A/N: Hello, all you faithful Danny Phantom readers of mine! I realized that the next story I posted would by my 40th, and since it is such a monumental event (yeah, right), I decided to return to my roots and write a Danny Phantom oneshot. I hope it satisfies. At first, it has the facade of being a TuckerxSam fic, but, believe me, all is not as it seems. I'm a firm DannyxSam, TuckerxJazz shipper. It just takes awhile to get there sometimes. Let me know if I can still write for these characters successfully or if I should quit while I'm ahead. Review, please! Thank you.

I Had You

It was through a long and rather dull series of complications that Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley were arrested and thrown into Walker's jail. It was later cited as a mere traffic offense, having something to do with the Specter Speeder's excessive weight; however, everyone knew that this was a drastic euphemism. There was no doubt that Walker's grudge against Danny Phantom came into play in one way or another.

Whatever the reason, the two ended up locked in the same cell for three days. And, as Danny grew more concerned by their disappearance (he had had nothing to do with the task they were performing in the Ghost Zone), Sam and Tucker grew closer and closer to each other. Never mind that each completely contradicted the other. Forget that Sam was a liberal vegetarian concerned with the well-being of the world and Tucker was a conservative carnivore concentrating on science and technology. They say that opposites attract. And in those three days, these two unlikely friends could not have proved the old adage more correct. Romantic tension filled the air every time they spared a glance at each other. The unthinkable had happened. Sam and Tucker had fallen hopelessly in love.

When Danny finally deduced where his two best friends were (he heard it through the grapevine) and flew to Walker's prison at top speed, this little fact became horrifically apparent to him. He'd known the two of them all his life, knew how to read their emotions, and when he'd seen the way he looked at her, his blood boiled. Traitor.

But he did what he knew he had to do. It was a fair trade. The infamous Danny Phantom incarcerated by Walker in exchange for the freedom of his two best friends. But, as the two were being led out of the cell, Danny felt something spark within him and he shouted.

"Wait! Sam, please stay with me," his voice sounded strong and demanding. She would not refuse.

She hesitated, looking back and forth between Danny, now standing inside of what had been their cell, and Tucker, looking slightly suspicious. Her eyes rested on Danny's deceivingly soft green ones and she nodded curtly. A ghost of a smirk played on his face as he looked over at Tucker. The rivalry filled the air. Tucker looked slightly appalled by him, but said nothing. He trusted Sam. And that would be his downfall if Danny had anything to say about it.

DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP

It had been nearly two and a half hours since that pivotal moment. A faint scream could be heard from quite a distance away, but other than that, the two former would-be lovers sat in silence.

Upon hearing this scream, Sam reached inside of the bars of his cell and held Danny's hand. He smiled, his eyes remaining closed as he felt the warmth of her slender fingers enclose around his own.

He was sitting with his back to her, leaning up against the bars of his confinement. His head was tilted slightly up, as though he were simply taking a nap in a lounge chair. Sam was sitting directly behind him, facing his back. She had not lifted her head in the entirety of the time they had spent together. Her eyes remained focused on the ground.

Another almost deathly quiet scream.

She finally lifted her head, her eyes boring into the back of his skull. She squeezed his hand tightly. She was starting to become nervous. He, however, sat calmly, a pretense of having not a care in the world.

"Why?" She finally whispered.

His eyes still shut, he cocked an eyebrow curiously, "Why what?"

"Why did you sacrifice yourself for us…knowing what would happen? There must have been some other way. You could have fought," she offered.

He let out a hollow chuckle, the likes of which she had never heard from him before. "You'll find out soon enough."

This time the scream was louder, as though the pain was getting closer.

She tilted her head to the side. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He sighed and finally sat up straighter. He turned sideways and finally met her stare. "It's what I do. I couldn't risk getting you and Tucker into trouble," he answered smoothly.

She scoffed, "Like that ever mattered before."

"It always mattered to me, Sam. Always," he said, a hint of sorrow, even regret, in his voice.

Another cry pierced the air.

"I love him," she said, not backing down from his gaze.

He continued to look at her, searching for that hint of doubt, and when he saw the slightest glimmer of it, he broke the eye contact, as though she was too strong-willed for him. "I know."

She swallowed hard. "I know how you must feel…but I just…I've never felt a connection like that with anybody else, Danny."

He looked back up at her. "Nobody else?"

She shook her head confidently. "Nobody else."

The next scream was very close.

Sam's heart started beating faster. The atmosphere had become more tense, more frightening.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice breaking.

Danny shrugged. "Don't be."

She shook her head in disbelief. "How can you be so calm about all of this?"

"You'll find out soon enough…" he repeated vaguely and quietly, returning to his falsely calm position.

A bloodcurdling cry came from somewhere in the very near vicinity.

Now, Danny's heart began beating faster. His time to act was now. He opened his eye a sliver and saw that Sam was now nearly sobbing, her breathing hitched painfully and her panic obvious.

He sat up quickly, looking at her intently.

He spoke softly, almost reluctantly. "Sam, I love you. Now, I know you love him and there's nothing I can do about that, but I can't help the way I feel. Just like you can't help the way you feel."

Another scream. They were getting closer and closer together now.

She sobbed openly, staring into his eyes.

"Please…kiss me, Sam. Just this once," he begged. His voice was desperate with lust and another emotion she could not rightly place.

Though she didn't want to do it, she knew this had been coming. Ever since he asked her to stay with him. She loved Tucker and did not want to betray him…but this was Danny. He had saved them. Were it not for him, she and Tucker would not be able to be together. She owed him something. She owed him this.

She closed her eyes and his arm reached out to caress her cheek. She leaned forward slightly, his hand guiding her lips toward his own. Finally, they met between the bars and they kissed passionately.

A wail came from right next to them.

Danny could feel a slight tingling, sparks flying at his body in every direction. And though this may have been a result of the kiss, he also knew it was due, in part, to the enhanced security system Walker had installed to insure he did not escape.

The sparks Sam was feeling, however, could not be blamed on the ghostly security system. Her heart rate increased to a speed that she had not known possible and her mind left her skull. She became lightheaded and did not think when she deepened the kiss, exploring every area of his mouth with uninhibited curiosity and passion.

A cacophony of discordant sounds struck the air around them, signaling that it was nearly time.

These sounds pulled them from each other, both of their heads buzzing with confusion, excitement and desperation.

Sam's sobs became uncontrollable and she broke into hysterics. "Why, Danny? You had nothing to gain by saving us. Nothing!"

Danny smiled deviously as he lifted one corner of his mouth into a half smile. "I had you."

Her breath caught in her throat at the realization that he had been planning this all along. But it was not the fact that he had tricked her into proving she loved him that had caught her off guard…it was the fact that he was right.

She loved Danny.

A tall figure appeared behind Danny, cloaked in a dark, hooded robe. He held in his hand a green, glowing scythe.

She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. Those beautiful green eyes she had realized only too late that she had loved held her own violet stare. She saw the weapon come down and the blood spatter out and she heard the worst scream of them all.

That scream was the last thing they would ever do together.

And she would regret it for the rest of her life.

An almost open-ended and depressing ending. Like you didn't see this coming. :) Please let me know what you think. Criticism, compliments, anything. Just drop me a review. Thanks.