A/N: Well, it's time to tie up those loose ends—and, man, I didn't realize until now just how many loose ends there were! I'm not gonna do THAT again! LOL! Even so, I guess I really must have had an evil desire to keep the story going. But, alas, all stories must end sometime; and y'all know that I always finish my stories. And so, alas, this is the end. *Sniff.* BUT, I hafta warn y'all. It's a CRAZY loose-ending! I didn't see any other way to do it, and, this chapter was just as demanding to be written as some of the others, so, there ya go! Besides, I just had to get some humor in this otherwise dramatic piece. But, remember: I warned y'all! This chappie is ALL OVER THE PLACE! And don't forget the IDNOAC thing. I hoped you've enjoyed the story and I still crave to hear your e-thoughts! And so, without further ado, here is the Epilogue—the longest, to be sure! Enjoy!

TrueHeart—Epilogue

Thankfully, Danny and his three friends made it home without any other incidents; and everything was said and done by the time Friday came. After checking in with all of their families, and though it was now very late, Danny's three friends got permission to stay at Danny's—for a little while, anyway.

They all waited in Danny's room while Danny went to get Jazz. Immensely relieved that her brother was okay, she had given him a tremendous hug that had lasted longer than they had ever had before. Neither of them really minded; but both of them were anxious to find out what had happened in all the time they were apart and soon returned to the group waiting for them.

Now that the quintet had gathered, they talked non-stop, excited to begin to tell their own tales of all the events that had happened in the past few weeks. But, they all had wanted to start on the subject most dear to their hearts: the fate of Derek and Sarah. And that's where their conversation began. All were especially moved by the ghost couple's bittersweet tale as it unfolded. However, all of the teens agreed that in the end, Derek and Sarah's saga was beautiful; and though they grieved for them in some ways, they were all happy and at peace about the young ghost couple's fate.

However, the ghost couple's story had taken them longer to tell—and it was more affecting-than any of the teens had thought. They all found themselves in a hush after relating what each of them knew about Derek and Sarah. And then, even though each of them still had so much more to talk about, each of them quietly knew that all of them were both physically and mentally exhausted. And they realized that they had to stop at that point and go home. But none of them really wanted that, either.

Finally, Jazz braved the suggestion for them to retire for the night; and even though Sam, Tucker and Valerie replied with their objections, they were obviously weak ones. So, promising each other that they would meet up as soon as possible tomorrow to continue in their discussion, Danny escorted Sam home, and Valerie took Tucker home on her hover-board. After their respective good-night kisses, the four teens retired to their homes…

And then, Saturday crept in and Danny was up much earlier than he thought his body would have ever allowed after all that happened. Yet, he couldn't go back to sleep. He had had a restless night, still having some mixed emotions about everything. He just felt that he really needed to meet back up with everyone.

He slowly went downstairs and was a little surprised to see that the light in the kitchen was on. Was Jazz up this early? He knew she was an early-riser, but she had gone to bed as late as he. But was it his parents? He wasn't sure, but had to ready, just in case.

He quickly became Phantom. Then just as quickly, he became invisible and intangible just before poking his head right through the kitchen door. Though relieved by what he saw, he was still a little surprised to see that his sister was up after all. In fact, she was obviously so very much awake, she was busy cooking herself some scrambled eggs.

Then a wicked little thought crept into his mind. This had to be the most perfect opportunity for him to scare her. He phased through all the way and quietly floated as close as he could towards her.

But just as he was about to say the infamous "Boo!", the mixing bowl she was using to pour the eggs into the ready frying pan unexpectedly slipped out her hand and went crashing to the floor.

The noise it made was enough to startle Danny and he unconsciously rematerialized.

But by the time he did, Jazz had already turned to look at the damage to the mixing bowl just when she caught sight of her brother. And since her other hand was still on the frying pan, she reflexively threw up her hands and screamed when that startled her and the frying pan flew out of her hand and hit her brother right on the head!

"OUCH!" Danny yelled just as the frying pan continued to fall to the floor. But then, it made contact with his foot. "OWWW!" he yelled again in pain, immediately hopping on his uninjured foot.

Jazz looked helplessly on, still stunned by what had happened. But then she said, "I'm sorry! I didn't see you, Danny. Uh, literally!" Then she thought about it and smirked, "Oh, I see now! You meant that! Then it serves you right, little brother, for scaring me this early in the morning! I thought that your 'on-watch duty' didn't begin until two o'clock in the afternoon on weekends!"

"Very funny," Danny growled, still rubbing his sore head. "Okay, so I give. And I guess I did kinda deserve it—only because I got caught! At least I got to scare you part-way, even if it didn't go as planned."

Jazz smirked and then pointing to the broken bowl full of broken eggs, said, "Can I fix you some eggs?"

"Ha-ha," he replied before he reached down to retrieve the frying pan. Then he zapped the mess on the floor, completely evaporating it all. The floor was now totally clean. He then looked up at his sister, who had her mouth open from what he just did. He smirked, "What? It's the least I could do!"

She smirked back and said, "Yeah, you're right. But seriously, I would have been surprised to see you up this early either way. Are you okay?"

Turning back into his human form, Danny replied, "Well, I am still kinda tired, but I'm also still so excited about what happened that I really couldn't sleep. Besides, you and Mom and Dad still haven't heard about everything yet."

"Well, that's okay. You can wait for Mom and Dad. They're still not back from their adventure, yet."

"Not back?" Danny suddenly gasped, reflexively putting down the oatmeal package he had just retrieved from the cupboard. They had told them they were going to be gone for a little while, but he didn't think that they would have taken this long. He then frowned when he finally saw that his sister wasn't at all concerned, and added, "You're not worried?"

"No! They did call about a couple of dozen or more times last night and this morning. I tried to contact them before, but they were out of range. But obviously they must be close enough now. And I just got off the phone with them shortly before you came out of your 'coma' routine. They said that they had a lot of success in their experiment and they have a surprise for us when they get home, which should be some time this afternoon."

Danny started to prepare his hot cereal and chuckled, "Well, that could be good or bad news! Still, I hope they had a good time."

"Oh, they did. They really had no idea how large and complicated the Ghost World is, or how much time it would take to get back."

"Zone. It's Ghost Zone," Danny reflexively corrected her, placing his oatmeal in the microwave oven.

Breathing outward in slight exasperation, Jazz said, "I knew that! Anyhow, speaking of time, when are you going to get back with everybody so we can find out all about everything? You did all promise last night to do that right away. But I am curious and wouldn't mind if you told me some of it a little ahead of schedule."

Danny pulled out his bowl of oatmeal out of the microwave oven and as he walked over to the table, replied, "Yeah, I know I promised; and I won't mind telling you some stuff now, if you don't mind listening to it all over again once the rest of the gang gets here."

"You know me, little brother," she said with a smirk, "I already listen to what happens twice—once when I'm snooping and then when you finally tell me!"

"Hey!" he objected after swallowing his first bite.

"I'm just kidding, Danny. I don't snoop all the time!"

They both chuckled and Danny began to tell her what had happened between eating bites of his breakfast. He hadn't finished telling Jazz everything, but had just finished cleaning up after breakfast, when his cell phone rang.

"Hey, Tuck!...You couldn't sleep either?...What's that?..."

Tucker yawned and replied, "I said, I forgot to give you back your pheromones! Valerie and I got a bunch of vials full of them from Bertrand's lair. I think you better come over here soon and get them. It kinda creeps me out. It's like I have some of your blood staring at me here or something!"

"Okay, dude, I'll come by right now if you want," Danny said with a slight laugh.

"Great!" Tucker said with some relief. "See ya!" he added, just before hanging up…

Danny was there in no time and Tucker answered the door. They went up to Tucker's room and the bespectacled boy showed his friend the pouch full of the glowing pheromones.

"What are you gonna to do with them?" Tucker finally asked his friend, gingerly—yet readily—giving the pouch to his friend.

Lifting one of the vials out of the pouch and admiring it, Danny answered, "I really don't know. But it's kinda of a shame to use them up, isn't it? I think they look really neat."

"What? Are you kidding?" Tucker objected, cringing a bit. "We all know that getting them out of you almost took you completely out, dude. I think you should just reabsorb them all in at once or something, so that they don't get lost or the vials don't get broken…or something."

"I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to do that, Tuck. But I can worry about that later. I feel just fine now," Danny replied, replacing the vial he had taken out back into the pouch.

Tucker pointed to the glowing pouch and insisted, "Yeah, sure. You may feel fine now. But who knows if, underneath, your ghostly cells aren't collapsing just like tipped dominoes do, all because you're missing a lot of your ghostly pheromones?"

Danny blinked in disbelief before saying, "I think…you need more sleep, dude!"

Tucker didn't smile back. He was somewhat serious about what he had just said. "C'mon, Danny!"

Danny frowned in slight irritation, and then pulled out one of the vials…

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A few hours later, Tucker's cell phone rang. Danny had long since left Tucker's house.

"Hi, Sam! Glad to hear you're up. I was just about to call you and Valerie to see if you were ready to meet up again at Danny's house." The boy then briefly frowned at the thought of his friend again.

She then told him, "Well, I've been up for about an hour, right after Danny called. But all I got from what he was saying was that he had gone to your house earlier to get something. But that was all. He was just talking so fast. And then, he kept…well, giggling! But then, I thought maybe he wanted me to come over and when I checked at his house, he wasn't home…And obviously he's not with you. I've already tried calling him again, but I just keep getting his voice mail. So, where is he?"

"I don't know, Sam," he began, but then bit his lip at his next silent thought. "Last time I saw him was a few hours ago when he came over to… Wait. Oh…that would, uhm, kinda explain everything…" He then gingerly said to his female friend, "Uhm, I kinda have an idea why he might not be home…"

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But Danny's two best friends hadn't known what had happened right after Danny had left Tucker's. He had gone home. And when he got there, his parents were just arriving from the Ghost Zone, earlier than they had expected.

Danny and Jazz were happy to see them, of course, but Danny seemed to be kinda jumpy.

He couldn't stand still; and when he tried to sit down to listen, he couldn't do that, either…In fact, he kept changing his position every few seconds—and then giggling at the oddest times—as he listened to their story…

Finally, at the end of their account, Maddie said, "And the Boo-merang worked great! In fact, it homed in perfectly to the ghost's signature we keyed in. And we caught him!" She said with glee. But then she cringed and looked right to Danny just as he shifted positions again, "Not that we're going to hurt him, Danny. We just wanted to interview him so that we can start a list of biographies, a sorta log on all the ghosts. It helps to know which ghosts are good and which are bad, so we know what we're up against, you know!"

Danny just nodded before grinning way bigger than he should have in reaction to what his mom had just said. Immediately after that, he sprung up out of his seat again, chuckling when he lost his balance. But just as weirdly, he instantly regained his balance and shot back up straight.

His mother cringed at how odd her son was now acting, and Jazz, too, noticed that her brother's behavior was getting more bizarre.

But his father didn't notice and piped right in, "You got that right, Sweetcakes! We just can't wait to show you, Danny!"

Before anyone could say anything else, Jack quickly left to retrieve the captured ghost.

Maddie finally turned to her son and eyeing him suspiciously asked, "Are you all right, honey?"

"OhsureMom," (1) he quickly said with a goofy smile. "Whywouldn'tIbe?" (2)

Maddie and Jazz looked at Danny and then at each other in bewilderment but they were afraid to say any more.

A couple of minutes later, Jack returned and as he entered the room with a glowing box, he bellowed in that very boisterous voice of his, "Yeah, we had a great adventure in the Ghost Zone. So, Danny, how's everything with you?"

"FineDad Wehadourown adventuretooand Ican'twaittotell youandMomandJazz," (3) Danny fired right back just as he rapidly approached his father and the box. "ButIfeelkinda strangesofirstIthinkIneed toburnupsomeuhmunplanned and unwantedenergy." (4)

Jack frowned this time when he didn't understand a word that his son had said. But he still opened the box and out jumped—the Box Ghost!

"Beware! I am the…." The Box Ghost began, but when he suddenly saw Danny's eyes light up, turning from blue to a very bright, glowing green, he gasped and bolted away.

Without saying another word to his family, Danny giggled and then morphed into Phantom, soaring right after the unlucky ghost immediately afterward. And they hadn't heard from the boy for several hours afterward….

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"What do you mean that he reabsorbed all of his pheromones at once?" Sam yelled into the phone after Tucker had given her a quick explanation about how he had gotten the glowing vials and what happened when he insisted that Danny reabsorb all of his remaining missing pheromones as soon as possible.

Tucker yelled back in exasperation, "I'm sorry, Sam! There were just a lot of vials of his pheromones and I just thought he would get sick or something if he didn't reabsorb them."

"That could've been dangerous, Tucker! Did it ever occur to you that he could've gotten sick on taking too much too fast?! And that may explain why he's not home. He probably can't even stop to think!" she insisted, unconsciously tightening her grip on her cell phone.

Tucker cringed when he could practically feel Sam's irritation. He hadn't, of course, realized that giving Danny all his charged-up pheromones would both, well, charge Danny up and discombobulate him at the same time. But how he reacted now to all those reabsorbed pheromones was very different when he had received them in Spectra's lair.

When Danny had received his first major reabsorption 'dosage' in Spectra's lair, his life was in danger; and so he had actually needed every waft of his ghostly pheromones to recuperate from Spectra's attacks and regain his strength. But when Tucker had insisted that Danny take a similarly potent 'dose' this time, the results had been, well, quite a bit more potent than any energy drink ever purported to be. After all, his body had long since recovered on its own and was at full strength when he had taken the pheromones…

Tucker finally—and sheepishly—replied, "I guess you might be right, Sam! He certainly began to act very strangely right after he had emptied all those vials…all jittery and even silly. And from what I could gather from what Danny had very rapidly said after that was that his pheromones are very powerful stuff! He said something about the fact that Spectra was really hard to fight after she had absorbed his pheromones."

"Duh!" Sam said, still irritated. "Did ya think that maybe those pheromones did pack a might big punch if taken all at once? But, maybe he'll be alright in a few hours. Still, that was such a lame idea, Tucker!"

"I said I was sorry, Sam!" he protested, but he wasn't angry at her. He was still exasperated with himself for making his best friend do that. "How was I supposed to know that making Danny open all those vials all at once would be considered underage pheromone reabsorption?"

That comment was met with dead silence on Sam's end. At first, Tucker thought she might explode with an angry reprimand and he cringed, readying him for her verbal assault. But instead, in the next instant, he heard his female best friend laugh—hysterically! Both relieved and surprised to hear her laugh like that—when he hadn't ever heard her laugh like that before—he braved a response, "Uh, Sam, are you alright?"

She slowed her laughter down and then managed to reply, "Yes, I'm okay, Tucker….I guess it wasn't your fault after all! Who knows? I might have made Danny do the same thing."

Tucker smiled and said, "Thanks, Sam. And I'll let you know if Danny calls so that we can all meet up. I still have lots of questions to ask everyone." Then another thought struck him. "Uh, did ya think about calling him your way?"

"No, but I don't want to use or even think about using that just because I don't know where he is. I don't want it to become something neither of us wants. In fact, I'd rather not think of using it as a first resort. And, really, he needs some time alone, too, you know, like we all do…" Then she paused at her next thought and blurted out, "Besides, for some odd reason, I just know he's not in trouble…"

Tucker didn't question her on that last statement. He had, strangely, felt it, too. But before he could tell her that, she continued.

"And I can guess that this wouldn't be the best time to try to contact him. He might not be able to live down whatever dark secrets I might find out about him in his current 'delicate state'—though it is tempting!" she said dryly.

Tucker chuckled a little, "Well, I better get going, and I'll let you know if he calls, okay?"

"Thanks, Tucker. And I'll call you if he calls me first, okay?"

"Okay!" he said just before hanging up...

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But the two friends didn't hear from or see their best friend for the rest of the day—or night—for that matter. Danny had spent part of the time chasing and doing mischievous things to the Box Ghost. The rest of the time he had flown randomly—and rapidly—throughout the Ghost Zone, burning off that unconventional 'dosage' of energy. And when the effects of all that energy finally wore off, Danny, dizzy from the incident, was barely able to get home. When he finally phased into his room, he morphed back to his human form and fell exhausted into his bed. He didn't stir at all until the next day.

Danny woke feeling refreshed and oddly giddy. But he thought nothing more of it and went downstairs for breakfast. His mother and sister were already there when he arrived in the kitchen. As soon as they saw him, they eyed him nervously, but said nothing.

But Danny's mother and sister soon found out that he was acting just like his old self and thought better of asking him what had happened yesterday at the moment. They would just put it on the back burner right now, chalking it up as another bizarre episode that happened quite a bit to the Fenton family...

Now that said bizarre episode was over, all the concerned parties, and Danny's family, were finally able to get together later that morning to finish talking about everything that had happened in the past few weeks, including, as it were, what had happened to Danny yesterday.

But only one of the four teens who had been involved in everything listened more than talked. And that was Sam. She hadn't offered any guesses on where that large purple force field protecting Danny when Valerie almost obliterated him had come from. And she didn't even mention anything about how Spectra and Bertrand had been attacked while she was still bound to the wall and Danny was unconscious in that secret underground room. And she especially didn't want to say anything when she now knew that Danny hadn't seen what she had done, either. She had her reasons and didn't want to make a big deal of it….at least not in front of everyone.

After all that was said and done, the four teens most affected by all the events continued to mull everything over. And they didn't want to leave right away when Danny's family had excused themselves once everything had been told. They sat quietly at first, still having a bazillion thoughts about all that had happened. It wouldn't have been easy not to have let it go for awhile, anyhow, since there had been such emotional turmoil that had erupted throughout their ordeals.

They had suffered a lot, true, but they all sensed that they were all for the better because of it. Both Danny and Sam couldn't agree more. They definitely had gone through a lot of pain in their relationship in the past few weeks. But, now, they also felt that they had grown from it…Had grown stronger and deeper in their understanding and trust of each other. And they knew that their love for each other had been the key.

Tucker and Valerie also felt that their relationship was now as fresh as any new bud of spring. A tremendous weight had been lifted off of both of them and they were now free to put honesty first—bound by love—in their relationship, as all relationships should.

As they continued to talk quietly among themselves in Danny's living room, Danny had a sudden thought. "Oh, no!" he blurted out, startling the others slightly since they were having a much more staid discussion before he did.

"What's wrong, Danny?" Sam asked, suddenly worried.

He smiled weakly when he saw their concerned faces and replied, "Sorry, guys, but we forgot about Armen and Al! They were practically in all this craziness as much as we were! And now they think they've been the 'bad guys' after all that happened at school and none of it has really been their fault. And, I guess, we could even overlook how spazzed Al acted in her crazed-out jealousy over Armen. At least, I can understand that! Then shouldn't we explain all of this to them?"

"We can't do that, Danny!" Sam objected.

Tucker and Valerie, though secretly agreeing with Sam, felt that they didn't have a right to say anything about that because it really was Danny's call.

"Why not, Sam? You have to admit that it wasn't their fault and they have a right to know!" But before she could answer him, Danny turned to Tucker and Valerie and asked, "What do you guys think?"

Tucker and Valerie looked at each other and then speaking for them both, Tucker said, "You're right about most of everything's not being Armen and Al's fault. And, really, dude, we don't want to lie to them. We've been experts on that subject for far too long. But I kinda agree with Sam. We can't just tell them everything! Some things have to remain secret or else…well, don't you remember all those times when everyone knew your secret?"

Valerie then looked in both surprise and confusion on what her boyfriend just said. "Huh?" she blurted out.

Tucker sheepishly smiled at her and said, "Uh, just put that on your 'List of Things Tucker Needs to Explain One Day', okay, honey?"

Not wanting to get off onto a tangent now, Valerie smiled back weakly and nodded.

Danny looked at the three teens as they sat in silence waiting for his answer. He finally said, "Okay, I agree. We won't tell them everything. I guess they wouldn't believe us if we tell them the whole truth! It's just so crazy!"

"Welcome to Amity Park," Sam said with a smirk. "They'll figure it out sooner than you think that what we tell them won't be that far-fetched. They just had a more direct introduction to ghosts, that's all!"

"Okay, then we all agree that we keep both secrets—mine and Valerie's—and tell them only about the ghosts?" Danny finally asked the three teens.

His three friends nodded and that was that. And since they had spent practically the whole friggin' day here, all of them wanted to finally get home and at least try to do some schoolwork before they would have to go back to school tomorrow.

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The next morning, the two couples met up at the usual rendezvous point that the three best friends had been using for, like, forever. As they talked on their way to school, the foursome hadn't really noticed how more at ease they were around each other. After all, in many ways, the ice had been broken among them from the recent 'Penelope Spectra' affair.

And way before this morning, Tucker and Valerie also had had the chance for an even closer heart-to-heart talk about that other secret that she had kept from him…the one about how her mother had died. And all the hurt that had come with it. She felt their bond strengthen when it was all too obvious that he had totally understood about it all in the end—as he always had with everything.

Even Sam didn't find it too difficult to get along with Valerie now, though the goth girl wasn't in a hurry to be all chummy right away with her past nemesis. Still, the conversation flowed, and before they got to school, they all agreed that they all needed to be there when Danny talked everything over with Armen and Al. They planned to do that at lunch.

All morning long, all four of the teens intermittently glanced over at either Armen or Al, anticipating the 'big meeting'. However, none of them knew how obvious they had been in doing that, since they were all nervous about getting everything over with.

But, unfortunately, Armen and Al had noticed the strange looks that the foursome had been giving them through most of the morning. And they certainly did not like having major déjà vu with receiving this unwanted attention once again—especially from those four. After all, one of the things that Armen and Al had agreed upon after coming to terms with all the weirdness that had happened to them was to avoid these four even weirder teens at all costs. They just didn't like, want or need all the attention, especially when all of that attention before had brought only a lot of trouble for the both of them. They were too freaked out by it all.

Finally, however, it was lunch. And just when it looked as if the foursome were about to corner the nervous Armen and Al—which they kind of were—Armen quickly spoke to Alice.

But he was so nervous as the other two pair of teens converged on them, he hadn't realized he was speaking to her in his native language, nor that he had let loose a barrage of questions at her. "Što žele? Mislite lid a su uzrujani?"(5)

He glanced back up at the other teens and bit his lower lip. But he didn't wait for Al to respond before quickly adding, ""Ali, oni ne izgledaju ljut. Oni izgledaju nervozan, previše! Na taj način, dozvoljava 'pričati s njima, u redu? Ne želim da se više ljut na nas, zar ne? Ja stvarno ištanje da biste dobili preko svega ovoga, tako da mislim da trebamo razgovarati s njima, čak i ako mislite da smo ludi! U redu?"(6)

Even though Armen had still been trying to teach Al Croatian—and Al was trying to teach him English—he was speaking so quickly that she didn't understand most of what he said, except for the "u redu" part. That was one term that had become well-used between the two of them lately—which was essentially translated as 'okay'.

Still, she frowned at him. She wasn't sure if he was stating or asking her if everything was okay. So, she asked, "U redu?"

But since he was still on edge, Armen misunderstood this as her agreeing with him to approach the four other teens. He quickly grabbed Al's hand and led her over to them.

Al's first impulse was to object, but she, too, really wanted to clear the air with the foursome.

Once they got to the four other teens, Armen immediately blurted out to them—still not realizing that he was not speaking English, "Ja, uhm, mi je žao za sve što smo učinili za vas! Molimo Vas da nam se oprosti, ne znam - i ne mogu objasniti - što se dogodilo." (7)

When no one responded to his apology, Armen began to panic. Was he going crazy again? It had taken Alice at least a day to calm him after all that strange stuff had happened the very last time he had had any contact with at least Sam, and he was beginning to think it was all happening again! He turned to Al, his eyes widen in panic, searching for her help.

And it was a good thing he did turn to her, because she then got the chance to say something. With a reassuring smile, she softly said, "It's u redu, Armen! Just calm down, u redu? You didn't know you were speaking in Croatian for the last couple of minutes! I think I know what you mean, so would you please let me tell them?"

He sighed in relief, kind of sure he had understood her. He nodded weakly.

Al immediately turned to the two other couples and sheepishly said, "Armen and I have been talking a lot lately about a lot of stuff—especially all that spazzed-out stuff that we did to you all….We can't really explain it, but we're sorry for…."

But Danny interrupted her, "It's okay, Al and Armen. Really. We all now understand that it wasn't you're fault! We kinda have to explain everything to you."

Sam, Tucker, and Valerie tensed a little when he said that. Had he changed his mind?

But they immediately inwardly sighed in relief—and slightly cringed—after hearing Danny say, "We know you both are new here and you really don't know anything about our town. It's just too bad you learned it way earlier than most people. It's really, heh-heh, a crazy little town! And, uhm, this may sound crazy—and I guess it really is—but there's a very crazy reason for that!"

He paused and silently cringed. Somehow, he had pictured this explanation going very differently. Now growing more nervous, he still pressed on, "And as crazy as it seems, and as crazy as it sounds, the reason it's a crazy little town is because it has more than its fair share of crazy, uhm, ghosts! It's the most haunted place on Earth! And people sometimes—well, uhm, lots of time—get accidentally mixed up with those crazy ghosts. And ghosts have the craziest—and very mysterious—reasons for messing around with humans. And that means very crazy things happen when they do."

The young hybrid paused again and glanced at his friends before continuing, "So, all of us talked it over and agree that this was just one of those crazy, mysterious things. You both just must have been somehow controlled by those ghosts. But the good news is that they usually don't bother you much once they've messed with you…" He then added to himself, "I hope!"

He paused when he saw that Al was looking at him as if he just landed from another planet. And since he didn't understand anything, Armen looked as if he were like a deer caught in headlights. He just thought everything was just as crazy as he felt.

Danny then chuckled nervously and continued, "So, think of this as your introduction into a very unique and crazy club!"

"Yeah, you can think of it as the crazy ride you needed to take to be accepted here," Tucker jumped in, trying to help. "You know, like all those crazy induction ceremonies those sororities and fraternities in college do…only that we're in this crazy high school!" Tucker blurted out, and then cringed at how stupid that must have sounded. He quickly changed his frown to a sheepish smile after that.

Sam and Valerie kept their cheesy fake smiles on the entire time and said nothing. They couldn't help but notice that Al was looking at them as if they were crazy. Still, any hole that the boys had already dug was deep enough. But there seemed to be no other way around it, and they thought the boys didn't do that badly. After all, it could've been worse. Finally, they nodded when the boys seemed to be done. They wanted Armen and Al to know that they were in agreement with the boys—which, really, they sort of were.

Alice blinked in disbelief during Danny and Tucker's entire explanation and then was silent at first when they finished. She looked at each of the four other teens again. Were they for real? She was a little creeped out about it, but was so relieved that they were no longer angry with her or Armen—and because, really, no other explanation would've have made any better sense— she decided to keep the peace and roll with it. She then turned and looked at Armen. How was she going to explain that to him? She would have to worry about that later. Instead, she stammered, "W-Well, uhm, that would explain…everything. So, you're not mad at us?"

All four of the teen smiled in relief and shook their heads.

"And you're not mad at us, are you?" Tucker piped in.

"Just a sec, okay?" she said and the others nodded nervously. "Armen?"

He looked at her in earnest. "Yeez?"

She continued with a nervous, but encouraged smile, "Sve ... dobro. Oni, uh, ne ljut. U redu? Sve u redu! U redu?" (8) The blond-hair girl then ended her attempt at speaking Croatian with an even bigger, relieved smile.

When the Croatian boy saw that all seemed to be well, he put on an even bigger and more relieved smile and blurted out, "Hvala! Puno ti hvala! Ja sam tako sretna sada!" (9)

This time, however, he realized that he had just accidentally spoken Croatian again; and he immediately added, "Sorry! Tank me! I mean, thank you veery much! You, I mean, I am so happee! Thank you!"

Before the four teens could do anything else, the foreign boy rushed over to them and shook each of their hands excitedly and then followed that up with a huge group hug. He pulled rapidly away and started to enthusiastically shake their hands—again—when he felt someone gently pull on his arm.

He turned and saw Al smiling weakly at him and silently egging him away from the group. He smiled sheepishly back; and before leaving with her, nodded back in appreciation at the slightly stunned foursome.

"That…went…well," Sam slowly and dryly uttered, still staring back at the exiting couple.

"Yeah, then, let's make sure we steer clear from them from now on. Such a weird, crazy couple!" Valerie quipped back.

All four teens laughed. They knew, really, that they must have sounded just as weird—and crazy—to them. But at least now they also felt that they could start being friends with Armen and Al. Satisfied and relieved that all had really gone well, they finally went to the cafeteria to eat their lunch in peace.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx

With all the loose ends finally tied, well, except for now being behind in school work—no surprise there!—Danny and Sam and Tucker and Valerie met up for their very first—and shortest—double date. They really had no time to go to the movies; since all of their parents had firmly insisted that they get onto that 'catching up' thing when it came to school, and they would not be able to stay out that late at all. And since Danny insisted that this—like many crisp, clear winter nights—was a great night to star gaze, they all decided to go the park and do just that.

After each couple had placed the heavy blankets they had brought with them on the snowy-covered hill, they lay down on their backs, covered themselves with the other blankets they had brought, and began to look at the stars in silence.

Everything about what had happened to them in the past few weeks suddenly began to whirl again in each of their minds just as crisply as the cold winter breeze that now was beginning to envelop them. Each couple unconsciously huddled a little closer and pulled the extra blanket around them as they did. And still on their backs and glancing upward at the stars, they found themselves whispering between themselves. Each of the pair was so into their personal and quiet conversations, they didn't hear the other couple as they whispered their own...

"So, Tucker, since we've decided to be honest with each other, I've been thinking," Valerie began.

"Yes, honey?" he replied, glancing briefly at her before looking up at the night sky again.

"I just thought you should be the first to know; that now, after everything has happened, I really don't think I can ghost-hunt anymore."

"What?" he said a little too loudly and Danny and Sam looked over at them. Tucker smiled at them and waving sheepishly at them, said, "It's okay, guys!"

Danny and Sam shrugged and went back to their own conversation.

"What do you mean, Valerie?" Tucker then asked his girl, looking right at her.

She then frowned in worry. "Uh, but there's more to it than that. I don't know if I should quit, either. I've, uh, been kinda working for Vlad Masters for a while…But…"

She stopped when she saw Tucker's eyes widen in both surprise and dread at what she had just said. He didn't know!

She threw up her hands in surrender and insisted, "But I swear I didn't know he was evil until the 'Danielle' thing! But ever since then, I've been keeping tabs on him."

Tucker sighed a little in relief. But before he could comment, Valerie continued.

"Besides, now, because of everything else, it's just not the same. I don't feel any…hatred toward any ghost anymore. Not that that was a good thing to begin with, you know. It's just that…I guess that all that hating stuff did give me the drive to go after ghosts, uhm, especially Danny. But now, that's all different. Knowing that Danny Phantom is really terrific, and becoming friends with….and caring…for Sarah and Derek, I really don't think I could do it. Besides, there's you now, and, uhm, I want to concentrate on our relationship…"

Tucker was silent for a moment, taking it all in. But then, he said, "I understand, Valerie. And if that's what you want, then I can roll with it. But,…." He paused. He didn't want to pressure her with what he kinda wanted, yet he wanted to please her.

"But what?" she prodded before frowning a little. "You said we'd be honest with each other from now on, Tucker."

"Yeah, I know, baby…..," he began. And then, he drew in his lower lip in determination to say what was on his mind. "Okay, I'll tell you what I think. I think you should….maybe….think about keeping the Red Huntress in the 'ready' mode, uhm, just in case. You're great at fighting ghosts, and, maybe it would be a good thing to have you as a mole when it comes to Vlad. And, uh, besides, I already talked to Danny, Sam and Jazz about it."

"Huh? And Jazz?" she inadvertently interrupted him, wondering what he was talking about and what Danny's sister had to do with this.

"Yeah, Jazz is in on it, too. Uhm, our team, that is. And we call it Team Phantom. And Team Phantom could use someone like you as an ally. After all, you never know…." he replied with a weak smile.

"I don't know, Tucker," she slowly and quietly objected. "I really want to get back to some kind of normal life."

He chuckled a little and she frowned in confusion.

He then explained, "Since when has life in Amity Park been normal? Besides, we both kinda have a…responsibility….to help Danny—and Sam—as much as we can whenever there is a putrid ghost involved. It's the right thing to do. Besides,…."

But she interrupted him once more, "But what about us? We won't have any extra time to spend with each other if I agree."

He grew more serious and looking straight into her eyes, he firmly said, "Okay, like you said, we need to be more honest. And I have to tell you that I will have to be away from you a lot if it means helping Danny. Not that you're not important to me, because I love you, but I know that I also have something very important to do. And sometimes, that may mean we'll need to be apart…and we have to love and trust each other when that happens…and just bite our lips and bear it."

She stopped, stunned by his words. And she suddenly knew he was right. And she melted at his next words.

"But I don't want you to think about it like that. Just know that I now think our love can be above all that. And just remember that every minute with you is as if time has stopped for me, so I will never waste a second of it whenever we can be together."

"Oh, Tucker," she sighed as she reached for him.

He smiled as he felt her warm hug and then his smile melded into a smirk as he added, "Besides, you still look very hot in that Red Huntress' outfit!"

Meanwhile, Danny and Sam had continued to quietly discuss things right after Tucker's interruption...

"Hey, Sam, I just wanted you to know that I noticed something about you when all of us were talking everything over yesterday."

She had been hoping to avoid the subject, and kept looking up at the star-lit sky. But she failed with her weak objection, "What are you talking about, Danny?"

"Sam!" he gently chided her. "Since when have you not expressed your opinion about important things like this whole thing with Spectra and Sarah and Derek?"

She blushed but then she turned and looked into his eyes. She finally admitted to him in a low voice, "Okay, so you noticed. Big deal! I just…I just…."

But he frowned at her with a 'come clean' look.

When she saw that look, she suddenly remembered what she had promised him in his empty room when she had been desperately looking for him.

"Okay, Danny, you're right. I, uh, kinda made a promise to you when you weren't there, so I'll come clean. I didn't say anything because I didn't want anyone to think I was crazy. In fact, I'm not sure if I don't think I am crazy about it all, either!"

She paused a moment.

He looked at her in confusion, not catching her drift.

But she didn't need any longer than that moment to think about it. In her heart, she really did trust him beyond her fears and she just knew he would understand—and wouldn't think she was crazy. She continued, "I-I think that my...uhm, encounter…with Jiva had some major complications…"

"Yeah, I know that!" he interrupted, misunderstanding her. He thought she was talking, of course, about her telepathic powers. Then why would she be telling him what he already knew?

But then she said, "No, it's not about my, uhm, our telepathic powers. I think,…Danny, I think I was the one who protected you when Valerie tried to waste you in that crater before Spectra captured us. I didn't faint because of the horrible stuff that was happening to you like Tucker thought. I fainted because of all the effort it took for me to, uhm, kinda make that force field, and..."

"What?!" Danny exclaimed; and this time, Tucker and Valerie looked over at them at his sudden outburst. Danny smiled at them in embarrassment and said, "It's okay, guys!"

Tucker and Valerie smiled back and then went back to their hug.

But Sam didn't let him say anything else at the moment. She hurriedly told him about how she had helped him regain consciousness….and then attack Spectra and Bertrand in the little hidden room…and then, destroy the machine….

She was finally at the hurried end of what she wanted to say. And as she continued, she hadn't noticed that she had scooped both of his hands into hers and was squeezing them with all the intense emotions she was suddenly feeling. "And, I'm sorry, honey, but it all just…happened, and I couldn't help it! But I'm kinda really glad I could help it, because….because I love you with all my heart and I couldn't live anymore if something bad was to happen to you, and I had to watch in horror, not being able to at least try to prevent it! Not that I really wanted this…complication. But, because, you see, you mean everything to me, darling. You always have been, since the first time I saw you, I think. And then…and then, you meant even more than that as time went on. I fell in love with you. I didn't think I could feel this strongly about love, but I do. I thought love was just a fluffy, silly waste of time. But that's because I was afraid…afraid to admit—and share—my feelings with anyone. I didn't think I could ever find someone that special. But I think I always secretly did want someone that special…So…So, I don't think love is that silly, anymore. It's joyful and exciting; painful yet comforting; fearful but, still, hopeful when you trust the one you love. It…gives you, uhm, has given me, strength. And I always wanted all that and I want all that with you, darling, because….because, you're that special someone to me...I, uh,…I just…kinda wanted to let you know, you know!"

She stopped, suddenly aware of how hot her face felt against the cold wind and how rapidly she was breathing.

Danny blinked at her, stunned. They had had many serious conversations, true. But this one was far different than the others. She had never talked like this, and never talked this much on something so dear to her heart before. But he was glad that she did. If this was how it might be now, he liked this 'new' Sam.

He gently took her into his arms and whispered, "I feel the same way, too, you know!"

She smiled in relief and pulled him closer and they kissed.

When they parted, she hesitantly asked, "So, you're not upset that I have sorta have these…uh, powers now? Not that they may stay or that I can do all that stuff ever again… So, you're okay with me not being just 'plain ol' me any more?" She suddenly cringed in embarrassment.

"Since when have you been 'plain ol' Sam'?" he softly replied. "I've always thought you were the coolest girl on the planet. And I love you for the 'Sam' you were, the 'Sam' you are, and whatever 'Sam' you'll be in the future. If having these powers is who you are now, then that's totally okay by me! Besides, what I really was gonna say before you said all those great things, is that I think you having some kind of 'superpower' is mega-cool!"

She smiled in relief again and gave him a quick peck.

He then smiled mischievously and added, "Besides, it'll be fun to see someone else going through all those embarrassing moments when I was trying to control my powers!"

"Fun-ny," she deadpanned while shoving him teasingly. But then she softly smiled and added with a sincere hush, "Seriously, thank you, honey. That means everything to me."

Once again, her response surprised him, but he didn't mind. He drew her closer again and they gently kissed.

When they parted once more, he smirked at his girl and said, "By the way, I think I like this other 'new' thing about you."

"What 'other new' thing?"

"You know, the 'darlings' and 'honeys' stuff. I really like it! But, even so, I want you to know that if you still feel uncomfortable with it, or if sometimes you still are dealing with all those insecurities that all of us teenagers are supposed to have, it'll be all right with me if you don't make yourself say something that you don't feel like saying. I love you just the way you are: the 'old' Sam, the 'new' one, or someone in between. I think I, too, always have!"

She smirked and dryly replied, "Well….glad you gave me an out. I'm still working on it, you know. But I can get used to it… And, by the way, I noticed the same thing about you, and I can get used to that as well…But you better not call me 'sugardoodle' or 'sweetcakes'. I think I might lose it if you do."

Danny rolled his eyes and teased back, "No, of course I won't. I much rather call you 'sugar-dweeb'! Seems more up our alley!"

She lightly smacked him on his shoulder with her faked objection; but she immediately softly smiled after that.

Then, another thought hit Danny. He slowly began, "And, by the way, after all that has happened, I never apologized to you like I should've."

"Apologize? I was the one who had to apologize!" Sam gently interrupted him. "And, now that I'm sorta on a roll with all of this stuff, I'm sorry I didn't trust you enough to tell you all about…things. I, uh, was worried that you might get bored with me since we have our telepathic powers. You know, knowing a lot of stuff about the other might make us more likely to burn out with the other. And there's other stuff I should have trusted you with. Well, it's really too complicated to go into it now."

Danny actually knew what she meant. But he quietly said, "It's okay. Believe it or not, I think I know what you mean! But, really, about our telepathic powers. Isn't that kinda cool, and in a way, comforting to know you have someone who can really connect with you and can understand you? I think that's a real confidence booster. But, really, can we ever totally know each other? Thank goodness we aren't clones of each other! I couldn't handle that! Still, doesn't that kinda make this whole thing exciting?"

She smiled weakly, feeling that he was right.

But then he smiled mischievously and remarked, "Besides, we know we can always turn that thing off or not use it at all, especially when I don't want you to know about anything about my next evil plan to scare you."

"You wish!" she said with her own mischievous smile.

They paused a moment.

But then Danny said, "And, anyways, seriously, I still have to apologize to you! Even before our telepathic powers, we were best friends. And I know you, Sam, and I know that you had told me everything when all that crazy stuff was happening to all of us. I didn't trust you like I should have. Instead of believing your word, believing you, I trusted my ghost sense—which we both know had been fooled—and that got us into a lot of trouble."

Sam was silent at first. She was kinda glad for all that trouble. But that didn't mean that he had to ignore his ghost sense—or lack of its being activated in the future. After all, it would have worked if it weren't for that ghost-masking potion.

"But, really, you can do both from now on!" she insisted.

"Thanks for the 'out', too, Sam, but I just want you to know that from now on, I'm going to depend on us—our trust and our love, that is—before I trust anything like my ghost sense."

Sam smiled and gave him a quick peck. "Same here," she quietly whispered, then chuckled in embarrassment, "Uh, I mean the 'trust and love' thing."

They both smiled at the understanding. And they wasted no more time talking. They drew each other closer, just as Tucker and Valerie also held each other tightly.

And each of them forgot the cold, and blended into the stars in the night, as each of them kissed their trueheart.

THE END

A/N: Well, sniff, that's it, ya'll. I sure hope you had as much fun reading this story as I did writing it! I have to say that I didn't mind how it turned out after all. I was all nervous about writing romance all along, but y'all helped boost my confidence with it and I truly thank y'all from the bottom of my heart, too. It took a lot out of me and not sure I could do a romance again…but you never know….And I especially would like to thank pearl84 and Aaron12 again for their priceless betaing help, especially with all the 'lovey-dovey' parts. They are masters at it and I didn't mind being their apprentice. And MOST of all, I would like to thank all you wonderful readers out there for, of course, your wonderful reviews: namely, Nicktendo Squad, crazyvi, DPcrazy, Angelus-alvus, DandNsgirl, Thoughts-of-Nothingness, Smiley-Nami, readerjunkie, and pearl84. Your e-thoughts are like ambrosia to me! Y'all ROCK! And, a quick PM: I hoped you liked this b'day present in the end, NS?

And I also thank all you nameless readers and all those who pegged this story as one of your favs, too. I would have loved to e-hear your thoughts, too, but maybe next time.

Sorry, feeling a little giddy myself. Must have had some spillover pheromones from Danny…Ahem, but just in case anyone needs a 'translation' on what Danny said up above, here's the rundown:

1. "Oh, sure Mom."

2. "Why wouldn't I be?"

3. "Fine, Dad. We had our own adventure, too, and I can't wait to tell you and Mom and Jazz."

4. "But I feel kinda strange, so first, I think, I need to burn up some, uhm, unplanned –and unwanted—energy."

And in case anyone needs a translation on what Armen and Al said—which by the way is real Croatian—here's that rundown! (And, BTW, I still looked it all up—I still don't know any Croatian!)

5. "What do they want? Do you think they're upset?"

6. "But, they don't look mad. They look nervous, too! So, let's talk to them, okay? I don't want them to be angry at us anymore, do you? I really want to get over all of this, so I think we need to talk to them, even if they think we're crazy! Okay?"

7. "I, uhm, we are very sorry for everything that we did to you! Please forgive us, we don't know—and can't explain—what happened. "

8. "Everything... good. They are not angry. Okay? Everything Okay. Okay?"

9. "Thank you! Thank you very much! I'm so happy now!"

Well, I think the loose ends are neatly tied up! And I case you are still uncertain who the 'true heart' was in this story, it was each of these characters: Danny, Sam, Tucker, Valerie, Sarah, and Derek. Each of them in his or her own way strived to be true to those dear to his or her heart. And with that came growth, of course.

I hope you'll join me in my next venture—which is a story co-written by yours truly and my good friend and AWESOME writer, pearl84. It does transgress a little from my 'continuals' because pearl84 and I are, of course, on parallel tracks in the DP world, and had to intersect at some point in order to collaborate on our little adventure. But I hope you'll be pleased with our attempt and join us for "Seeing is disBelieving", which we'll begin posting hopefully soon! And, for your information and with my chagrin, we will be posting under her name only. FF does not allow us to post the same story under two different author's names, even if we're co-authors. Stinks, I know, but I do try to follow the rules. So, look for the story's name by pearl84 and know that I have my evil little fingerprints all over the course of the story!

And in the meantime, should we be delayed in posting "Seeing is disBelieving"—after all, pearl84 is a LOT busier than I am—I'll be posting a continuation of a cleverly cute idea began by Nicktendo Squad. She gave me permission to continue with her "DP Bloopers". I simply couldn't help myself! After all this intense and romantic stuff, I need some light-hearted stuff again—even if for a little while. I hope you join me with that adventure as well!

Thanks again, and may you one day find—and most importantly, keep—your own special TrueHeart. truephan