Intro

"C'mon, Danny!" Tucker yelled, the heat of the fight wearing on the dynamic trio. "I've only got one more on my radar, then we can be done for tonight, ok?"

Danny wiped a bit of pale green 'sweat', if you could even call it that, from his forehead, eyebrows furrowing up at his best friend as he struggled to his feet. "Yeah, that's what you said an hour ago..."

"I know you're tired, we're all tir—" Sam started, her hand hovering over Danny's shoulder.

"No! You're not tired!" Danny yelled, the air around him heating up with a faint green energy. Sam immediately pulled her hand away, looking at her friend with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just mean—"

"You just mean you think you're tired. This...it's like these damn ghosts are working me to my core. I swear, if there's any more, I..." Danny yelled, only to let his shoulders drop, his knees hitting the ground once again. "I'm sorry. It's just too much..." his voice quivered against his will at the end.

"No, you're right," Sam knelt next to him, this time placing her hand tightly on his shoulder. Danny leaned into her touch, his heavy head resting on her shoulder. "Tuck, if there's anymore after this, we'll get to them tomorrow, alright? He can't help anyone if he's dead."

"But—" Tucker began, still looking down at his PDA before looking up and seeing what state Danny was in at the moment. "Yeah," he sighed, "you're right. Just this one last one, then we're done for the night. I'm sorry, buddy..."

"Yeah, whatever. Just...I..." Danny signed, removing his head from Sam's shoulder and looking at her with a pleading look.

"You need help up. It's ok, we all do sometimes," Sam smiled at Danny with kind eyes, lacing her hand under his arm and helping him to his feet.

"Thanks. Now, let's go get that last ghost and call it quits," Danny's aura flashed a brilliantly toxic green once more before he took off into the air, his friends following close behind from the ground.

The last ghost was easy enough to catch - another ectopus, the third of the night. Danny, still a little high on the win, let himself float easily to the ground, ignoring the green sweat dripping down the sides of his face.

"All I'm a night's work, my dudes," he said, smiling as Sam and Tucker both groaned at his word choice. "Now, let's get out of here before I attract another hoard or something."

Danny took about two steps forward before freezing in his place. Instantly, the rest of the world faded from around him. His eyes dilated, head going fuzzy and hearing fading in and out. He stumbled a couple of steps, trying to keep his footing before ultimately collapsing into Tucker's arms, who dropped his PDA to catch his friend.

"Woah, dude, are you ok?" Tucker asked, struggling to hold Danny somewhat upright as the half ghost sank deeper into his grip.

"I, uh..." Danny struggled to speak, the world spinning rapidly around him. "I don't, uh..."

"Tucker, look," Sam pointed down some ground cover at Danny's feet.

"Ok, Sam, I get plants are your thing or whatever, but now's really not the time," Tucker retorted, shifting Danny's dead weight in his arms uneasily.

"No, look, I think it's what's doing this to him," she knelt down to the ground, plucking the ghastly looking plant from the ground. The dark, forest green leaves wrapped almost protectively around the vibrant purple berries, which smoked the closer they were to Danny. The berries seemed to ooze a violent violet light.

"Oh man, you're right! Quick, grab my spare thermos from my duffle bag, maybe that'll, uh, wake him up I guess," Tucker motioned towards his bag, which he'd also dropped to catch Danny.

Sam grabbed the spare thermos, scooping up the rest of the berries and sealing them in. Immediately, the glow and smoke went away, and both Sam and Tucker looked at Danny expectantly, waiting for him to snap out of it. After a few moments, it was clear he wasn't going to wake up right away, as his eyes fluttered open and closed with obvious effort.

"What…are we supposed to do?" Sam asked, taking a step closer to them as Tucker knelt to the ground and laid Danny down carefully. She touched his face hesitantly, only to flinch back right away.

"What?" Tucker asked.

"He's burning up…" Sam rubbed her chipped black nail polish nervously. Usually when Danny was in his ghost form, he was ice cold.

Danny groaned, startling both Sam and Tucker. He opened his eyes, looking briefly at them as if he wanted to say something, only to let them close again. Before either of the other two teens could react, his transformation dropped, leaving Danny in his human form. Sam inched closer, grabbing his hand and looking down at him with her brows furrowed.

"What do you think is going on?" Tucker asked in a whisper, as if afraid to wake his friend.

"I don't know, but I think we should get him home before he gets any worse," Sam said, brushing some of his hair away from his face. As soon as she pulled her now sweat covered hand away from her face, her chest fell. "Oh, Danny…"

Tucker looked between Sam and Danny, his gaze catching on Sam's expression. "He'll be alright. It's Danny! He's always alright, you know?"

"Yeah," Sam sighed, "I know. Here, I'll grab his arms if you wanna get his legs, and we'll carry him to the Fentons'."

"Why do I always get the feet?" Tucker groaned, getting up and moving to his legs as Sam stood up and grabbed him under his arms.

"You know what? Just grab him," Sam teased back, though the glance she sent Tucker showed she was thankful for the attempt to lighten the mood.

Danny slowly opened his eyes before they shot open, his heart racing. He sat up, looking around him and trying to figure out where he was and what was happening. Looking around, he realized he was in his room and allowed himself to relax a bit. Before he could think to do anything else, he felt a hand grab his and squeeze lightly. He turned to his left, finding Sam next to him.

"Hey. How're you feeling?" Sam asked, her eyes intensely locked on his. He knew her well enough to know that she was really worried but trying to hide it. With a start, Danny realized it was probably for his own sake.

"I…I actually feel great," Danny smiled.

"You feel…" Sam trailed off, head cocking to the side in confusion.

"Great!" Danny said. "It's like I had the best sleep of my life, actually. What…what happened?"

"Danny," Sam started slowly, "you were unconscious. It was…we were really worried. Tucker only just went home when your fever broke, but…it was really bad. You're sure you're ok? You're not just saying you're fine?"

Danny looked down at his arms, flexing his forearms hesitantly. For the first time he could remember, he wasn't sore anywhere. His vision was clearer, and his ears weren't ringing, as they usually would whenever he woke up from a long night of ghost hunting. "No, I'm really good. Actually, better than I have been in a long time…seriously, what happened last night?"

Sam gulped, pulling her hand away from Danny's worriedly. Immediately, he missed her warmth. "What do you remember?"

"Well, we just finished up getting the last ghost of the night, and then…" Danny's brows furrowed. "And then nothing."

"Well, we think it was this plant you passed by. It was smoking, but only around you. You passed out, and you were burning up, and it was…really scary, Danny. You're positive you feel alright?" Sam asked, rubbing her nails and biting her lower lip.

"I am, I do I mean, um, I feel fine," Danny said, checking himself once more. "I feel amazing, actually. I don't know what that stuff did, but…"

"Ok, don't tell me you actually think that stuff…that thing made you feel better. You realize that's crazy, don't you?"

Danny looked at Sam, wanting to grab her hand again. That thought made him blush as he turned away, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know, I guess. I just don't get the big deal."

"The big deal?" Sam asked, her mouth hanging agape. She opened and closed it a few times before crossing her arms and huffing. "I thought…we thought…"

"Yeah?" Danny asked, looking at her expectantly.

"Ok, you know what? Never mind. Tucker's got the thermos with whatever the hell that stuff is in it. Since you're feeling so great, I'll just leave you to it, how does that sound?" she got up, walking towards his bedroom door.

"Oh, Sam, come on—" Danny got up, reaching out to grab her but failing as she turned around angrily.

"Look, we…I thought you were going to die. For good, this time. Maybe if you could get your head out of your ass long enough to see that you were really sick, you'd get that." With that, Sam left the room, slamming the door with a thud and storming down the stairs.

Danny had half a mind to follow her, but he knew better. Sam needed some time, and honestly, so did he. There was something about that plant that made him, in that moment, feel amazing. His mind began to race with the possibility of what this meant. Could Danny do better, for his home? For his family? His friends? If there was even a chance he could do better — be better — he had to risk it. Even if it meant he might die, for good this time, he had to risk it for them.

Hi all! This is just the introduction - the chapters are going to be quite a bit longer. I've already got the next on typed out, but I'm gonna wait until I have chapter 2 written to post it, just so I can stay somewhat consistent on uploads. It won't take longer than a week, though I feel like it'll only be a few days or so, so keep your eye out for an update!

Anyways, what do you think? It's an idea I've been toying with for a while now, and I really like the direction I'm taking it in now.

Please leave a review to let me know! I read ever one and they all mean the world to me :)

Thanks, and I'll see you all next upload!

~Ash