Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Desiree flew out of the Ghost Portal, hands covering her face and sobbing violently. She had been in a bit of a funk the last few days, reminiscing about the past and the love she had so bitterly lost. When she had bumped into Kitty and she had said those hurtful words to her, the dam just broke.

Flashback…

Desiree had been floating aimlessly about the Ghost Zone, lost in the memories of her time as the consort of a powerful Sultan. So caught up in the musings of the past, she failed to see where she was going, until she accidentally walked in on Kitty and Johnny 13 making out. Muttering her apologies, she had been about to turn away when Kitty said something.

"Just 'cause you're stuck without love for the rest of eternity doesn't give you the right to interrupt others who have it."

That did it. Desiree felt reality slap her in the face with a wet towel as she realized the bearings of Kitty's words. She was doomed to an eternity of being alone and unloved, with time stretching on before her, nothing to accompany her but memories of her time alive, until those memories too would eventually fade, leaving her alone and miserable for the rest of eternity.

For the rest of eternity…

The pain of being sad and alone for the rest of time suddenly slammed into her. HARD. She had turned and zoomed away, face buried in her hands and sobbing uncontrollably. Blindly she had flown towards the Ghost Portal, left open for some reason. She had to get away. Away to some quiet corner where she could just go and cry her heart out.

End flashback…

She flew out of the basement of Fenton Works. She was flying at breakneck speed, not really seeing where she was headed and not really caring. She just wanted to escape, to get away from everything. So it was no surprise that she did not see and subsequently slammed into a certain Halfa who was making his nightly rounds.

"Desiree? What the?"

Briefly she took her tear-streaked face out of her hands and looked around. She had bumped into Danny Phantom, who was currently giving her a weird look.

"Desiree? Are you crying?"

The surprise in his voice set her off again. She buried her face back in her hands and started to take off again, when she felt Danny's hand on her shoulder stop her.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She screamed, shrugging his hand off. She was about to fly away when he spoke up again.

"I wish you would talk to me and tell me your problems."

She turned around in surprise, but it was too late. Her powers had kicked in, and she found herself pouring her heart out at Danny.

"I was already a bit melancholic, because I was remembering the past, and then I bumped into Kitty and Johnny 13 making out, so I apologized and was about to go away when she said this comment about just because I was going to be alone for the rest of eternity didn't give me the right to spoil it for others, and I don't know, I guess something inside me just snapped, and I burst into tears and flew out of the Ghost Zone and I wasn't looking where I was going so I crashed into you." She immediately covered her mouth with her hands. Glaring at Danny, she powered up for an ecto-blast, intent on making him pay, when he spoke again.

"I wish you'd let me touch you."

She stopped charging, shocked, as her powers automatically granted his wish. Danny paused for a moment, and then approached her. Before she could react, he had wrapped his arms around her and grabbed her in a powerful hug. She froze. The hug woke up something in her, and before she knew it, she was crying into his shoulder and hugging him back for all she was worth. Like he knew this would happen, his grip around her just tightened and one of his hands started smoothing her hair down over and over again.

"Shh.. Come on. Let it out. Let it all out. I'm here for you."

Eons of pent-up anguish poured out of Desiree as she sobbed on the Halfa's shoulder. Danny just let her cry it out. After a good twenty minutes of crying, Desiree finally felt the tears start to subside. She sniffled, and looked up at Danny, a question in her eyes.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you do that? Forcibly using my powers against me so that you could comfort me?"

"You looked like you needed it."

"But I'm your enemy! You should be fighting me, not hugging me like this!"

"Just because you're a ghost doesn't mean you can't feel."

Desiree felt herself smile at that comment. "Dear child, when did you get so mature?" Her smile grew bigger when she saw him start to pout.

"I'm 18, ya know. All this ghost fighting kinda forces me to grow up a bit. If there's one thing I've learned after all these years, it's that ghosts are still people, with emotions and feelings. Once you have them figured out, it makes it easier to deal with them."

"Oh really? How about me, then? Have you figured me out yet?"

She saw his forehead scrunch up in thought. When he answered, he spoke slowly, apparently thinking out his answer.

"You're… sad. And lonely. You're a bit of an enigma to me, I'll give you that. Technus is a nutjob who despairs to fit in with the norm and be recognized. Skulker has an obsession with collecting things. But you… I don't get your reasons for being evil."

"What's not to get?" Desiree answered bitterly. Apparently Danny's earlier wish was still in effect. "I'm like this because the world has never shown me anything else. Because I learned long ago that if I let someone in, they would just hurt me. That's why my powers are wish-based. I take what a person desires the most, what's truly important within his heart, and I change it so that it ends up hurting them."

"You want others to feel how it feels to lose that which you truly desire the most."

"Exactly." To her surprise, Desiree felt something course through her that she hadn't felt in a long time. Shame. She felt ashamed of herself, ashamed of what she'd been doing for so long. She looked down. Was it right that she force others to experience what she had experienced? To feel the stinging loss of being robbed of your dreams? Suddenly she felt like crawling away into a hole somewhere. She didn't deserve Danny's comfort. Slowly she tried to wriggle out of his embrace. To her surprise, Danny held her tighter, and when she looked back up at him, his eyes were twinkling.

"Had a little revelation, Desiree?"

"I- You could say that." She answered. "By the Gods, what have I been doing with my life?" Danny gave her a strange look. "All right, what have I been doing with my afterlife? Robbing people of their dreams when I could give them so much more… I…" She hugged Danny back. "Thank you. All those times I called you child, and it turns out I'm the one who's been so immature for so long." She chuckled.

"Not really. I'm still a kid in many aspects." Danny smirked at her. "So will you be okay now? I kind of have to get back to patrolling Amity Park." He slowly dropped his hands to his sides and made to turn away. This time, it was Desiree who grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't."

"Huh?"

"Don't leave… Not yet. I… I don't know what it is that you've done, but right now, I... I feel safe. And I think you're causing it., so I don't want to be that far away from you right now." She half-expected Danny to laugh and shrug her hand away, so she was pleasantly surprised to see the halfa nod in understanding. He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Okay then." Then his face turned into a mischievous smirk. "I wish no ghosts would attack tonight so I can spend some time with you." Desiree felt the beginnings of a huge smile form on her face as her hands began to glow with spectral energy.

"So you wish it, so it shall be."

After taking a quick hand-in-hand flight around Amity Park to ensure that Danny's wish did come true, (despite Desiree's protests about her powers always working) they flew into Danny's window, and settled down on his bed. Danny wrapped an arm around Desiree and pulled her along with him as he lay down on the bed. Desiree meeped in surprise, but did not protest. After a while, she laid her head on Danny's chest and let out a contented sigh. Danny started stroking her hair. After a while, he spoke.

"Desiree?"

"Yes, Daniel?"

"I have to know. After tonight, will you still continue your old ways?"

"I don't know. I… It is ingrained in me to grant every wish I hear, no matter how insane they may be. I have no control over it. Perhaps I will no longer perverse the results like I did before, but I must still grant them."

"I see. It must be hard for you, especially if you don't really want to grant a particular wish."

"You have no idea."

"Hey Desiree? If someone were to, say, wish that you would be able to choose which wishes to grant and which to ignore, would it work?"

Desiree sat up suddenly and gave Danny an incredulous look. "It would. But are you sure you want to wish that? Remember, Daniel, that wish that you made earlier? I may be telling to you and talking to you, but you cannot be entirely sure that I do so with an open heart. For all you know, this may be some ruse of mine to trick you into making that wish. After all, that is the only thing that can be considered my weakness."

Danny stood up as well and looked Desiree in the eye. "I know."

"Then you would make such a wish with that knowledge?"

"Yes."

"Have you forgotten all the grief I have caused you in the past? You know my powers and the extent that I can achieve with it. Why do you trust me so much?"

"Three reasons. One, I know you are not truly evil, just lonely. Two, true, being able to choose which wishes to grant would give you the ability to increase your power to incredible magnitudes, but you would not do so, and this is because of reason number three."

"And what is reason number three?" Desiree asked with an amused tone.

"This." Danny cupped her cheek and kissed her.

A/N: Woohoo! Cliffhanger! Wait for the next chapter. Reviews are greatly welcomed, as they inspire me to work harder and update faster.