I do not own Danny Phantom. Fear me.

My son is a hero. Though Maddie Fenton is a bit ashamed to admit it, she never thought she'd ever say those words. She loved her baby boy dearly, even for all the trouble he's gotten into lately. But he seemed so skittish, fearfully running off whenever there were ghosts about. She'd always known that Danny had a good heart; better than most if she heard right about the vicious bullies at Danny's school but to think that he'd… She shook her head in awed disbelief as she continued to watch the news coverage of this afternoon's tragedy or what should have been a tragedy had Danny not intervened.

A fire had broken out in the small nursery school, just a few blocks from where Danny and his friends had been walking home from school. Ghosts weren't to blame this time around, just an old, outdated electrical system and faulty wiring. The collapse of the old bricks made an easy escape all but impossible and onlookers had frantically tried to pull away the debris in hopes of saving a few of the screaming kids. It seemed impossible until 15 year old Danny Fenton had rushed in, climbed up the burning rubble with near super human speed and jumped into the second floor window where the fires were already blazing. Just watching the replay of the event caused her heart to squeeze in fear for her youngest child.

But for all that his reckless escapade had scared her, there's no doubt that Danny had saved the day. He'd made his way through then fires, locating the small class holding eight terrified young children and two teachers. Somehow he'd managed to direct them to another exit, one no one else had seen, to get them all out just as the fire trucks had arrived on the scene. Just a few minutes later, the derelict building which had been in the process of renovation, collapsed with no one inside. And all because of her son.

The stairs squeaked above her and Maddie looked up to see the object of her thoughts staring down at her with genuine confusion. He was toying anxiously with the bandages for the burns he'd received for his heroic efforts, and for some odd reason, had insisted he didn't need. She pressed the mute button on the television giving Danny her full attention.

"Why are you even watching that Mom? I can't believe they're still playing it. That should be old news by now." Maddie tittered and patted the seat next to her, watching as Danny trotted down the stairs like always, looking very much the boy she knew and loved but different somehow. Or perhaps she was just seeing the real him for the first time. He flopped on the couch beside her, seeming to hesitate for a moment before allowing himself to relax into his mother's embrace. He felt unnaturally cold beside her but he didn't appear bothered by it. She made a mental note to get him an extra blanket for his bed. Maddie hummed, running her fingers through his thick black hair, so much like his father's though she'll never tell her mortified son, and enjoying this rare moment of peace between them.

"Well of course they're still talking about it sweetie, you saved 10 people today, you're a hero." Danny blushed and shook his head in embarrassment causing her to ruffle his hair enjoying his squeak of protest. "This town needs a good, decent hero, not fake ones like that Phantom character." Danny tensed up next to her and Maddie only sighed continuing to stroke his hair until he relaxed again. God knows why but Phantom was a sore spot for both him and Jazz. One of these days she was going to figure out why but today was not that day.

"You really had us worried you know," she spoke quietly watching the noiseless replay of the events. "When your dad and I got the call from the paramedics that you'd been caught up in the fire, I well, I thought maybe…" Danny nuzzled in her shoulder looking up at her with his beautiful blue eyes.

"Mom come on, everything turned out all right. Besides, it'll take more than that to do me in, I'm Jack Fenton's son after all." Danny started, dropping into a not inaccurate impression of his father causing Maddie to chuckle warmly.

"I just don't know what you were thinking," Maddie said watching again Danny's impossible movements to get inside the building was shown again on the television. "You're 15 years old sweetie, it's not your job to put yourself at risk like that." Danny looked away for a moment, an air of solemnity falling over him before he turned to her with a clear, steadfast gaze.

"It may not be my job but it was my responsibility. I know that things have been a bit weird around here, and I'm sorry for that, I'm just trying to get my life under control and it's not always easy you know? But when I saw the flames, and heard those screams, I knew that there was no way I could walk away and just pretend it was someone else's problem. That's what responsibility means to me, doing the right thing even though it's hard and can hurt you, because in the end you know it's worth it." Maddie's hand stilled in her son's hair as she wondered just when Danny, cute, lazy Danny, had grown up and so well too. The sound of the door slamming open prevented her from telling Danny just how proud she was of the brave young man he had become.

"Fenton family assemble! I have four cartons of our little hero's favorite Chinese and it certainly won't eat itself." The somberness on Danny's face melted into joy at the mention of the food Jack and Jasmine were now carrying in. Sparing his mother a quick glance, Danny sprung out of his seat appearing to have no mind for his burns and ran after his father and sister. Maddie sat on the couch a little while longer, watching yet again the image of her son stumbling from the back of the building, three young children held in his grasp, with that same stubborn set to his face. She smiled reaching over to turn off the TV before going to join her family reminding her boys not to eat themselves to sickness.

Because Maddie Fenton acknowledged that she could be single-minded, that her range of focus tended to be a bit narrow, and that maybe she had mistaken Danny's intentions from the start. She'd thought since she'd got that terrible phone call yesterday afternoon that Danny's sudden bout of heroism had been a recent development. But now as she watches Danny choke on his food due to Jack's enthusiastic back pats or Jazz's face glow with pride as she watches her brother that maybe Danny has always had the makings of greatness inside of him and she's only just seeing it.

Maddie smiled as she took her place at the table and watched her perfect little family, happy that they were all safe. She is content knowing that somehow, despite all the mistakes she and Jack had made, they'd done a good job raising both of their kids. She couldn't wait to see what else they could do, between Jazz's stunning brilliance and Danny's unwavering courage, Maddie Fenton knew her children could change the world.

Hey guys, got another little story waiting for your approval. It's going to be a multi-chapter story surrounding the people in Danny's life reacting to heroism from Danny Fenton. I don't think he gets enough attention, yes I understand secret identities and all but both ghost and boy are the same person and I can't believe all that kindness and bravery wouldn't leak into Fenton's life as well. Updates will be a bit irregular but hopefully not too long between chapters. First time in a while I'm posting a story that's not completely written yet, almost there, but not quite. Let me know what you think!