falter from the path you have just chosen, and eventually you will have all that a man can ever hope for." Clockwork left; and Danny flew home and went to bed. Clockwork saw Danny's ultimate future ahead and a tear came down his eye, "If only happiness could last forever for mortals."