A/N: A story based on assumptions. I don't know anything about alcoholic drinks or the consumption thereof, but if the plotline fits . . . Anyway, I hope you enjoy Part I of this twoshot.

The Real Hero

Part I

The party was great, from the loud music, to the lack of supervision. Sam was enjoying herself immensely, not to mention the fact that she was inadvertently pressed against her best friend Danny, who held onto her flippantly.

Danny was actually having near as good a time as Sam, though he had no idea why standing so close to her would increase that goodness.

Tucker came back with the alcoholic beverages, catching Sam's eye and smirking coyly. "Here's your drink-tell him," he whispered in her ear as he handed the pair their drinks.

Danny frowned at them jokingly. "What're you guys whispering about? I'm right here, ya know."

Tucker's grin grew. "Oh, we know," he replied, glancing into his cup curiously.

"Bottom's up!" Sam exclaimed, lifting her cup to the boys before taking a gulp of the bitter-smelling drink.

Danny and Tucker followed suit, laughing. It was the beginning of Spring Break of their junior year at Casper High, and there was no need for caution; it was all about the party.

-------

Sam grinned dizzily, clutching Danny for support. Danny held her around the waist, and, though he was much less drunk than his feminine friend was, the two couldn't keep from tottering a bit on their way out of the house where the party was being held.

"Dannay, this was a grea' night," Sam slurred, smiling up at her best friend as she attempted, once again, to steady her wobbly knees.

Danny agreed with a nod as they neared the sidewalk. "Uh huh." Of course, seeing as he wasn't quite as incoherent as Sam, he was beginning to become worried about how well she would be able to function once they reached the stop sign, at which they were to part and go their separate ways home.

"Denny, where's Tugger?" Sam asked confusedly. Apparently, she didn't recall saying goodbye to him in the house or wishing him luck in getting his brand new videogame at two in the morning.

"Gone," Danny replied tiredly. It wasn't as if he spent much of his time partying, what with his obligations as Danny Phantom and all, and he was rather exhausted from the excitement of it.

Sam gasped. "Where'd 'ee go?" she asked in shock, stumbling somewhat.

"To get his game; remember?" Danny prompted. Maybe he really wasn't as drunk as he had previously felt, or maybe it was the brisk wind sobering him up.

"Oh. I don' remememem . . . ember," Sam replied, giggling faintly at her own garbled speech.

Danny stared at her. He couldn't let this mess of a Sam walk home by herself. "I think I should walk you home," he suggested, surprised that his three cups of liquor hadn't affected his common sense enough to keep him from trying to keep his friend from danger. It seemed he had overestimated the power of alcohol, or perhaps he was just comparing his state to that of Sam, who obviously couldn't hold her liquor.

Sam shook her head as they reached the place where they were supposed to split up. "Nah, Din-Dan, I can go myself. Thinks." With that, she abruptly moved herself from his support and staggered the remaining two feet to the stop sign, stopping to cling to the pole so she wouldn't fall. "See, Dunny? I'm jus' fine." She pushed herself off the sign and began hobbling in the opposite direction of her home. "See ya!"

Danny sprinted forward when he saw Sam losing what remained of her balance and caught her by the upper arms before she toppled to the ground. "Yea, I'm definitely taking you home."

Sam tilted her head back so she could see him. "Okay, Hero."

Danny smiled exasperatedly at his friend and at the uncanny nickname. He had a feeling Sam always felt like she was dealing with a slightly backward child when she was with him, and now, the tables had turned; for once, Danny was the mature one!

A walk to Sam's house had never been as grueling. Of course, the countless other walks had not entailed Sam tripping over her own feet, Sam muttering muddled sentences, Sam pausing to throw up in the bushes, Sam barking at the dogs that barked back as they passed, Sam yelling for the sleeping townspeople to wake up, Sam howling at the moon, or Sam laughing too loudly and too hysterically for one-thirty in the morning. Danny found himself thoroughly worn out by the time they reached the lattice to Sam's room, which also happened to be the moment he grasped that they could have just flown and cut the time it took to get to the house in half. He groaned aloud at his stupidity, realizing, with a smack to his forehead, that the alcohol he had consumed had had some effect after all.

Regardless of his idiocy, Danny looked at Sam, who was beginning to endeavor climbing the lattice (a bad, bad idea in her current state), and hurried to pull her down. "I'll just fly you up," he said quietly, keeping his arms wrapped securely around her as he went ghost and began floating upward.

Sam relaxed in Danny's grip, and he felt a smile cross his lips, though he couldn't place why her reaction to flying made him so happy, just as it had two years before.

When the pair landed on the veranda, Sam had nestled into Danny's chest, and, not wanting to stop this, for some unknown reason, Danny phased through the wall with her still in his arms. Gently, Danny pried Sam away from him. "We're here," he announced almost grudgingly.

Sam smiled at him, with an innocent, laughing grin that lit up her features. She took his hand and sprinted to her bed, throwing herself on it and pulling Danny down next to her.

Danny felt beyond comfortable as he faded from his ghost form and back into Danny Fenton. It must have been heaven to be rich because there had never been a softer bed made, he was sure. He closed his eyes with a sigh as he sank into the fabric of Sam's black comforter.

"Danny," Sam whispered, sounding slightly soberer and jerking Danny from his stupor.

Danny opened his eyes and rolled on his side to face her. "Yea?" he asked, promising himself he would leave as soon as Sam had said what she wanted to say. Of course, it's a known fact that promises are made to be broken.

Sam, rather unfortunately, moved closer to Danny and snuggled up next to him, a contented smile on her face. "Danny, I love you," she murmured into his shirt, sounding self-conscious despite her intoxication.

Danny's eyes widened, but he reasoned that she had meant that she loved him as a friend in a wholesomely platonic manner, and that statement was her way of thanking him for walking her home. "I-uh-I love you, too, Sam," he replied, but he unexpectedly sensed that he was feeling an entirely non-platonic kind of love for the girl resting in his arms. "I should go," he said nervously upon this revelation, starting to pull away.

"Don't," Sam mumbled, moving closer.

Danny closed his eyes, feeling some kind of unwanted bliss at having Sam so near. "My parents-"

Sam tilted her head up slightly and silenced him with a kiss. Danny began to react, kissing back, but he recollected with a jolt that she was Drunk Sam, and he was Sober Danny; it would be wrong for him to kiss her like this in her illogical state, when she didn't know what she was doing. He pulled away subtly, moving so his chin rested on top of Sam's head. He wouldn't leave until the morning because Sam didn't want him to, but he was going to have to control his suddenly raging hormones.

A/N: Ah, cursed hormones. I hope you enjoyed the first part of this story. Stay tuned for Part II!