A/N: Ah, oneshots... Short, sweet, and in this case deeply depressing. I think this story is fairly self-explanitory. Yes, I will continue Eidolon Albatross; it will be mass updated this weekend (Friday if luck is with me). However, this oneshot idea called to me. The idea came to me while reading Danny Phantom SG-1's newest story, The Night Before Life Goes On. (If you haven't read it yet do so. It's really good.) The idea of Sam and Danny being in love but not quite ending up together was rather inspiring. Thus, this little piece. I hope you all enjoy this story. I still don't own DP though I sure as ever wish I did. Please R&R!!!! Now let's begin our depressing session.
Grave Decisions
DONG! DONG! DONG!
The graveyard's church bell rang hollowly in the chilly fall air. The sky was darkening as a storm blew in. Tree leaves shook on their branches and tumbled on the ground as the wind swift across the land. The sun paled. The church bell rang.
DONG! DONG! DONG!
She knelt on the newly made grave, her head in her hands. Tears dripped from her eyes and fell onto the dirt of the newly dug grave. Flowers rested on the tomb stone before her. The epitaph grimly told the deceased's status. It read:
Daniel Fenton/Phantom
Born: March 13, 1993
Died: October 13, 2007
A beloved son and friend, but above all a hero.
May he rest in eternal peace.
The girl sobbed. He had been more than a son, friend, and hero. Danny had been her boyfriend. The tombstone did not say that. Nor did it say how much she loved him. It could never fully express that. No amount of words could. It also did not say how he died.
It had been a beautiful night. The moon was full. The air was brisk. His embrace had been warm. They stood on her balcony alone. That night's ghost hunting duties were completed. She was telling him good-bye when he stopped her and said:
"Sam, can I ask you something?"
She looked at him slightly confused. Usually he just left after making sure she was in her room.
"Yeah, what is it?"
He looked away. The moon was behind him, silhouetting his lean form with its pure white light. The light struck his white hair making it glow like newly fallen snow. He looked like an angel.
"Um, Sam, I- I was wondering, since it's Friday night and all, if maybe you would like to go somewhere with me. I mean, I know it's late but… What I am trying to say is…"
Sam didn't bother to wait for him to finish. She pulled his arm around her waist into their usual flying position. She dragged him to the edge of her balcony and smiled up at him.
"Of course! Where do you want to go?" She couldn't believe it! He was asking her out on a date! How long had she been waiting for this very night? A year? Two years? Since she first met him?! Yeah, she remembered! It was when she first laid eyes on him! That was a long time ago…
"The tree?"
"Sure!"
Then they were off. They flew through the night sky, her and her angel. The moon guided them to the tree which stood on a lonely hill top. It wasn't uncommon for lovers to come here to be alone. Luckily, no one was there tonight. They landed at the base of the tree, together, alone, neither making a move to break away from the other. Sam rested her head on Danny's shoulder. He sighed and leaned his head onto hers. Sam bubbly, excited feeling grow inside of her. Love. She loved him and he was here with her on top of Lovers' Hill.
"Danny…"
"Sam, I have something to tell you," he began. Without taking his hand from her waist he moved in front of her. He gazed into her eyes. She stared back. His emerald eyes glowed, the green of his irises seeming to swirl hypnotically. She moved closer to get a better look. She looked deeper into his eyes, into his soul.
Love, that was the first thing she saw, but there was more: longing, desire, courage, hope, sadness, fear, anger, uncertainty, curiosity, happiness, contentedness… love. Love for his family, his friends, his town, life and all of its mysteries… and her. He loved her. He wanted to be with her and he was trying to tell her, but he lacked the words to fully express this in its entirety. The words "I love you" didn't seem to describe this feeling.
Sam closed her eyes and leaned closer to him. She could feel him in her soul the way she was in his. She could feel joy welling up inside him and he realized that she loved him back. With that their lips touched and all that needed to be said was said not with words but with something far greater that has no word and never will.
After a minute they gazed into each other's eyes again. Their half lidded eyes blinked as both tried to figure out what to say or do next. Neither had an answer. Instead they sat down on the leaf covered ground. They leaned against the trunk of the tree, holding hands, praying that the sun would never rise. Hoping the world would remain in its dormant state and allow them to stay in theirs, the world they created with the realization that they loved each other and always would.
But their happiness didn't last. A buzzing sound came from behind them. In a second the source of that sound gripped Danny by his arm and flung him away from Sam. It was Valerie. The buzzing sound was her jet sled which she now stood on. Her gun was aimed at Danny.
"Valerie!" Danny said, shocked.
Valerie fired her gun. It hit Danny square in the chest. A gasp came from him as he fell to the ground, still.
"Ghost."
BONG! BONG! BONG!
The funeral bells still rang in Sam's ears. The white flowers still danced in her eyes. Perfume still scented the air she breathed. Danny's lips still softly touched hers. She could never forget.
She could never forget how she screamed. She could never forget how Valerie flew off without looking back. She could never forget the two white rings that formed around her lover, split, and left his cold, dead human side lying on the ground that autumn evening.
What really haunted her were the looks on his mother's, father's, and sister's faces. The looks of complete horror, shock, sorrow, and anger. The expressions were burned into her memory more sharply than any nightmarish battle she had seen her lover fight. They blamed her. She knew it. They didn't say it but she knew they blamed her for his death. She didn't blame them for that. She knew it was her fault. All she did was sit there and stare stupidly as Valerie let loose that single shot that ended her soul mate's life. Everything was her fault.
That's why she was here. This was why she sat here with a knife in her hand and sobbed. She would miss her family, Tucker, and life in general, but this was her fault and she couldn't live without Danny. She loved him more than she loved life. They were soul mates. They had to be together no matter what.
She brought the knife to her throat. Its sharp edge pierced her skin. A single drop of red blood slid down over her skin.
"For you, Danny. I love you," she cried.
Sam slit her throat and fell to the ground. Now she could finally join her angel. Her beautiful angel. They would stand at the gates of heaven where she knew he was waiting for her. They would enter together into paradise and never look back.
As Sam's soul left the mortal world a bright light appeared above Danny's grave. It shifted, uncertain for a moment, then condensed into a boy's body. Green eyes, one partially covered with white hair, glanced about. They looked down at the bloody form of the former Sam Manson.
"Sam…" a ghostly voice sighed. A thin laugh echoed throughout the grave yard. "Oh, the irony. You kill yourself to be with me and I forsake heaven to be with you." The laughter morphed into weeping. Danny sank to his knees and cried. His sorrow tore at his ghostly body until he was nothing more than a faint apparition.
They say if a person who has lost a husband, wife, or lover walks through that grave yard they can hear crying. If they look closely they can see a small, white haired boy kneeling before a gravestone crying. After about a minute he will vanish and the witness to this event will hear death bells tolling…
BONG… BONG… BONG…