The morning light crested the horizon of Amity Park, filtering through the second floor window of the Fenton Works building. Danny rolled over with a light groan, burying his head under his covers.
Four hours prior, he had been jolted awake by the irate growl of a spectral tiger, the resulting fight stretching across the far ends of the town. Apparently, Freakshow's new cast had busted loose on a mission of break-in burglary. One full thermos and an autograph later, he had thought sleep would come easily. But after a half hour, his mind was still buzzing, body still tense, ready to spring into action at the smallest disturbance. The chatter of birds greeting the morning was no tranquilizer either.
At least it was the weekend, he thought in relief.
Suddenly, he shivered, his lungs constricting with a chill as icy breath expelled from his throat. "Oh great," he grumbled, "an encore."
Reluctantly, he changed into Phantom form and grabbed the Fenton Thermos from under his pillow, his bed sheets falling softly as he phased through them and flew out the window.
Scanning around, he tossed the thermos to his left hand, powering up his right. "C'mon spook, come out and fight! I'm too tired for witty banter...."
He gasped at an abrupt impact to his shoulders, the blow knocking him ten feet from his initial position. Spinning rapidly, he saw the cause. An oversized, ghostly badger flexed its clawed paws, snarling warningly as it prepared to charge him again.
Taking a defensive stance, Danny recharged his attack, quickly shooting off several weak blasts, forcing the animal to rethink its plans. "Aren't you supposed to be nocturnal?" he asked in annoyance.
It's only answer was an enraged bark. Dodging most of the ectoblasts, it made a bold leap, successfully swiping the boy across the chest.
Danny grimaced, holding in a cry as he internally berated himself for letting it score a hit. Pushing the pain to the back of his mind, he lashed back with a forceful punch.
The badger yipped in surprise, then growled, ready to attack once more. But it wasn't prepared as the half ghost performed a roundhouse kick, stunning it enough to pound away with ecto-energy. Soon enough, the unfortunate badger was wailing and barking its threats from inside the Fenton Thermos.
Danny gave the container a satisfied shake. "Maybe I can get some sleep now...," he sighed.
"Danny!"
"Huh?" The boy turned to see Sam jogging toward him. "What are you doing up? You're not a morning person." He grinned, floating down to meet her.
"Well, I'd ask you the same thing, but it's rather obvious." She smirked. "I was just going to meet Tucker. We were going to wake you up early for your birthday, but clearly we don't need to."
"My birthday...? Oh, duh!" With all the excitement of the morning, it had totally slipped his mind. "What's the reason for the untimely wake-up call?"
"Tuck and I have a few surprises for you," she grinned playfully.
"Oh?" He matched her countenance, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.
"Yeah," she breathed, bringing her face closer to his, "but the first one's from me...."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The afternoon sun peeked through the blinds of the critical care floor of North Mercy Hospital, casting orange bars of light across the carpet. A silver, star-shaped balloon, sporting 'Happy Birthday' on one side, and '15' on the other, towered over the hunched form of Sam Manson. The girl didn't even look up as the door gave a faint click at the twist of the knob, swinging widely open.
"Oh, Sam, you're already here." Tucker walked in, letting the door shut on its own, a brightly colored gift bag swinging loosely in his grip.
"And you finally made it." Sam glanced up with a small smirk. "Did you just get out of bed ten minutes ago?"
"A half hour, and you're no morning person either," he quipped back, approaching the opposite side of the patient bed from where Sam was sitting. "How's he doing?"
"Mmm, same as usual...." She looked back down, returning to her brooding posture.
"Well, we'll just have to liven things up for him then!" The boy grinned, reaching into his bag and pulling out a CD case. He wiggled it between thumb and finger, displaying it proudly. "The latest album, Dumpty Humpty: Rockin' on the Wall!" Ripping off the plastic, he opened the case and popped out the disc. "Here, put it in." He stretched his hand over the bed, offering the CD to Sam.
She took it, smiling as her fingers brushed his. "He'd love this...." Carefully, she placed it into the boombox on the bedside table, pushing play. The room suddenly resounded with a burst of drums and a distinct guitar riff.
"No, he is lovin' it," Tucker asserted confidently. He dipped his hand back in the bag, grabbing a second object. "I also got him this!"
Sam snorted. "A plush rocket ship...?" Her lips pulled into a humored grin.
"I thought it would be better than a model. Much more comfortable." He chuckled, tucking it halfway under the bedsheet.
"Careful of the arterial line...," Sam said softly, watching him.
Danny's breathing suddenly lengthened into what sounded like a sigh, his arm shifting slightly as if to embrace the stuffed toy.
"Did you see that!?" Tucker gasped, eyes wide.
"Danny, can you hear us? Danny?" Sam leaned down, voice wavering.
The two waited for a minute, but the boy gave no more signs of response.
Discouraged, they slumped back in their seats.
"He's missing everything, and it's all my fault," Sam rasped, tears beading, her fists clenched.
"No, Sam ... we've been over this...." Tucker stood up, walking around the foot of the bed and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He gave her arm an encouraging squeeze and a rub as he realized she was trembling. "He went in the portal himself, we didn't know that this would happen. And if it wasn't for you, he'd probably be dead...."
The girl nodded, but still choked out a sob, putting her head in her hands.
Tucker pulled her closer, resting his forehead against her temple. "Who knows what's going on in that head of his? He's probably having his own adventures. And no homework!" he comforted quietly, trying to keep things positive. "Besides, you'll bring him up to speed with that photo album you're keeping for him." He kissed her cheek.
"Yeah...," she looked down at the three-ring photo book in her lap. "It's almost been a year, and I think I got most of the major events." Raising her arm, she wiped her eyes. "There's room for one more photo." She glanced up at Tucker, running a finger over the Polaroid camera hooked at her hip. "I thought I'd leave this one with him for his birthday and start a new one for until ... until...."
"He'll probably wake up before then...." Tucker withdrew from her side, smiling cheerfully at her. "And I think that's a great idea!"
She relaxed back, unhooking her camera. "Alright, let's do this. Are my eyes red?"
"A little, but you can just blame the camera," he said, winking.
They both leaned in close to Danny's form, grinning mischievously as Sam held the camera at arms length, making sure to get the spaceship plushie into the shot.
"Just think of all the advanced technology he won't have to wait for, and the videogames he'll have to catch up on. The dude'll be in heaven when he wakes up." Tucker rose, offering Sam a hand.
Sam rolled her eyes, muttering "Boys!" as she took his hand and stood. "But you're probably right," she conceded.
Setting the photo album on the table, she leafed to the last page. "Happy birthday, Danny...," she whispered, slipping the snapshot into the final plastic slot.
Bidding goodbye to their friend, the two left the room, side by side.