I'm back! Didja miss me?

Some people asked for a second chapter and I was like, meh, why not? I started this thinking it'll be 2-4k but then my muse was like, haha, nope. So now we've got this 7k monster.

This is un-betaed so the mistakes are mine.

It's a tad different from Sleepless Nights, being that there's not a whole lot of flashbacks, but overall I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out.

Update: All of you are super awesome and super amazing people, you know that? Super duper thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and/or followed this one shot. So I've gone around and cleaned up some typos and trimmed down the writing because if I'm honest here, this chapter was bloated. It should make for easier reading now that I've mercilessly gutted the unnecessary parts (the truth is violent). So, again, thank you all loads and things should flow better now.

Disclaimer; still no.

Without further ado,

Chapter 2: Insomnia

Valerie had a lot of regrets. Some of them were simple. She regretted not signing up for the evening shift at the Nasty Burger. If she had, then everyone would be gone by the end of her shift and she'd have the time to squeeze in a patrol before heading home. Valerie regrets not studying for her chemistry test, but she honestly didn't have the time. Valerie regrets being so shallow when she had been an A-Lister.

Some of them were complicated. Well, not complicated per say, unusual would perhaps be the better word. Valerie regrets not being able to help her mother when she was sick in the hospital. Valerie regrets the days, weeks, months she spent sitting in a chair outside room 309 and seeing her mother fade slowly, slowly away because goddamnit they did nothing but make her feel worse when the inevitable came. Valerie regrets ever having trusted Vlad Masters. For being so naïve and stupid that Vlad had her wrapped around his finger in three sentences.

But by far the deepest regret; the one searing thing that dug at her brain remained present as it did the day Valerie realised her wrong. It was like that tiny shrapnel she had once that would dig into her knee all day because she couldn't find the time to get it out. Valerie regrets hating Danny Phantom.

No, wait, that didn't sound right. Phantom, and Fenton for that matter, were both jerks on first meeting and Valerie felt perfectly justified to hate their-his-guts. During the time she'd spent thinking of Danny as two separate people, Phantom had been arrogant, dishonest and that's not even to mention that he and his dog had made her dad lose his job which Fenton was a jerk who went out of his way to mess up her day.

(Phantom kept denying that 'Cujo' was his. Yeah right.)

While Fenton slowly wormed his way into her heart, Phantom only grew worse.

He'd act like an ally one moment then he'd stab her in the back. That one time during Pariah Dark's invasion, they had a truce but the second Valerie looked away, he went ahead and reveals her hard-kept secret to her dad.

(Didn't he understand how much he messed up her life when he did that? Didn't he get secret identities? Of course not, he's a ghost. Ghosts don't have human emotions, much less an understanding of secret identities.)

And that other time, Phantom almost convinced Valerie that he actually believed he was 'protecting' people. Valerie was no idiot, she had noticed how his shots always seemed to be aimed at her weapons, how she never came out of their skirmishes with anything other than mild burns and the way he always tried to lead her away from the city where people were less likely to get hurt.

(Valerie didn't go easy on him, of course. He was a ghost he couldn't feel pain. And besides, he'll be healed in half a minute; he didn't have to suffer from an injury like humans did.)

But then Phantom blasts her suit to smithereens. Valerie will deny it to her grave, but the look in his eyes right then had frightened her. All traces of humanity had vanished in swirling wrathful green. It was like he had snapped, grown tired of playing cat and mouse, tired of going easy, tired of pretending. He could snap at any time. Valerie saw Phantom for what he was; a ticking bomb. Valerie had to get rid of him before Amity Park suffers from the unstable ghost and the wool he's pulled over their eyes.

So Valerie felt that she was being completely rational when she aimed her guns to exterminate, destroy, vaporise. There was never any guilt when she saw green droplets on her red uniform.

(Besides, ghosts don't bleed.)

Phantom may be almost harmless most of the time, but some things had to be done. Valerie had to be Amity's safety net for when Phantom goes rogue. Better yet, Valerie would rid of Phantom before he gets the chance to drop off the deep end. And if that meant people glare at the Red Huntress, fine. If that means she had to play the villain, fine. When Phantom betrays Amity Park, they'll see sense. And they'll realise that Valerie had been the hero all along.

Everything was figured out. Valerie weighed her conscience and her morals against what the town needed.

(He's just a ghost, he's just a ghost, those aren't real screams, he's just a ghost.)

Valerie always had the best intentions. She wanted to become powerful to protect the town. She wanted Phantom gone because he was a loose cannon. She trusted Mayor Masters because when things seemed desperate when no one else was in her corner and she had no friends and she was alone and everyone except Nathan hated her, Vlad Masters was there. Vlad Masters had given her a means to get revenge, to prove that she didn't need money to be worth something. That she didn't need friends to be strong.

Finding out that Vlad Masters and Vlad Plasmius were one and the put a crack in Valerie's world, but it wasn't surprising. Come to think of it, Vlad only began his political career this very year. How in the world did he get himself elected Mayor? It's unheard of, and he didn't have a particularly compelling platform either. Valerie had wondered, but she hadn't questioned. Well, she knew the answer now. He brainwashed them with ghost powers and got himself voted, there was no other explanation. But it only made sense that she trusted him, right? When he helped her out and gave her a future, of course, she would do him favours, right? It's not her problem that he turned out to be some deranged, sociopathic ghost. Come on, like she would listen to Phantom over her benefactor. Valerie had been duped, she admits that but Vlad had put up such a convincing act, it wasn't really her fault, was it?

And then she found out Danny secret. Like Vlad's secret, it was obvious in hindsight. Fenton and Phantom. White hair, black hair. Blue eyes, green eyes. Polar opposites, one arrogant and deceitful, the other bashful and honest. Brave to the point of stupidity, cautious to the point of cowardice. Two extreme ends of a spectrum. Two sides of the same coin.

Valerie's world shattered. Pieces of it rained down, and Valerie saw it for the illusion that it was, a film of lies spun from her own mind.

So what did Valerie regret?

She regrets letting herself be played for the fool. She regrets every shot she ever aimed at the ghost boy and every scar she undoubtedly left. She regrets the lie after lie after lie she told to console herself.

She regrets. And it hurts.

Valerie has always been an insomniac and before, it had been manageable. Valerie did get sleep after particularly exhausting days and she was never so tired as to fall asleep in class like Danny used to all the time. On bad nights when she simply couldn't force her body to rest when she'd toss and turn in bed and flail around and tangle herself in the sheets, Valerie used to patrol. She'd hop up on her hoverboard, call her gear into existence-

(Whatever it was that zapped her did marvels for her suit. Valerie was so not looking a gift horse in the mouth.)

-and escape into the encroaching dark. When she could find Phantom, she'd chase him-

(No, he wasn't just playing with her at this point, no she didn't find the familiar routine comforting, he was a nuisance, nothing else, a nuisance and he's unstable and he needed to go down.)

-but when she couldn't, Valerie went after smaller game. The ectopuses, the feral ghost animals and, more often than not, the Box Ghost for the gazillionth time. And some nights Valerie would just fly, enjoying the adrenaline rush, the thrill, the lights that twinkled from below and above, the wind whistling over her sleek outfit, the steadying hum of her board beneath her feet. Valerie would be lying if she said she didn't love being the Red Huntress. That the thrill and danger of it didn't send her blood singing.

But now Valerie was weighted down, tied to Earth no matter how hard she pushed her hoverboard. There was a leaden weight, a pressure that constricts her heart and strains against the limits of her self-control. Valerie would fire at ghosts and miss, and miss and miss and when she does hit, she'd wince and something would try to crawl up her throat.

It was guilt, Valerie knew. Deep-seated guilt that latched tight. And uncertainty. If she'd been wrong about Phantom, what else could she have been wrong about? Her world had trembled down in broken pieces and Valerie can't seem to clear her eyes.

Valerie would lie in bed these days. She was getting even less sleep than before. She passed through the school corridors only half-awake. Occasionally, she'd see Fenton-

(That's Danny, her brain would say, not Fenton, not Phantom, Danny)

-chatting with his friends and he'd look at her like he wanted to say something and she'd look away.

At night, Valerie would lay eyes wide open. And in the day, Valerie would walk stooped over, eyes good as shut.

At school, whispers hounded her steps.

"-hope she gets better soon-"

"-used to have her over-"

"-a shame that she-"

"-I heard a rumour … Huntress-"

"Hey, Valerie! I've been meaning to talk to you!"

That voice stopped her in her tracks. Valerie knew that voice anywhere.

"Phantom."

Valerie hadn't meant to growl.

Danny, who had just been about to lay it on her shoulder, snatched his hand back. The hallway hushed and Valerie felt like she was standing under a spotlight.

"Whoa there," Danny shuffled his feet, "are you … still mad at me?"

His friends, Sam and Tucker, were tugging on his arm. They were saying things, Valerie wasn't sure what. Their voices buzzed about her ears like gnats. Danny was staring at her and his eyes were blue. Blue eyes, not green. Blue. Valerie realised that she was holding her breath. She released it and the sound seemed to echo.

"Hey, I get it if you're mad," Danny said, "but I still want to talk to you..."

His voice died away and silence reclaimed the crowd. Danny rubbed the back of his neck, Sam tugged and the student body leaned closer.

"I know," Valerie was surprised at the sound of her own voice. The words came out cool and firm. Phantom was always asking to talk to her; this was familiar territory, "I could tell, you were giving me these looks."

"Ah," Danny's eyes flitted away before looking back, "I, well, can we meet up later? If that's okay with you? Just not … in public like this. You can bring your … stuff if you want. I'm not going to ambush you or anything, promise. So … uh..."

Valerie was about to respond, with what she wasn't sure, but the bell rang, startling the student body out of their reverie. The hallway erupted into noise as students bustled about, suddenly remembering that they had a classroom to get to in T-minus two minutes. Valerie began to turn away.

"Wait!"

She looked back at Danny and saw that Sam and Tucker had left his sides.

"I... after school! At that place with the broken trees. I'll be there."

Then he turned around and practically flew down the hallway. And he would have flown, Valerie guessed, if he didn't think that it would make her uncomfortable. Valerie shook her head before heading down to Math.

Valerie had her hands shoved deep in her pockets. She walked as though marching through raging wind. Valerie knew she cut a sorry image, but she couldn't be assed to care.

Phy's Ed was nothing like it had been before. She used to breeze through everything without any effort. Valerie had been in top physical condition, but she'd slacked off lately. Without the fire and drive she had before or the demanding, sporadic workout schedule that was ghost hunting, Valerie's fitness took a drastic downhill. She's still ahead of most of her class, but runs that used to take her eight minutes now took ten. Where she could do thirty push-ups before, now she could barely make twenty-five. Her reflexes duller, steps heavier, breathing raspier. Valerie figured that if she tried ghost hunting now, she'll get herself killed. Phy's Ed had been more brutal than usual that day. Testlaff finally had enough of Valerie's slacking and when she took eleven minutes running her laps, Testlaff made her go another three rounds. Valerie was exhausted and frustration hung from her ribs.

Last week's Math quiz came back. Valerie got 48%.

English had a lecture on the symbolism in Scarlet Letter. Valerie had tuned it out until she heard Lancer say, "Oh, and class? I hope you all took notes because it'll be in the test on Thursday, so study hard!"

Valerie can't even be bothered to remember what went on in science.

Her life was in ruins and this time, she didn't have anyone to blame.

A blur whipped out and smacked Valerie square in the face. Her head snapped up, feeling a brief rise of familiar anger before it was extinguished. Valerie realised that she had somehow wandered off the sidewalk and directly into a tree branch. She stood, a red mark on her cheek like she had been slapped, and strangely, with her eyes stinging.

Valerie hadn't cried since her Mom died and now she's going to burst into tears from walking to a tree? What is wrong with her?

Something prickled in her mind.

Valerie stared at the tree. The branch was splintered from the force of her momentum. It barely hung on, dangling like a broken limb.

Tree branch. Broken tree branch.

Broken trees.

At that place with the broken trees. I'll be there.

Without another thought, Valerie turned tail and sprinted.

"Get back here, ghost, so I can waste you!"

"Not on your life, creep!"

"Look who's talking! I'm not the one who everyone runs from screaming!"

"They would if they saw your face!"

"Like you know anything about beauty standards, Mr Hazmat Suit!"

"I know well enough! Y'know I'd bet – Whoa-!"

One of Valerie's nets caught Phantom by the ankle and its momentum dragged him off balance. Not wasting the golden opportunity, Valerie shot another net right after the first. It struck right on target and trapped Phantom against a tree. Valerie flew over on her hoverboard, feeling gleeful.

"Look's like I've got you pinned, Phantom."

"Not if I…ugh-umph…rrgh…"

"Don't bother trying, that thing's phase proof. And if you struggle too hard, I might just..."

Valerie pulled out her suit's newest upgrade. Mister Masters had it sent over in gratitude for her help in stopping Pariah Dark's attack. It was a green blade, bright and glowing, that extends from the back of her wrist and curved just so, like a cat's claw. She held it against Phantom's throat and narrowed her eyes.

"...accidentally cut something off..."

Phantom's face went pale.

"Red..."

"Now, I could just destroy you, but Mister Masters told me to ask you a question and then capture you in this thermos thing."

"I-"

"Why are you trying to fool the town into thinking you're a hero?"

"Because I AM one. Why won't you see that-"

"Don't lie to me ghost! You can't fool me! I know what you're really like and you're helpless right now. Just tell me what I want to know and this will be a lot less painful for you."

"For the last time, I swear I'm not trying to trick anyone! Cujo isn't mine, I didn't mean to do anything to you and you should stop using me as a target for your stupid misplaced aggression!"

Valerie glared at him from beneath her visor. The audacity of this ghost!

"Last chance! You tell me the truth or I'm cutting something off!"

"Seriously, Valerie? Would you really go that far?"

"Don't pull that card on me, ghost! I know you don't feel pain the way humans do. If you lose a limb, it'll just weaken you. You'll grow it back in a day."

Phantom finally started to look nervous.

"I really don't think you should-"

"Save it. Now tell me the truth, why are you trying to fool the town?"

Phantom went silent for a few moments. He looked scared, but also thoughtful. He opened his mouth and for a second and Valerie thought he was actually going to comply. She had her camera prepped and ready, everything would go just as Mister Masters said and soon, the whole of Amity Park will finally see Phantom for what he was.

"Y'know? I really hoped I wouldn't have to do this."

Valerie was puzzled for a split second. Her flash of hesitation was all it took for Phantom to take a deep breath and Valerie's world to turn an acid green. An unholy, wailing assaulted her ears through her helmet and she couldn't think past the pain that drilled deep into her head and God she thinks her eardrums are bleeding.

And then it stopped. Like someone suddenly flicked off a switch and most of Valerie's suit had been blown away. She lay there, weak and vulnerable. Her ears were ringing. She can't hear a thing and Valerie prayed she hadn't gone deaf.

Valerie didn't remember falling or the impact of hitting the ground, but she must have, because the next thing she knew, Phantom was leaning over her with a cold hand on her shoulder. The ghost's lips were moving but all Valerie could hear was the infernal ringing and it's the ghost's fault. She's deaf and it's all Phantom's fault.

Valerie saw him move away and realized that Phantom had his back to her, probably thinking she's beaten. That's he'd won and she's no threat and now he's going to fly off and leave her deaf.

Determination ran through Valerie. Phantom won't walk away from this. The ghost won't go back to 'heroing' scot free, back to its witty banter. Back to pretending, back to its lies. Valerie won't allow it. Valerie refuses to allow it. In a rush of explosive adrenaline, Valerie lunged forward and swung her glowing ecto-blade, aiming to tear Phantom open.

Phantom gave a hoarse yell and green splattered Valerie's miraculously intact visor.

If I'm going down, then you're going down with me.

Having used up the last of her strength, Valerie slipped into darkness.

She woke up twice more that day. Once surrounded by paramedics and flashing lights, the next laying on a hospital bed.

Later, she had asked her Dad what happened and he told her that Danny Fenton had found her laying in the forest, unconscious and surrounded by downed trees. Apparently, he was the one who called the ambulance.

Valerie stumbled into the clearing. Hunched over her knees, panting and completely out of breath. Coat unzipped, face flushed, windblown hair.

Had she missed him? She looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse the dark head or hair or, she supposed, a telltale white glow. Nothing.

Valerie caught her breath and glanced around, giving her surroundings a proper look. She hadn't come back since the day Phantom-Danny-unleashed that strange attack. Given that she was largely unconscious for the aftermath, Valerie never took stock of the damage inflicted. She only had the impression that several trees had toppled over and that one had narrowly missed her head.

Several was right, and not small trees either. Towering oak, redwood and cedar alike lay in the violently churned earth, felled by Phantom's attack. The tops of many more trees were stripped of their foliage. For some reason, Valerie found the bare branches achingly sad. Evergreens are not supposed to lose their needles in winter...

She picked out the tree that Danny had been trapped against. Not only had it fallen over, but the tree itself, God knows how heavy it was, lay several meters from where it had been uprooted. The trunk was splintered

How long had Danny been able to do this? How much destruction would he cause if he used it against a city? How many deaths?

No, Valerie, you're not going down that path again.

"I thought you weren't coming."

Valerie did a little jump at the voice. Danny Fenton, stood across the clearing from her as though he had seamlessly formed from the shadows.

"How did you-oh. Right. Ghost."

He wore his usual shirt and an open jacket that looked deceptively thin. He probably can't even feel cold. Didn't Phantom have ice powers?

"Yeah, I uh... we need to talk. There are a lot of things I need to tell you. A lot of things you need to understand."

Valerie folded her arms, "So talk."

Danny took a deep breath and the story spilt forth. For once, Valerie listened.

He explained everything; Jack Fenton's mistake of leaving the on switch on the inside of the ghost portal that began the whole mess. ("I thought I could smell the jumpsuit burning and the only thing I thought was, 'this is it, the jumpsuit will be burned into my skin and I'll never be able to take it off. They'll have to bury me in this.' Everything was kind of numb and I get the feeling that my nerves overloaded or something and I don't hurt because I'm already dead. Sam and Tucker told me that I was screaming really loud. I honestly don't remember screaming. What I do remember was the pain that came the day after. Pain so bad that for a moment, I wished I was really dead.")

His first time fighting a humanoid ghost. The awe he had felt. ("I...I realised that I can help. That's I'm not just a freak accident. That maybe...maybe half dying wasn't all bad.")

Danny explained the loneliness that came with being one of the only three halfas in existence. ("People call me a ghost and ghosts call me a freak. I was stuck in the middle and I just want the world to see me as Danny. Is that too much to ask?")

He told her about the nights he asked himself over and over, was it worth it? And the days he'd agonise over every civilian injury. He told Valerie about the first person he failed to save and the others following. He said that he still flew over their graves every Sunday. Danny talked about his parents. His fears. His nightmares. He told her about how he saw her. ("I knew that you were the Red Huntress from the very beginning. You were fierce and really scary. I hated you a little, you know. But I also admired you a lot.")

And Valerie saw herself from his eyes. Her irrationality. Her fire. Her refusal to listen to sense. Her denial of reason. Danny explained how her dad lost his job. ("I apologised to him actually. He said he wouldn't forgive me until you did. He said that losing his job affected you worse than it affected him and that he just wanted you to be safe. Your dad loves you very much, Valerie.")

Danny explained why he revealed her to her Dad, the mayor incident, her old suit and her new one, the crime spree, Danielle, everything.

Danny explained. And the shrapnel of regret dug in deeper.

"I...wow. I had no idea."

"It's alright, you didn't know. And I did sort of... ruin your life..."

"No. No, Danny, I don't care about that anymore. I...I was rude to you earlier, I know that. I promise I'm not mad. It was only because I didn't know what to think. I felt guilty like you wouldn't believe. I-I didn't know how to say sorry. Every time I saw you in the hallway... I mean I get it. I was an idiot...I still am an idiot," Valerie let out a dispersive snort, "I actually wanted to talk to you too, but I was scared. I didn't know what to think of you anymore, what to think of myself. God. Just...I just want you to know that I don't blame you anymore, really. I haven't blamed you or Cujo for a long time."

"Wait, huh? Then why did you try to waste me?"

Danny furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head, the classic image of a clueless teenage boy. It comforted Valerie for some reason. He was always the one confusing her, heroic one moment, traitorous the next. Just when Valerie thought she had him figured out, he went and destroyed her suit, and then he'd willingly stayed and let himself be captured again just because he promised, but then he'd disappear as the Disasteroid approach and Valerie didn't even get the chance to think 'I told you so,' before he's suddenly back, ready to save the world and oh my God he's Danny Fenton. Valerie could, and had, spend hours and hours just mulling over everything she knew about him trying and failing, to piece together the puzzle that was Danny Phantom. It's nice to see that he gets confused too. That he wasn't untouchable even though he can pass through every attack. Danny's confusion struck Valerie as a very human characteristic. Valerie felt some of her turmoil drain away.

"I - this is going to sound crazy..."

"Hey, I'm dead and alive at the same time. I think I can handle crazy."

Valerie felt a chuckle rise from her gut and snorted into her palm. Danny saw and the way his lips quirked up into a small smile reminded Valerie of the days they sort-of-kind-of dated. When Danny Fenton had her so enamoured, she'd forgotten all about Danny Phantom. Valerie missed that Danny. She wondered if it was her fault that he stopped smiling at her like that.

Of course, it's your fault, you dolt. Getting your back sliced open by your almost-girlfriend is kind of a turn-off.

Valerie's smile slid off her face and just like that, the awkward atmosphere was back. Danny reached up to run a hand over his hair.

"So, uh, can you tell me why? If you don't want to I get that. I, well, I've done some stuff in my time that I wish I didn't. Seriously, you don't-"

"I thought you were a loose cannon," Valerie cut him off before she could lose her nerve.

Danny looked startled, then confused, but made a gesture for her to continue.

"I...remember how you trashed my first suit? And I didn't realise that you know I wasn't in it? I admit I've done lots of stuff to you that were really, really stupid. I had a reason, though," Danny opened his mouth, "don't interrupt, okay? Wait till I'm finished," he nodded mutely. Valerie took a breath, "try and see things from my perspective. Look I'll describe you. To me, you're this ghost that looks...really quite human. Like your average teenager in a jumpsuit with weird coloured hair and eyes and a white glow. Everyone loves you and you usually don't do anything harmful, right? In fact, you help to keep the other ghosts in check. You don't look very powerful. In fact, you look like a toothpick compared to some of the other ghosts, but that's the thing. You look weak... but you're scary powerful. I mean, look what you did to this place," Valerie gestured to the felled pines. "Sometimes I wanted to believe that you're good and genuine and, yeah, I do notice that you do good and that you've never actually given me anything more than a first-degree burn. But the thing is, I can't afford to trust you. I didn't, no one did, know a thing about you, not even your name until the Pariah Dark thing. Too many people think you're good and if you ever flip out or anything, who'll be there to stop you? Who'll be able to stop you?"

There was a moment of silence and it struck Valerie that Danny looked pained. She rushed to assure him, "Don't worry, I know that that won't happen. I know the kind of person you are. You won't hurt a fly. But-" Valerie dared a glance but Danny's face was unreadable, "but when you were just Phantom, just a scary powerful ghost with a bazillion different powers...I just thought that Amity would need a safety net. And you've explained yourself and everything, but you gotta admit, you did do some questionable stuff. Red eyes or not, you were an unknown ghost who robbed several banks. Then you kidnapped the mayor. Then you revealed my identity to my dad. Then out of the blue, you destroyed my suit. I know you're not a bad guy-ghost-whatever. I know you help and that you're not evil. You're just confusing and I don't understand you and one moment you're bantering and the next you've gone bonkers. And it's just so much easier to believe that you're a ghost and up to no good. It's so easy to justify to myself that I was the hero and that you were evil and why Danny? Why didn't you tell me?"

But Valerie knew why. He was scared she wouldn't believe him. And now that Valerie saw how misguided she's been...she can't say with complete certainty that she would have.

It hit her.

She could have killed him. Killed Danny.

If her aim had been a shade better, if he had dodged a fraction of a second slower, she could have killed Danny.

With that, Valerie's knees gave out and she collapsed in on herself. Everything had been building, for weeks, months, ever since finding out about Vlad Masters. The whispers that dog her steps. The exhaustion and sleepless nights. The shame. The guilt. The shrapnel. They burst from of her; a flood of ugly sobbing and salty tears. She wiped harshly at the snot that dribbled from her nose.

A cautious hand touched her shoulder. Valerie looked up with red-rimmed eyes to see Danny kneeling beside her. He looked sad, weary, scared, beyond awkward and so Danny.

Valerie flung her arms around his neck. His skin was cold, but his chest was warm. Valerie clenched at his shirt and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt gentle arms enclose her, shielding her from the world. A thumb rubbed circles on her back.

They stayed like that, Valerie sobbing her eyes out as Danny soothingly, tenderly, awkwardly, held her.

Valerie marvelled at how insane she must have been to ever have hated this boy.

It took a while for her tears to slow. She gave a sniff and drew back.

"Hic-s-sorry for getting your-hic-shirt all gross," Valerie said to the ground.

"Don't worry about it, I have, like, six of these," Danny leaned down, trying to catch her eye, "hey, you alright?"

"I-hic-yeah. I-I think so."

They sat in the waning light. Valerie's sniffles punctured what would otherwise be serene silence. Danny's arms slid back and folded themselves on his lap. Valerie wanted them back, but she didn't say anything.

Valerie wondered whether she ought to call her dad. Let him know a ghost didn't attack her or something.

"You know, Sam wanted to come," Danny said randomly, "I told her no. I thought you'd want this to be a one-on-one thing..."

Valerie didn't reply.

"Actually, there's something else I wanted to say."

He took a fortifying breath.

"You were right, in a way."

Huh?

"There was this one time I went into the future. In the future, the future me destroyed everything, like everything. It was so bad that the Master of Time, this ghost named Clockwork was ordered to come back in time to kill me. I had gone absolutely crazy, Valerie," Danny's eyes became far away, "I was a monster. Everything was black and grey, even the sky. And most buildings looked like they went through an earthquake. Sam and Tucker were with me. And you were there, the older you. You were the only ghost hunter left in Amity Park. In that future, my parents, Jazz, Mr Lancer, Sam and Tucker died in an explosion. The only reason they died was because I cheated on the stupid CAT. I...well, it's a long story, I kind of got my humanity ripped out and then my ghost half merged with Vlad's ghost half. But the short version is I flipped out. So...I guess you're right. Amity Park needs a safety net."

Valerie blinked at him. Then she punched him.

"Ow! Jeez, what was that for?"

"I can't believe it," Valerie grumbled, "so let me get this straight. Your best friends, Mr Lancer, and your family were blown up in front of you, right?"

Danny nodded.

"Then, somehow, all your humanity got ripped out in your vulnerable state, so you were just a ghost in a lot of pain? And then your ghost half merges with Plasmius who is an evil manipulative bastard, am I getting everything?"

Danny nodded again.

"I spend, like, a whole week coming to terms with this insane secret of yours, realising that everything I ever thought, ever believed about you was some big lie I invented to justify my actions. It took me so long to start seeing you as a person, as just Danny and not Fenton or Phantom. And then you go and tell me this...How is any of this your fault?"

"I cheated on the test. They wouldn't have been at the Nasty Burger if-"

"Are you even hearing yourself? You didn't make the building explode. You didn't ask to have your humanity ripped out, which by the way sounds totally gross-"

"But I did! I...I was in a lot of pain and I just...wanted it to go away. I couldn't handle it. Everyone was gone and Vlad was the only person who could possibly have understood. I didn't have anywhere else to go. I asked him to rip out my human half."

Valerie fell silent.

"Well then, I'll just have to be there for you, won't I?"

"What?"

"I said I'll be there for you. I understand, well now I understand. If you ever need it, you head straight over, you hear me? I'm your friend now and friends help each other."

"Friends," He rolled the word in his mouth, tasting it. His face split into a grin. Valerie was sad to realise that she couldn't remember the last time she had seen him grin. Then Danny's smile slid off and Valerie finds that she misses it already, "But...weren't you just saying that Amity Park needed to be protected from Phantom?"

"That's only because I didn't know it was you."

"But it shouldn't make any difference! If I go evil, I go evil! What if-"

"Danny, I know you. I know the kind of person you are. The fact that you're so torn up about all this is proof enough. For so long, I thought of you as a ghost ready to snap. To...to turn on Amity Park and drop the hero façade. But it's not a façade, is it? You really do want to help and you do care. You're a hero Danny. I see that now," Valerie stared him in the eyes, needing him to get the message, "the only reason the alternate future happened was because you loved your family and friends so much, it broke you when they died."

"... I... they almost did die, Val," his voice was low and solemn like what Valerie heard at her mother's funeral, "the evil me from the future, he-I-came back...to this timeline. I couldn't protect them. If it weren't for Clockwork, they'd all be dead. None of them knows this. I'm the only one who remembers...you're the first person I've told."

"...I still don't think it's your fault, Danny. What happened was a one in a million chance. I'm sure your family won't blame you."

Danny gave a watery chuckle.

"Man, I just had a talk with my Mom last night. I was bawling my eyes out, oh my god. I-" - Danny wiped his eyes -"now I'm crying again. And you were crying earlier. We're such messes."

They looked at each other for a long minute, the fiery rays of a setting sun drifting through the foliage.

Valerie giggled. She wasn't sure why, or where it came from. But by God, look at them. Two badass ghost hunters having a heart to heart and being ridiculous crybabies. It wasn't funny, not really. But Valerie was sick of crying and feeling sorry for herself and being so weak. She was sick of being tired all day and all night, sick of the stupid shrapnel in her head. Sick of being pathetic. So she laughed. Her shame, her regret, she seized them and forced them all out.

The tension trickled out of her. And she's doubled over in hysterics, laughing. Gasping for air and laughing. It felt good to laugh and not care. Danny joined her. Alto barks of mirth mixing with her squawks and snorts. She was trembling and tears are in her eyes again and she and Danny were laughing at the world and laughing at themselves under the dying sunlight.

Kind of iffy on the ending. I originally intended to end with Valerie falling asleep, like with Maddie, but when I wrote it out, it just sounded excessive. Oh man, it just occurred to me that almost all of my DP fics have someone crying at some point. Oh well...

Response to last chapter's guest review;

I suppose I had that coming, huh? I can be awfully reckless at times... The good news is, I finally learned how to pull the stunt correctly and, if you can believe it, safely. Don't worry, I'll still be writing for some time ;p

If you drop a review, I will love you forever (yes, criticism are also welcome). But of course, follows and favourites are great too ;p

Thanks for reading!

~Bird

Edited: February 23, 2017, 7:07 pm (Sorry guys, not an update)