Hello out there in fanfic land. I don't know if you remember me, but I am Me the anon one aka Nonny the anon one. I have been gone for a long time, eight years to be precise. Writing became really difficult for me.

Six years ago I became rather sick and now I live each day with chronic pain. My writing is not what it used to be though it has improved in other ways. Please understand and forgive any weird typos and grammatical boo boos.

Writing and I have become enemies so I have decided to come home to Danny Phantom. I hope I am still welcome after all this time. So far our beloved ghost boy has been embracing me with open arms.

A little about this story and then we'll get into the summary and such.

If a story with this plot has been done I am sorry. I have not kept up much with the phandom or read anything but old fics. No offense is intended. This is set in a world where the last season didn't happen and Valerie knows about and is fine with Danny's alterego.

Rating: M for language, violence and sexual situations. I have always kept my DP fics within site guidelines and this fic is no different.

Genre: Classic Nonny, which means romance, action, and have your tissue box ready.

Summary: Sam and Danny have finally started dating. Everything is falling into place for their senior year at Amity High when the unthinkable happens and nothing will ever be the same.

This fic is mostly being written to The Birthday Massacre, at this point mostly to their song - In the Dark, which may or may not give you a feel for this first chapter.

Also, many of my big typos have been resolved... I think/hope. Thank you.

Undefined

"Sam Manson," as the therapist she saw briefly when her Goth phase first started liked to say, "Is a beautifully well-adjusted young woman, who is incredibly intelligent and will turn out just fine. An intrest in the macabre does not make a person unstable."

Sam wasn't moody, well not any more than the typical teen. She wasn't depressed nor was she in to self injury. She was normal and she just had a specific style. Her parents dearly wished that style would change, but they left her alone for the most part as long as she stayed out of trouble and she kept her grades high. While they also disapproved of the company she kept, Danny and Tucker were harmless boys and someday she would outgrow her love of the spooky and all would be well.

Sam herself preferred to stay away from her parents. It wasn't that she didn't love them, but that their ideologies ust didn't mesh. They were more concerned with their image and their place in society while she cared more about her impact on the world and how to make it a better place.

Currenty, Sam was sitting at the kitchen table in the Fenton household having a discussion on quantum theory with Maddie Fenton as they peeled potatoes.

"I disagree with your opinions on dark matter," Jack Fenton said as he appeared in the kitchen and began rummaging through the fridge.

"It's not my opinion dear," Maddy said as she put down her paring knife. "But the result of mountains of data which proves..."

"Yes. Yes," Jack interrupted as he waved his hand. "But what if that data is incorrect?" Maddie sighed heavily then looked at Sam and winked.

"The possibility is infinitesimal," Maddie told her husband.

"Who says?" Jack asked as he began making himself a very large sandwich.

"Stephen Hawking," Maddie answered.

Jack scoffed. "Mr Hawking says there are no ghosts." Sam watch Maddie facepalm.

"You're going to ruin your dinner," Maddies said as she eyed his sandwich and changed the subject. She didn't want to get into one of their classical arguments on scientific "opinion" with Sam as a withness.

"Okay," Jack said patting Sam's shoulder as he passed. "I'll save room for dinner. Where's Danny?"

"Upstairs playing a game against Tuck," Sam answered. "They're in the middle of a n epic standoff."

"AndJazz?" Jack asked his wife.

"She's at the library," Maddie answered as she picked up her knife to continue peeling potatoes.

"Sam come with me to the basement," Jack said as he tapped the top of her head. "I have some data I'd like to run by you." Sam looked at Maddie who gestured for her to go.

"Okay." Sam agreed as she went to thee kitchen sink, washed her hands, and then followed Jack to the lab just as Jazz entered the kitchen. She waved at Danny's sister who waved back then looked Maddie.

"So, when are we going to adopt her?" Jazz asked as she grabbed an apple from the center of the table.

"We're waiting for her to grow up and marry Danny," her mother answered as she continued to peel potatoes.

"Ha! Good luck with that," Jazz said. "She's too shy to say anything and Danny is too clueless." She took a big bite of her apple then headed up to her room stopping at Danny's door just as Tucker threw his arms into the air.

"I win! In your face!"

"Shit!" Danny cursed as he dropped his controller.

"Watch your mouth," Jazz admonished then smirked at the look of outrage on her brother's face.

"Get out of my room!" Danny yelled as he pointed at her.

"I'm not in your room," Jazz snarked as she guestured to herself standing in the hall. Danny turned to say something to Sam then noticed she was gone. He looked at Tucker who shrugged.

"Sam got so fed up with you that she'd rather hang out with Dad," Jazz said then took another bite of her apple and went to her room as she chuckled.

"Shit!" Danny said to Tucker who was now frowning at the game screen

"She left because you were ignoring her," Tucker said while fiddling with his controller.

"We were playing a game," Danny defended. "Besides we don' t take off when she's playing."

Tucker nodded in seeming agreement then said, "Yeah, but Sam's too smart for us. She gets bored. Besides, shecan only sit and make eyes at you for so long before her brain starts turning to mush."

"I'm going to go get her," Danny said as he stood.

"Okay," Tucker said, "But I'm cueing up a single player game and won't tolerate your complaints." Danny stuck his tongue out at his friend then headed downstairs to find Sam.

XxX

"Jack, you've got this calculation for the axis is all wrong," Sam said as she started erasing numbers on the whiteboard. "That's why your answer is out of balance."

"Can you fix it?"Jack asked as he rubbed chin and frowned. He caught sight of Danny walking down the stairs and greeted his son.

"Dad," Danny scolded. Sam turned and gave him such a beautiful smile that Danny's heart leapt into his throat. His cheeks instantly flushed with color.

"Go away," Jack told his son as he wrapped arms around Sam. "You can't have her back."

Sam laughed and put down the marker she was holding and took the hand Danny stretched out toward her. "Sorry, Jack,"she told Danny's father.

"It's alright. Sam,"Jack told her as he opened his arms. "I'll have Maddie or Jazz look it the figures or you can look it again tomorrow."

"Okay," Sam agreed then let Danny pull her from the lab. He waited until they were in the living room before turning to kiss her.

"You know, helping my dad is bad for my health right?" he teased. Sam laughed while Danny looked around for witnesses before pulling her into his arms and kissing her again.

"We shouldn't do this. What if Tuck comes down and catches us?" Sam asked as she tilted her head so Danny could kiss her neck.

"He's playing a game," Danny whispered between kisses. "Besides, who cares if he sees?"

Sam shook her head and distanced herself slightly from Danny's affection. "I'm not ready to break our little bubble. He would tease us relentlessly and this is so nice."

"Yeah," Danny agreed then kissed her once more before finally letting her go. " Ok, let's go bug, Tuck." Sam nodded eagerly then followed him up the stairs.

Tucker look up at Danny and then Sam and smiled sweetly at her. "Did we bore you very much, Sam?"

"A little," Sam answered as she shook her head. Tucker frowned then looked at Danny who was blissfully oblivious to his friend's nonverbal communication.

"And you've been really quiet lately," Tucker continued as Danny flopped down on his bed and waggled his eyebrows at Sam behind Tucker's back.

"Well," Sam said as she tried not to smile at Danny. "Senior year is starting next week and then things will be getting serious. I have a lot on my mind. There's just too much to get ready for and I've been putting things off all summer."

"Ugh," Danny groaned and threw his arms over his eyes. "Do to things have to get serious?"

"Well we could always ask Clockwork to stop time," Tucker suggested.

"Time can't stand still," Sam told them both. "Besides we all have each other no matter what."

"Or until Danny flunks algebra," Tucker said then laughed at his own joke.

"Not funny, Dude," Danny said as he flicked a plastic action figure at Tucker who dodged it deftly.

"Danny won't flunk math," Sam said then looked at her watch. "Speaking of time, I have some stuff at home I need to take care of."

"Want me to fly you home?" Danny asked as he sat up and ran his hand through his hair.

"Sure," Sam said and smiled at her boyfriend.

"You never offer to fly me home, Danny." Tucker teased as he fluttered his eyes at Danny who gave him a look of disgust.

"Cause you're not pretty," Danny said as he followed his friends downstairs.

"Ouch," Tucker said as he clutched his chest. "That really hurts, Danny. You are so cruel. And to think how often I defend you to Sam." Sam snicked and Tucker turned and gave her a light pinch.

"Mom, I'm walking Sam home," Danny called over his shoulder as he opened the front door and his friends stepped outside.

"Alright, Sweetie." Maddie replied. "Dinner soon." Danny closed the front door then turned to Tucker and Sam.

"Okay then," Tucker said as he did the old man wallet, keys and hat shuffle. "See you both tomorrow. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Sam rolled her eyes and laughed and Danny blushed before telling their friend goodnight.

Danny and Sam walked a small distance away from the house before Danny found a secluded spot to change into his ghost form.

"Want to fly a bit?" he asked not daring to look into Sam's eyes. His feelings for her while he was ghost were so much more intense and it scared him a little.

"Sure, but not for too long. I wasn't kidding. I really do have a few things to take care of."

"Oh," Danny said in disappointment as he put his arms around her waist and lifted off. They flew across Amity Park, up to the clouds, then back down to Sam's house where Danny deposited her safely in her room.

"Come back around ten," Sam said then reached out to tweak the white hair hanging over Danny's eyes.

"Text me if you need anything," Danny told her before planting a quick kiss on her cheek. He didn't dare kiss her mouth while he was phantom.

"I love you," Sam said as she grinned at her boyfriend. She loved it when he got all shy with her.

"I love you too, Sam," he replied earnestly. "Very much." He smiled at her and she was so tempted to just jump him then and there. If he had known he would have never left her.

"Go home you dork. I'll see you later." He stuck out his tongue at her and she laughed as he flew away. When Danny was gone, she turned and walked into her bathroom.

Sam examined herself in the mirror for a moment, brushed her teeth, washed her face then headed back to her room. She changed her bedding, then placed and lit candles throughout her room before sprinkling rose petals on and around the bed. She observed the romantic scean for a moment before changing into a pretty black silk nightgown and turning out the lights.

She sat on her bed and meditated for what she was sure was the thousandth time on whether she wanted to do this or not. It wasn't because she wasn't sure about her decision, but because they hadn't even discussed sex.

They made out, a lot, but they both usually stopped before things went too far. Sam chewed on her bottom lip. What if he didn't want to? What if he rejected her?

Sam took a deep breath and told herself that if Danny wasn't ready then at least they would have an open the dialogue on a subject. She let out a deep breath and laid back against her pillows.

She reflected that she had chosen a long time to wait. She should have told him nine.

Sam fiddled with her fingers for a moment whiles she thought about telling him to come over as soon as he could get away. She had just decided to text him when when her cell phong rang.

"Ghosts," Danny told her. He sounded out of breath. "At the dock. Call Tuck."

"Roger that," Sam said as she disconnected the call then hit Tucker's number while she pulled off her nightgown and grabbed her bra.

"Where are they?" Tucker asked.

"The dock," she answered. "See you there." She threw her phone on the bed losing it the blanket folds as she threw on her clothes then made what she would understand later to be one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

She thought about putting on her running shoes. Running in combat boots slowed her down, but combat boots lived up to their name and were excellent for fighting. She chose her boots, laced them on, then turned to blow out all the candles.

Sam looked around the room with rose petal scattered around and sighed. There would be another opportunity. Without looking back she ran out the door.

She reached the dock before Tucker to find Danny fighting a huge pack of ghosts. She grabbed her ectoblaster from her hip and started trying to pick off as many ghosts as she could.

Not only did her shooting alert Danny to her presence but the attacking ghosts too. A huge cloud of them swarmed her but she managed to hold her own shooting them one at a time with a long practiced efficiency.

"Tucker where are you?" she yelled as they began overwhelming her.

"Here," Tucker called out breathlessly as he made his way to her side.

"Call Jazz," she instructed then swallowed hard. "And Valerie too. We need some major backup."

"Dude, total understatement Tucker yelled then dialed his phone while dodging attacks. "Why are there so many?"

"I don't know," Sam answered. She looked around for Danny and found him fighting in a cluster of large more dangerous looking ghost.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" she yelled as she frantically fired at one of the large ghosts, her first and foremost concern being for Danny.

"Sam," Tucker yelled as he tried to struggled toward her. "They're tying to separate us." Sam, who has been fighting intensely looked around for Tucker and found he had been pushed back fifty or more feet and she was being driven toward the pier.

"Damn it, Tuck," Sam hollered she took out as many as she could, unfortunately she was completely overwhelmed. "Where are Jazz and Valerie?" She took a step back and realized she couldn't move back without falling.

"Tucker," she cried out as she looked towards her friend. He was trying desperately to fight the ghosts pushing them further and further apart. Sam shot at all the ghosts who flew close to her but soon found herself completely overwhelmed. She screamed for Danny as she lost her balance and barely managed to grab the edge of the pier.

"Sammy!" Danny called out. "I'm trying to get to you hold on. Don't let go."

Unfortunately, the pier was slippery with ectoplasm and her hands were having difficulty finding purchase. On top of that the weight of her boots were pulling her down.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" she cursed as her fingers slipped and she started falling.

"Sam!" Danny screamed as she vanish from sight. He looked to see Tucker was fighting valiantly to make it to the pier and was failing badly. Danny tried to fly in her direction but was tackled by several ghosts and all he could do was was hope. Sam was amazing of course she would be fine. What he needed to do was keep his attention on the battle and try to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach and the pain in his chest.

Jazz and Valerie finally showed up a few minutes later and the ghosts started to dissipate and soon they were gone altogether, anishing like fog in the sunlight.

"Sam!" Tucker yelled as he ran to the end of the pier. Danny was already ahead of him screamimg in despair at not finding her holding on to that ledge or floating in the water.

"Sammy," he called over and over barely aware of his sister, Tucker, and Valerie standing watch as he drove into the churning water.

"Tuck," Jazz said as she knelt down beside him and put her hand on his back. Tucker had fallen to his knees and was keening Sam's name into his hat. She gave Valerie a questioning look.

The girl shook her head and shrugged. "I was overwhelmed by ghost on my way here. I didn't see what happened.

"Me too," Jazz said then looked at Tucker who was rocking back and forth crying, "No Sam! No!"

She looked around for Danny and couldn't see him. "Tucker, Sweetie she said tenderly. "I need you to tell me what happened."

Tucker shook then hiccuped. "She fell or a ghost pushed her. I'm not sure which."

"Fuck," Valerie said. "I better go help Danny look." She took off and Jazz pulled Tucker, who was sobbing hysterically, into her arms.

"She'll be fine," Jazz said as she fought back her own emotions. Now was not the time for her to fall apart.

"How far is the drop you you think?" Tucker asked after he calmed himself a bit.

"Twenty feet I think," Jazz answered. "The tide is still high so the water should be deep."

Tucker wiped his eyes on his sleeve and looked at Jazz. "Do you think she can keep your head above water wearing those heavy boots?"

"I hope so," Jazz. "If not Danny will find her in time." She winced as her brother's voice rang frantically calling out for Sam.

"I don't think so," Tucker said then took a shakey breath. "Shit. This has to be a nightmare. This can't be happening."

Jazz found she was shaking as she put her over her eyes took a few deep breaths.

"The water is really rough," Valerie said as she appeared beside Jazz who jumped at the sound of her voice. The two girls made eye contact and Valerie shook her head then looked at Tucker who was now laying in the fetal position with his head in Jazz's lap.

They sat there on the pier for hours as Danny continue to search Tucker fell asleep against Jazz. She figured it was his way of protecting himself during such trauma.

"It's almost sunrise," Valerie said. "I don't think he's going to find her."

Jazz eased Tucker's head from her lap then stood and called for Danny.

"Did you find her?" Danny asked as he phased up through the pier. His eyes were large and wild with terror. Jazz shook her head then watched as her brother transformed back into a human.

"I'm calling Mom and Dad," she stated.

"No!" Danny yelled. "I need to keep looking!"

Valerie put her hand on his shoulder and said, "It's been like ten hours, Danny." He blinked at her in confusion.

"Oh," he said. "Then I bet she went home."

"Uh," Valerie started and looked at Jazz for help but she was on the phone. "I guess you could check?" Danny nodded his head, tranformed again and took off.

Sam's room was empty. Danny paced around for a moment then grabbed his cell phone to call her. He looked at the bed with wide eyes when her lost phone lit up and started ringing. He dug for the phone and noticed that she had fifty missed calls all from him.

"Sammy," he said as he picked up her nightgown from the floor. He looked around at the extinguished candles, the scattered rose petals, and and realized what Sam has been planning.

He was suddenly overwhelmed with deep fatigue and sorrow. He had to fight to keep his eyes open so he sat up and ran his hand through his hair.

She had to be okay. Things are finally falling into place. They had admitted their feelings for each other at the beginning of summer and were secretly dating. Now that Valerie knew his secret identity she had stopped hunting him and joined Team Phantom. Sam, Tucker, and he were planning to attend college together. Jazz would finally be out of his hair.

Danny ran his hand over his face and jumped as his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID then asked emotionlessly, "Did you find her?"

"No," Jazz answered. "Mom and Dad are here. Can you come back?"

"Yeah," Danny told her as he squeezed his eyes shut tight. "Just give me a minute."

"Be careful," Jazz warned.

TBC

A second thank you to The Birthday Massacre and their Needles and Pins album for keeping me writing even though I wanted to give up thanks to my horrid typos. I suggest taking a listen to them if you haven't before and are into Goth, Synth, Rock.