AN: Last chapter! Enjoy the fluff with a pinch of angst thrown in for fun.

WARNING! THIS CHAPTER IS RATED H FOR HUGS!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom

As he slowly gains awareness, Danny can't quite remember what happened before he fell asleep, but he has a feeling that it was something big. He tries to gather the tangled mess that is his thoughts. The first thing he remembers is the emotions he felt before passing out. Anger. Sadness. Fear? There was a lot of that last one, but why?... Oh, that's right. Danny finally remembers. He was dying. Now that he remembered that one very important detail, the rest of his memory comes flooding back to him. He had been poisoned with Blood Blossoms by his parents... It had hurt a lot, but now the painful feeling seems to have subsided. Why though? Is he dead? Is this what death is like?

More in control of his thoughts, the boy wonders if he can move when he realizes someone's holding his hand... if he's dead, why can he feel it? Is he dead? Danny attempts to move his hand and is able to close it around the other person's. He can't hear any voices, but even with his eyes closed, he can tell that there are more people in the room.

Danny clenches his eyes shut before cracking them open. He blinks a few times to clear his vision and looks around. Around his makeshift bed are his parents, friends and sister. All of them smiling with expressions filled with relief. More confused than ever, Danny asks the one question on his mind: "Am I dead?"

Overcome with joy at seeing Danny open his blue eyes, Jazz can't stop herself from tackling her stunned brother in a hug. "No, you're alive Danny! You're alive!" She says while crying tears of joy.

Danny confusedly returns the hug, not quite able to grasp reality. "but... I don't understand..." He says "I... I was out of time... I said my goodbyes and I died..."

Jazz pulls back and looks in her brother's eyes. "No, you passed out, but you were still alive." She explains with a huge grin "You didn't have a lot of time left, but they did it, Danny. They got the cure back to you in time!"

Danny freezes, stunned by this news. He's not dead? He gets to live?... but he was so sure that he was dead...

"How are you feeling sweetie?" Maddie asks her son, softly.

Danny looks at his mom while he ponders this question. How does he feel? He's not in nearly as much pain as he was before, though he's still quite uncomfortable. Sore, but considering what he's been through that's normal. He notices that the pain is still there, but it feels more like the stinging of a mild, constant shock. And is it just him, or is the shock feeling fading ever so slightly?

"Good... I mean, better..." Danny finally answers "It still hurts, but it's going away..." Then Danny finally wraps his head around it "I feel... alive"

Maddie and Jack breathe a huge sigh of relief. Their son is okay. He can hate them forever for what they did, but at least he would get to live to hate them. That's enough for them.

Danny turns to Sam and Tucker and asks "How? How is this possible? How did you do it?" His exclusion of his parents in the question doesn't go by unnoticed, but as far as he knows, his parents only tagged along for the ride.

After sparing a glance at Maddie, Sam answers Danny's question "We went to Dora's kingdom, since they were still catching up to the present. They had Blood Blossoms AND Plasma Lilies, the plants weren't extinct there!"

"By the way, don't go in the Speeder," Tucker says "it's full of Blood Blossoms."

"huh?" Danny tilts his head in confusion.

"Why!?" Jazz exclaims, not wanting those plants anywhere near her baby brother.

"We had to make a deal with them." Tucker explains "They gave us the antidote and in exchange we got the Blood Blossoms off their kingdom"

"Wow, thanks guys!" Danny thanks his friends "I can't believe you actually did it!"

Sam spares another glance at Danny's parents who have been quietly standing by. "Actually... We couldn't have done it without your parents." She adds, much to Danny's surprise. Sam had been the strongest objector to his parents accompanying them on their quest. "Your mom kept Tucker and I from giving up when all hope seemed lost." She explains.

"Not to mention, we would never have gotten back in time if it wasn't for your dad's crazy driving." Tucker adds, almost jokingly, though it's true.

"And Dora didn't want to give us the cure at first since her people needed it so much." Sam continues "Your parents are the ones who came up with the deal to help clear their Blood Blossoms in exchange for the antidote. Their attitude towards ghosts is completely different!"

"Really?" Danny turns to his parents with a smile. They answer with a nod. Danny hadn't thought that his parents would be that helpful, he had just let them go with Sam and Tucker to give them a shot at redemption. He hadn't thought they would actually be the ones to save him. He had naturally assumed that his friends would be the ones to save him. "You saved my life" He says, seemingly forgetting who was responsible for this.

"No," Jack says "we're the ones who put you in danger in the first place."

"Well then, I guess you're even" Danny tries to joke, but it comes off as awkward.

"No." Maddie says firmly. "We might have been able to fix our mistake, but that doesn't take away what you've had to go through because of it. This should never have happened in the first place and we're so so sorry. I know we don't deserve it, but can you ever forgive us?"

Danny pauses and his smile waivers. Everything he just went through was their fault, but it's over now. Sure, that doesn't take away what he went through, but is it enough to justify holding a grudge? A thought occurs to Danny. "While you were away," he says, "at some point my cuff was off and I lost control of my powers... I hit Jazz with a Ghostly Wail."

"Oh my goodness!" Maddie exclaims, recalling the strength of that power "Are you alright!?" She asks Jazz, alarmed.

"I'm fine, really." Jazz says, annoyedly crossing her arms and looking away "Stop beating yourself over this, I just fell over."

"I was too weak at the time to do any damage," Danny continues as if no one had spoken "but I still attacked her and I felt so guilty... If that attack had been at normal strength, I could have seriously hurt her and I would never have forgiven myself..." Feeling himself rambling, Danny looks in his parents' eyes and tries to get to the point "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I get it. Sometimes you can hurt the people closest to you without meaning to. I know how it feels and I know you never meant to hurt me. And when you realized what you did, you actually did the impossible to make up for it! To me, that's what matters. So, yes. I forgive you." He finishes with a smile.

Maddie and Jack got more than they could have hoped: their son's safety and forgiveness. Teary eyed, they envelope their son in a big hug, which Jazz joins. All are immensely relieved that their family has, somehow, remained intact throughout this ordeal.

Meanwhile, Tucker and Sam stand by awkwardly. They'd like to hug Danny too, but this seems like a family moment and there isn't much hugging space left anyway. So as soon as Danny's parents and sister break away, Sam and Tucker also tackle Danny in a hug.

"Our turn!" Tucker exclaims.

Danny chuckles and hugs his friends. "Thanks guys" He says, a little teary eyed and emotional. Though Sam said they couldn't have done it without his parents, he knows it would have been absolutely impossible without his friends.

"We're so glad you're okay" Sam says, just as emotional. She recalls how close they had been to losing him and how many times she almost lost hope.

Eventually, they all pull away from the hug.

"Oh shoot! It's waaay past my curfew!" Tucker says, having looked at the clock.

Sam also checks the time "Me too! We gotta go"

"See you at school, Danny" Tucker says as he and Sam go up the stairs.

"Actually, I think Danny has earned a sick day" Maddie says, earning a smile from Danny. Partly, Maddie wants her son to be home until she's absolutely certain that all effects of the Blood Blossoms are gone. And partly, he really has earned a sick day.

"Ok then, we'll see you after school." Sam says.

"Not me, I'm grounded for sure" Tucker says.

"Oh right... me too." Sam realizes.

Maddie thinks of how unfair it is that they would be grounded for saving her son's life. "I'll call your parents with an excuse tomorrow, just try to be vague tonight." She tells them. "You shouldn't be grounded for this."

"Wouldn't be the first time" Tucker mumbles.

"Thank you" Sam says as she and Tucker leave.

"How do you feel now?" Maddie turns her attention back to her son "Does it still hurt?"

Danny tries to pay attention to the stinging feeling and realizes that it's gone. "No, I feel normal again"

"This is no time to be brave, Danny." Jazz glares at her brother, skeptical. "How do you really feel?"

"I'm serious," Danny says, surprised "I feel great!" All pain is gone! It's hard to believe, at some point he thought that all he would ever feel again was pain,

Jazz smiles, believing him this time. "And your powers?"

Danny had been putting off testing his powers since his parents were there and he's so used to hiding them from them. Without looking at his parents, he takes off his cuff and doesn't lose control of his powers. The first thing he does is test his ice powers since that's what had freaked him out the most. Maddie and Jack stare in awe as a beautiful ice crystal materializes in their son's hands. Danny sighs in relief at how easy it was to make ice.

To be sure he's okay, Danny decides to test all –no, most– of his powers. He uses his flight to float off the bed and get up. Then he turns invisible for a few seconds. Next, he spots one of his practice targets in a corner and he shoots an ecto blast at it, and the blast comes out that the strength he expected. At this point, Danny is confident that he's in full control of his powers again. He can't help but smile at feeling normal again, because these powers have become Danny's new normal a long time ago. He decides not to test his Ghostly Wail or overshadowing, because he doesn't want to destroy the lab and he doesn't like overshadowing people. Realizing he hasn't tested his intangibility yet, Danny turns to his sister and decides to have a little bit of fun. He goes intangible and swings his arms through Jazz.

"Jazz, are you feeling okay? I can't touch you!" Danny jokes.

Jazz laughs at seeing her brother being his cheerful, joking self again. "Stop!" she laughs, trying to swat his arms away, but she goes right through him.

"It's like you're not even there!" Danny walks through her.

"Stop! Let me hug you!" Jazz exclaims. She goes through him again trying to hug him. Then he goes tangible again and lets her hug him when she tries a second time. Both laughing.

After their hug, Danny looks over at his parents. Their expressions are unreadable after witnessing him using his powers so naturally. Danny can't help but feel a little nervous. Even though they've known of his powers for a while now, this is the first time that they can actually talk about it. "Are you sure you're okay with me having these powers?" He asks nervously.

They both nod a little numbly, though Danny isn't convinced by their shocked expressions.

"It'll just take some getting used to" Jack says reassuringly. Danny smiles, figuring that that makes sense.

"How's..." Maddie starts, trying to find the right words to ask "How's Danny Phantom?"

"huh?" Danny doesn't quite understand. Don't they know that he's Danny Phantom?

"Your... other half." Maddie rephrases nervously "Is he... are you completely stable?"

Danny's eyes widen when he catches on. "Are you... asking me to change into Danny Phantom?" He asks, knowing they wouldn't understand the term 'go ghost'. Not yet, anyway.

Maddie nods. "I just want to make sure you're completely okay" She adds. Though she's also curious about how he changes and part of her still has a hard time grasping the notion that her son is Danny Phantom. He had only changed for a few seconds earlier.

"Okay..." Danny says, hesitantly. "Promise you won't shoot on sight?" He says with a nervous chuckle to pass it off as a joke, though he's very serious.

"Of course we won't" Maddie reassures him.

"Okay..." he repeats nervously, taking a deep breath. "Going Ghost" he says out of habit, though he doesn't yell it this time. Then he wills his transformation into his alter-ego, despite every single instinct he has telling him not to go ghost in front of his parents.

As the white rings make their way over Danny's body, there is no more denying that he is Danny Phantom and that, somehow, it is possible. Jack and Maddie are speechless as they witness this. Furthermore, after the transformation they can't help but notice the similarities between their boy and this ghost. They have the same face, height and build –though their son has always hidden the latter behind baggy clothes. The only difference between Fenton and Phantom, they now realize, is the hue and clothes. Also, one's a human and one's a ghost... there's also that. Though they couldn't possibly have known that their son was half ghost, it seems odd to Maddie and Jack that they hadn't even noticed how much Danny Phantom looked like their son. How could they have hunted him for so long without even realizing this? Seeing their son standing before them as the ghost they've hunted with a passion for so long makes the couple's guilt resurface.

After the transformation, Maddie and Jack are silent and shocked. Danny can't help getting a little scared despite the earlier reassurance from his parents. Standing in front of them in his ghost form while they know who he really is... It makes him feel... naked. Stripped of his secret that used to make him feel safe.

"Are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost, heh..." Danny tries to relieve the tension. It doesn't work, but the bad joke was such a Danny Phantom thing to say that it's made his parents truly realize that this doesn't just look like the ghost boy, it is him. The reality hits Maddie and Jack like a ton of bricks... again. They really have been hunting their son all this time.

Even though they learned about his alter ego several hours ago, there were more pressing matters to take care of then. Now Danny's parents seem so shocked, he's not so sure of their acceptance anymore. Scared, he takes a step back without realizing. At least Jazz is there. He wishes Sam and Tucker were still here though.

Ready to flee, Danny asks "Are you... sure you're okay with me being Danny Phantom?"

At the moment, Maddie and Jack feel nothing but guilt, regret and self loathing. As well as confusion, since they still don't understand how this is possible. Seeing that their own son seems to be afraid of them makes it worse, which knocks them out of their stupor. They walk to him, Danny takes another subconscious step back and starts to raise his hands, but he resists the urge to make a shield when he sees that his parents are not attacking him. Maddie and Jack hug Danny tightly. He tenses at first, then relaxes in the embrace and returns the hug.

"We're sorry..." Maddie says on the verge of tears "we're so sorry for everything we did to you..."

"It's okay... you didn't know..." Danny says, understandingly. After a short pause, he asks "so you really don't hate me? For being a ghost?"

Maddie pulls away from the hug to look at her son in the eyes, all trace of shock and doubt gone from her face. "We love you just the way you are"

"And we learned today that we were wrong to assume all ghosts are evil." Jack admits.

This time, Danny's the one who hugs his parents. Finally feeling safe about being himself around his family, he changes back.

"Danny?" Maddie asks.

"yeah?" Danny pulls away from the hug.

"We have a lot of questions." She says, unable to hold it in any longer. She and Jack have SO MANY questions!

"I bet." Danny chuckles "Can we go upstairs first, though?" He asks, starting to be sick of this room.

Maddie nods and as they make their way up stairs, she asks Danny if he's had dinner.

"I... um... lost my dinner..." he admits sheepishly.

"Ok then, I'll cook you something and we can talk." She says.

"Sure, as long as the food doesn't come to life." Danny mumbles. He's had enough drama for a day. Though he has to admit, he's pleased with how this particular episode has ended.

FIN

Thank you, dear reader, for having joined me on this adventure (Is that too cheesy to say? XP )

I really hope you've enjoyed this story!

~Roxyjaws~