Danny opened the front door, his heart pounding in his chest over the couple that stood silent on the other side. He could hear them already in the back of his head, silently judging him in hushed tones and wondering what their daughter ever saw in him. He let out a deep huff, tucked out his well-built chest and turned the knob slowly. Sweat covered his brow and hair line, his heart racing far faster than he could ever remember.

"Why hello there, Daniel." Pamela said softly her smile bright and genuine. Mr. Manson at her side was smiling just as happily. Both looked practically the same only with a few wrinkles hidden by their eyes and corners of their mouths.

Danny smiled brightly, hoping they weren't faking the sincerity believing Sam to be just a few feet behind him. As the door was opened fully and they followed him into the living room, he found their demeanors unchanging. Both took their seats graciously and soon after, an awkward silence filled the room. Danny shifted in his spot uncomfortably, bringing his right hand to massage the spot behind his neck nervously.

"So Daniel…" Pamela spoke softly. "How is our little Lilith doing?" Danny looked up to her and locked eyes with the woman, feigning a smile before opening his mouth in response.

"She's been doing…well." He struggled with the word, not sure what a normal answer would be.

"Her ghost powers finally kicking in, right?" Jeremy asked with a light hearted chuckle. Danny's head shot over to him, eyes wide and heart frozen in his chest. Even her parents knew. "Looks like she'll be a hero just like her father, isn't that right?"

"Heroine, darling." Pamela corrected him with a light hand on his. Both seemed comfortable with the idea and only all too happy their granddaughter would follow in his footsteps. That had definitely thrown him for a loop. His head was spinning not only with their sincerity, but the fact that they knew his biggest secret and were being so cavalier about it.

"There's Nana and Tata." Sam's voice could be heard before she entered the room. Lilith rested comfortably in her mother's embrace and was dressed up in a small black dress with matching shoes, a white flower headband held her long midnight curls back. His usual 'DP' emblem had been slightly altered to an 'LP' one and rested like a soft crest over her heart. Her gummy smile lit the room up as Mr. and Mrs. Manson ogled over her excessively.

"There's my grandbaby." Mrs. Manson said softly, her arms stretched outward in an attempt to grab her from Sam's motherly hold. Sam passed her over graciously before taking her spot next to Danny.

"So you need us to watch her for the whole night, correct?" Jeremy asked, lightly poking Lilith in the side and smiling brightly when she giggled and squirmed.

"Yeah, for tonight and until maybe noon tomorrow." Sam agreed, seemingly satisfied Lilith wasn't crying for either of her parents to hold her.

"Sounds perfect." Pamela chimed in standing up and careful as to how she adjusted Lilith. Jeremy reached over and picked up the baby bag and started to head for the door.

"Now, if anything happens, she's got her blanket in the bag, her bottle and plenty of milk. I spent the whole morning pumping. Also if she begins to fuss too much, both Danny's parents and Tucker are on speed dial."

"Don't worry sweetie. She's in good hands." Her father said shaking his head at his daughter's overprotectiveness.

"After all, we raised you didn't we?" Her mother chimed in happily then began to ask Lilith in a childlike voice if she agreed.

"That's what worries me." Sam muttered under her breath as Danny was forced to watch the scene take place like an old film stuck in slow motion. "Maybe it would be better if Jack and Maddie took her. I mean they have plenty of ghost gear and can deal with her 'outbursts' better."

"Nonsense, dear." Pamela said, a slight hint of anger coming out. "We haven't seen much of Lilith since she was born. This would be the perfect time for us to bond."

"Not to mention, we are equipped with a few ghost doohickeys of our own." Jeremy piped in.

"We promise to call the Jack and Madeline if something becomes too out of hand." With that both Danny and Sam watched as Lilith descended down the stairs with her grandparents before being gently placed in the car. Danny couldn't help but feel a tug at his heart strings over seeing his daughter leave and confusion over the ordeal as a whole.

"So looks like we have the place to ourselves." Sam said closing the door once her parents were down the street and gone from view. She deadbolted the door before turning to face her husband. He noticed a seductive glint in her eyes and immediately began to fear for the worse. His heart raced a mile a minute as she seemed to close the distance between them, her hips swaying slowly from side to side with each step.

He watched with an intense gaze as she seemed to glide over to him and took his bottom lip in her teeth. He managed to shut his eyes closed, unsure how he was going to handle this. He knew that he had to get away from her as quickly and subtly as possible.

"Hey, Sam." He managed to get out, pulling away from her deep kiss. "What do you say we watch a movie first?" She gave a light hearted chuckle before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"We've seen all the movies we own." She whispered this in his ear and lightly bit his lobe. He felt his body tingle and submit for a brief second before he managed to get control over his thoughts again.

"What about dinner?" He managed finding it harder and harder to fight her off.

"I thought we might work up an appetite first." She gently flicked her lip over his top one and lightly nibbled his nose. He was not only finding it harder to ward her off, but he couldn't wrap his mind over the fact this was Samantha Manson. He never thought her to be a minx, of course, the Sam he knew was barely fifteen and he had never taken the time to know her in that way. But apparently there would come a time when he would. He still refused to believe this a form of reality and hoped he would wake up any second now drenched in sweat and his heart racing. And not from Sam's intended activities, but simply the remnants of a terrible nightmare. Whoever was responsible was in for a world of hurt once he found them.

"Sam, please…maybe we should talk for a few minutes." She stopped mid action and looked him over, slightly confused as to why he wasn't devouring her mouth and body like he so often did.

"Talk about what Danny? We have such an open relationship, I don't think there is much to talk about." She looked genuinely sincere and it scared him how much they trusted one another. It seemed no secrets were kept between them, and he found that was attributed to the fact they'd known each other since pre K.

"I know it's just…" He stumbled over what to say next, he never was good at making up lies on the spot. Especially now, with the way she claimed to know him she'd tell he was lying before he could even finish.

"What is it, Danny? Is everything alright?"

No! I'm fifteen and making out with a twenty-seven year old version of my best friend. It's the exact opposite of alright, it's a nightmare!

"Danny?" His silence wasn't doing anything to soothe her.

"Yeah, everything is fine." He lied. Trying to comfort her by rubbing his hands mindlessly up and down her shoulders and arms as if to break a chill.

"Good." She said, her lips quickly crashed onto his once more and Danny found himself both terrified and at a dead end. It was going to take a miracle to pull her away from him. Just as she started to unbutton his shirt and mumble sweet nothings into his ear, the chill returned. Only this time it was more severe than before.

He looked around nervously to Sam and noticed she was unfazed by it, as if only he felt it. He exhaled softly, surprised to see a lighter form of his ghost sense escape before feeling his stomach muscles unclench. A ghost was nearby. His prayers had been answered and his miracle delivered, ghost fighting he could do without having to worry about Sam or the world he was in. it was second nature to him...kicking ass in the morning and taking names in the evening.

"Thank God." He muttered under his breath, trying to pull Sam off of him. "Sam, my ghost sense went off. I gotta go."

"Danny, let Valerie or Tucker handle it. It's our anniversary and I'm sure the city will be fine." She begged, taking him by surprise as she started to unbutton his pants.

His hands fell to hers and gripped her wrists tightly, affectively stopping her mid task. He brought them to his mouth and placed a peck on each knuckle before dropping them and muttering a sorry. He figured it was the best way to show her his sorrow, when in reality he was all too grateful to whatever ghost threatened to interrupt their evening.

"You've got to be kidding me!" She called after him as he let his ghost half take over and flew through the roof of the ceiling, leaving his future wife both furious and stunned. She knew the city and the world were important and needed saving, but she also knew Danny wasn't the only Ghost Hunter around anymore. He had help raining in from all directions, if he could so willingly leave her now, on their anniversary night, who knew what he was truly up to. It was so unlike him.

"Danny?" her voice called to him, like a lullaby from a song he heard years ago, but forgot existed until now. His heart fluttered in his chest as he looked up from his burger to meet her gaze.

"Yeah?" He questioned looking over to Tucker curiously, trying to maintain a safe distance between him and his future wife.

"Your ghost sense went off, dude." Tucker informed him as Sam looked him over, eyes wide as if wondering where the sense had come from at all.

"Oh." He whispered, quickly forgetting Valerie wasn't going to come to his rescue this time around. "Oh!" He iterated, realization hitting him over what they were insinuating. He quickly jumped up from his chair and stood proudly, feeling somewhat content when both his friends threw themselves to cover him. He gave out his usual battle cry before quickly searching the large food court for his would-be-attacker.

"I must say Daniel. You tend to over react too much." The voice alone sent a chill through his being, and not the usual one. He hadn't heard that voice in well over ten years, not since he showed himself to the world and was abandoned on that asteroid in the middle of empty space.

"VLAD!" He spat, disdain and hatred ruling his voice and features.

Vlad looked up from where he humbly stood in his human form, not far from the table the trio sat at. He carelessly searched his well-manicured nails for dirt, a smug smile resting on his lips. Danny quickly let his body float back down to the floor and inches from Master's himself, knowing the older hybrid wasn't looking for a fight. He allowed his guard to waiver and his two rings to cover him once more, ignoring who saw and who didn't. He sized his arch enemy up, debating what it was the billionaire could possible want from him. Before he could even open his mouth to ask, Vlad shot a plasma ray from his hand and hit Danny square in the stomach.

Danny rubbed his head and cursed himself for trusting him so willingly and believing Vlad meant him no harm. It had been years since he had last seen the man and that was enough to throw him off, it was enough for him to become unprepared to such an unprovoked and cheap attack. Once again the two rings covered his body and he rose from the ground, he placed two hands in front of him before sending a bright green ray from his hands, sending Vlad back a few feet. Danny grinned when Vlad allowed his own two rings to take over and stood before him as Vlad Plasmius.

"Well, well, well. Looks like little Danny Phantom has a bit of a temper." He patronized him softly, arguing Danny beyond control. He raised his hands once more and allowed another ray to fly, hitting his target with direct accuracy.

He looked down to his hands and silently cursed himself once more. This was not his normal body, certain powers had yet to come in. He had wanted to burn the Fruit loop with his flames, but found it useless. He threw his hands up once more, hoping his ice power wasn't affected. Frostbite had told him so long as he controlled it there should be no problem. This particular power never truly 'developed' (having been a part of him since the day his ghost powers came to be), his ability to use it, however, did.

Sure enough a blast of artic blue came from his grip, freezing the unsuspecting billionaire in his tracks. Behind him both Sam and Tucker gave off impressed and surprised sounds over what had just happened. Danny closed his eyes and focused, hoping to be able to split himself, yet his body still seemed unable to accomplish that mission.

"Danny! LOOK OUT!" The fear in Sam's voice caused him to look the other halfa over. Vlad had shed his frozen shell and now hovered above the mall, his red eyes searching the people down below before looking one girl over with such glee.

Danny watched confused as Vlad flew straight for the unsuspecting Paulina, picking her up and carrying her high above. Her screams and shrieks pulled everyone's attention to her. She kicked, and fought the ghost, but knew it was useless for even if she managed to escape her death would be met with the landing.

Danny charged at Vlad, firing off ectorays while he managed to dodge them at every turn. It seemed the older halfa was just teasing him, he had fired little shots and was simply enjoying running Danny around just to watch him squirm. Everyone watched as he dropped Paulina, her screams echoing off the walls and windows as she awaited her doom.

"Uh…you can stop screaming now." Danny said, trying to keep his hearing.

"OH Ghost boy…you saved me." She said, wrapping her arms tightly around him as he flew her to the second floor. Their feet hitting the floor softly. "Oh thank you, Ghost Boy." She said, jumping on him while squeezing him tightly.

"Yeah, you're welcome." He said desperately trying to pry her off of him as Tucker and Sam watched the display both disgusted and confused.

"Marry me, be my hero." She screamed out, fighting against him as he tried to get her to release him.

"Can't, already married." He said, not noticing his verbal blunder. He had had enough and quickly made himself intangible, causing everyone watching the scene start to laugh as she fell on her face.

Danny ignored her and walked over to Sam and Tucker, grabbing them both before turning them invisible as well and flying them out of the mall. He searched the surrounding area for signs of Vlad and when he found none wondered why the old fruit loop had come searching for him to begin with.

"So what was that about, dude?" Tucker asked as the three of them walked home that night. Sam had been unusually quiet and cocked her head to the side, longing to hear his answer as well.

"I don't know, Vlad's crazy, but to start a fight for no reason…I don't like it." Danny answered looking around cautiously.

"Not that, the part where you ignored Paulina." Tucker corrected. Danny had been fawning over the Hispanic since day one of junior high school and now the one time she returns the act, he pushes her aside and abandons her.

"Not to mention, you told her you were married. How's that gonna sound when word gets around?" Sam asked, breaking her silence in the hour. She had been rolling his words over in her head. He said it with so much confidence that it was so believable.

"I don't know." Danny admitted, his hand massaging the back of his neck. "I didn't even know I said that."

"Yeah, well…words gonna get around pretty fast Danny." Sam said as they came to a stop outside her door. "But I gotta admit, the look on Paulina's face was priceless." She said pulling out her phone and showing them the picture she snapped.

"You gotta send me that." Tucker all but screamed. Sam nodded her head and promised she would before bidding them a good night and disappearing behind her door. Both Danny and Tucker continued their walk, both wondering what the next day would hold.

Ok not my best chapter. I was robbed a few weeks ago and my flash drive was taken along with a copy of all my stories. Which is why I took down 'Prey for the Hunted', I want to finish up this story before continuing on with that one. I had to rewrite this chapter and was pissed to find it sucked beyond all reason of a doubt, but I've made you guys wait so long for an update I felt terrible for making you guys wait a minute longer. SO, here was my best attempt.

I promise the next chapter will be better. In the next chapter future Danny has a VERY awkward conversation with his sister while present Danny has to deal with his daughter all alone. Mind you, Lilith is just like her dad, only not capable of handling her powers just yet, so he's in for some serious problems. I hope to have the next chapter up sometime next week, if not, sooner!

PEASE REVIEW!