"Danny! Help!" Sam's voice screamed through Danny's head, causing him to jerk out of bed. He jumped to his window. "Sam!" he yelled transforming into his phantom side. "Sam where are you!" He shouted as he flew out of his window to find her.
"Danny!" he heard her scream again, she sounded like she was in pain. "Help me!" He looked towards the remands of the Nasty Burger. That's when he saw her out in the field behind the building where the battle had taken place.
"Sam! I'm coming!" Danny flew as fast as he could toward her terrified screams.
As he got closer he could see Dan standing over her. "Come back for round two." He laughed as Danny landed.
"Let her go!" Danny shouted charging towards Sam to pull her away. Sam saw Danny coming and raised her hand to grab for him, but just as their fingers were about to touch Danny's hand hit an invisible wall stopping him from saving her.
Sam's teary eyes looked in horror at Danny as he fell back. "Danny!" she yelled as he stood back up and looked back at her.
"I'm coming Sam." He said as he ran towards her again.
She still held her hand out to him, but just as he was getting closer Dan's laugher thundered as he stood next to Sam. "Too late!" Dan yelled as he threw his arm down over Sam's extended one. Sam shrieked in pain as she watched him break her arm in half. He then slapped Sam, sending her to the ground with a hard thud.
"Leave her alone, your fights with me!" Danny yelled pounding on the invisible wall that stood between them.
"Danny! Help me! Danny please! Help!" Sam continued to scream for him as Dan continued to strike her, breaking every bone in her body, until she no long moved. Dan satisfied with his work laughed as he rose leaving her to die. "Danny… help me… I'm scared." Sam's mouth managed to speak.
"I can't Sam, I can't get to you." Danny cried looking at her slaughtered body again he could do nothing.
Sam's eyes opened looking into his eyes. "Danny please…"
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Danny shot up in bedroom screaming. His breath was ragged and he was covered with a cold sweat. "Another dream…" he sighed as he tried to stop the tears that never stopped falling. Danny lay in his room all night tormented by his dreams. His parents had tried to get him to eat something but he refused saying that he had no appetite. Jazz tried to get him to talk to her, but he reused saying that there was nothing more to talk about. He struggled out of bed and made his way into the bathroom. He leaned on the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was a mess and wet with sweat, his eyes were bloodshot and swollen from his uncontrollably tears. "Your useless…" he muttered unable to look at himself any longer. He turned on the shower wanting to rid him of the sticky sweat he had worked himself into. As the water ran over his body he began to remember the dreams that plagued his sleep. They were all the same. Sam screaming for him and he was unable to even touch her.
As he left the bathroom back to his bed he looked at the time. It was only three in the morning. Only six hours ago he had left hospital with the grave news. He looked back at his bed, but he wasn't tired. He looked at his desk; he saw something shine under a pile of loose papers. As he moved the mess he saw it was a picture frame, in side held a picture of him and Sam from a few months ago, after she had help him defeat Skulker. They were by the park sitting next to each other on a slim covered fountain, they were both covered with the ecto-goo from one of Skulker's attacks, but they were still smiling. "She had always been at my side no matter what." He sighed softly at the memory. As he let his eye wander away from the picture he saw something else sparkle from under the mess. As he moved the papers to the floor, he saw that it was two time medallions. "These must but the two Lunchbox and Skulkteck had on. I should return them to Clockwork…" Danny stopped his train of thought. "That's it!" he said suddenly with a spark of hope gleaming in his eyes.
He grabbed to two medallions and transformed to Danny Phantom and flew through the floor towards his parent's lab. Once down there he wasted no time in opening the ghost portal and began to fly towards Clockworks castle.
"Clockwork?" Danny called as he entered the castle. "I need to talk to you."
"No!" his voice boomed through the room.
Danny turned towards Clockworks voice, seeing him in his elderly state. "But." He tried to argue.
Clockwork shook his head again, turning back to his young self. "I know what you want, absolute not. There is nothing you can do to change the out come." He explained.
"Yes I can, I can go back and get there before Sam even gets a chance to fight." Danny countered.
"Ok." Clockwork started waving his staff over the portal showing Danny an image of Dan standing with Sam's beaten body to one side, and Danny's on the other. "But the outcome will be the same." Clockwork explained. "Your not strong enough to defeat him. Without Sam fighting him first you would have lost. She is the only one strong enough to fight him. After you'd fall she would step up and die as well." He explained.
"Then let me go back to when she got the pendant, I'll stop Eragon from giving it to her." Danny tried to think.
"And what, then with out her power not one could stop Dan." Clockwork said showing Danny a new image. "She would suffer an even more horrific death." He said as the image showed Dan standing over a terrified, bloody Sam. "He bring worse things than death to her." He added stopping the image. He could see that Danny was unwilling to let Sam so easily. "Listen Danny. She was the only one strong enough to stop him. You would not stand a chance without her."
"But I need her…" Danny cried as he slumped to the floor.
"I'm sorry Danny, there's nothing you or I can do." Clockwork said softly. "The world is safe from Dan because she stopped him. Now please, go home, stay in the comfort of your family and friends." He said pulling Danny from the floor.
"You mean friend." Danny muttered softly taking fight.
"I'm sorry." Clockwork said softly as he watched Danny leave his castle.
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"Morning Jazz." Tucker said trying to hide his grief as he entered the Fenton home. He made his way into the kitchen hoping to see Danny.
"Hey Tucker." Jazz said from her seat at the table. She noticed Tucker looking around. "Danny's still in his room." She answered before he could ask.
Tucker nodded knowingly. "How is he doing?" He asked.
"I don't know." Jazzed sighed softly. "He was asleep when I checked on him before I went to bed, he was crying his sleep. I thought I heard him moving around real early this morning, but I haven't heard much since." She said looking up at Tucker. He had bags under his puffy eyes; he looked like he had been crying. "How about you? How did you sleep?" Jazz asked motioning him to sit next to her.
"I didn't really." He answered as he slumped into the chair across from her. "I couldn't image not seeing her today, tomorrow, next week… Then I would think of all the stupid fights we had, things I wanted to apologies for… I just couldn't stop thinking all the time we've shared, times were not going to share." Tucker stopped whipping a stray tear from his face. "I can only image how Danny is feeling."
"They were close." Jazzed added.
Tucker looked back at her and nodded. "Very close." He sighed, and then looked up to the stairs. "Should go check on him." He said softly getting up from his seat.
"If you need anything give a holler." Jazzed added as Tucker left.
As Tucker neared Danny's bedroom door, he noticed no noise coming from his room. "Danny?" Tucker called knocking on his door. He didn't receive and answer. "Hey, Danny, you up?" he asked again as he opened the door peaking in.
"Hey Tuck." Danny's voice snuck up from behind Tucker.
"Ahh!" Tucker yelled jumping around seeing Danny Phantom standing behind him with his head down. "Don't scare me like that." Tucker breathed, catching his breath.
Danny looked at him sorrowfully. "Sorry Tuck." He said softly walking passed him into his room.
Tucker followed, shutting the door behind him, taking a seat. "How you doing? How did you sleep?" Tucker asked as he watched Danny transform back to his human side and sit on the end of his bed.
"I just got back from Clockworks. I couldn't sleep." He said looking away from Tucker. "Every time I was close my eyes I would hear her, screaming." Danny started looking at the ceiling trying to control his tears he felt coming. "I would fly to her and find 'him' attacking her. I would try and get to her, but I couldn't." Danny said not even trying to hide the tears that now flowed freely. "I would be just out of reach and try like hell to get through, but I couldn't. He'd beat her, and I couldn't nothing but watch, and all she would do is scream for me to help." He finished whipping his tears. "I couldn't take it any more, so I went to Clockworks hoping there was something I could do to prevent this from happening, but there's no other way, she would have died any way." He then shook his head and looked back towards Tucker. "How about you? How have you been holding up?" He asked hoping to forget about the dreams.
"Well I didn't really sleep last night, I kept thinking of stupid thing." Tucker started. "Like all the time we would disagree, or fight. Then I would think of all the stuff we did together, just the three of us." He added.
Danny stood up and walked over to his desk and grabbed something. It was the picture frame from the night before; he looked at his and smiled. "Do you remember this?" he asked handing the picture to Tucker.
Tucker looked at the picture and laugh softly at the pair. "Yeah, that's when I made Skulker's suit fire an ecto-goo bomb instead of a round of the explosions. You two got covered." He laughed at the memory. "She really did love you, you know." He sighed handing him back the picture.
Danny sighed looking back at the picture. "I know. I just wish I could have told her that I loved her too." He said softly placing the picture next to his nightstand.
"So, have you eaten yet?" Tucker asked trying to get their minds off of grave matters.
"No." Danny answered simply.
"Are you hungry?" Tucker responded.
"No." Danny answered again.
"Well we should eat anyway." Tucker said getting up from the chair. "Come on we'll get something to eat at the mall."
Danny looked up at Tucker and moaned slightly. "Alright." He answered softly.
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Once at the food court Danny and Tucker ordered their food and found a seat away from the crowds.
"Did you hear about the Nasty Burger?" they heard of group of girls taking as they walked through the food court.
"I heard that a ghost attacked it." One said.
"I heard that it was a dragon slayer ghost." Another responded.
"Yeah, and the dragon won." A different girl said as the group walked out of hearing range.
Danny and Tucker looked at each other as the group left. "Why didn't she tell us?" Tucker asked.
"Clockwork said she was scared." Danny answered picking at his food.
"Scared?" Tucker said in disbelief. "Of what?"
"She was afraid that I or we would be disappointed, and that I would turn her away." Danny said sorrowfully.
"Oh, she didn't think we'd except her?" Tucker asked.
"No." Danny answered quickly.
"So how did you know before me?" Tucker asked trying to learn more about what the dragon form was all about.
"Clockwork explained it to me before I came back." Danny stopped talking for a second thinking of something Clockwork had showed him. "Do you think the Manson's are home now?" he asked.
"I doubt it, they're probably guarding the hospital, keeping everyone away. Why?" Tucker asked.
"Let's go to Sam's room." Danny said getting up, throwing away his uneaten food.
"What? Why?" Tucker asked following him.
"When I was watching Clockworks flash backs I saw that she had some books and information on it. I want to know more about it, what she's been going though." Danny answered as they began to walk out of the mall.
"Alright." Tucker said. He was interested as well in finding out as much as they could about the 'accursed'.
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The two stood in the alleyway of the Manson's house. "Ready" Danny asked transforming into his phantom side. Tucker nodded his head and Danny grab his arm, turning him intangible and began to fly threw the house, checking to make sure it was empty. "Ok, looks good." Danny said quietly as they made there way up to Sam's room. Once inside Danny felt a wave of comfort wash over him. "Just being here makes me feel better." He said transforming back to his human side.
Tucker smiled looking around. "Yeah I know what you mean." He said looking towards her computer. "Alright, let's get started." He said booting up her computer.
"Ok I'll start looking though her books." Danny said walking over to her bookshelf. He recognized one of the book that she was looking though when he was watching her though the flashback. "This would be a good start." He said to himself as he sat on her bed and began going though the book.
After a few hours the two still hadn't found much. "Still nothing." Tucker moaned getting frustrated at the computer.
Danny looked up from the pile of books he had begun to gather around him. "Well she may have hidden some of it." He said. "You know how she was always complaining about her parents staff cleaning her room, ever after she asked them not to."
Tucker nodded in agreement. "Yeah but why haven't I found anything on the computer? It's not like they would clean that too."
"Yes, but she was also trying to hid it from us as well. And your always on her computer when were here." Danny responded. "Maybe she put it on a disk so there wouldn't be anything on the computer." He said standing up. "Maybe a box some where." He said beginning to search around her bookshelves.
Tucker joined in the search as well, looking around her desk. Finding nothing he began to look around her nightstand and under her bed. As he began to pull some of her shoe's out from under her bed, he found a box and a book about halfway under her bed. "I think I found something." Tucker said pulling the box out. Danny stopped and went over and sat on the floor to see what he had found. As they opened the box, the first thing they found was the same picture Danny had on his desk. As they began to go through the box they found more pictures of them and some items that held memories. "Looks like a memory box." Tucker said looking over some of the pictures. He reached back under the bed and pulled out the book. "And a photo album." He added opening it and looked at a few pictures.
"Yeah." Danny sighed looking at the same picture he had. As he looked closer he saw that even then she had the pendent around her neck, she just kept it tucked in her shirt. When he looked at some other pictures, he saw the same silver chain around her neck, he just never noticed before. Then Danny had an idea, he though of where he hides his personal stuff. He then lifted the end of the mattress off of the spring box exposing a folder and very thin box that looked like it held a zip drive. "Here we go." He said happily pulling out the contents.
Tucker looked at him surprised he found it so easily. "How did you know?" he asked taking the drive from Danny and popped it into the computer.
"Just had a feeling." Danny shrugged standing behind Tucker to look at what the disk held. As the computer began to read the disk a window popped up asking for a password.
"Darn she's got it password protected." Tucker said annoyed.
Danny remained a little more optimistic. "Alright try her birthday." He suggested.
Tucker typed in the number. "Nope." He replied.
"Ok, how about… accursed." Danny guessed.
"Nope again." Tucker said. "Come its Sam we're talking about, it's not going to be that easy."
Danny thought for a second then smiled. "Alright, how about Danny Phantom."
"Ok." Tucker said snickered typing it in. "Password excepted." Tucker said only half surprised.
"Really." Danny said looking back at the computer screen amazed. "Alright." He said happily.
"Ok, let's see what she's got in here." Tucker said opening some of the files as Danny started to look through the folder. "This is definitely it." Tucker said as he opened pictures of the pendant. "What's in the folder?" He asked over his shoulder.
"It's a lot of notes with a page numbers on it." Danny replied. "Maybe they go to this book." Danny thought looking back at the first book he looked at. He opened the book to the page the notes started on. He looked at the page but only saw an image of a wall with some pictures on it. "Ok no help." Danny said trying to think of that the notes where about.
Tucker looked away from the computer and to the book Danny was holding. "Can I see that?" he asked extending his hand.
"Sure." Danny said getting up, handing him the book. "Ok, these symbols represent letters." Tucker started.
"And how do you know that?" Danny asked.
"Because." Tucker said opening a program on the computer. "I found this." He said pointing to the program. On the screen was the same pictures, along with a few others, and English letters. "This is a decoding program." He said getting up and finding the notes that matched the page Danny was on. "See, she was decoding the picture to see what it had to say. Under the picture it just says that it's a wall with pictures, but the book must not have been written knowing that the symbols were text. Sam must have realized it and found the way to break the code." Tucker explained.
"Ok." Danny said understanding. "So she's already got a lot of the pages decoded." He said holding up the folder with the other notes.
"Exactly. So let's see what they say." Tucker said starting to read her notes.
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The sun was being to set as Tucker and Danny finish reading the last of Sam's notes. "Ok, so this is mostly what Clockwork already told you about it right?" Tucker asked as they began to set her belongings back to the way they found it.
"Yeah." Danny sighed. He was hoping to find more information about it, but it was only the same Clockwork had shown him already.
"Well there are still some pages she hasn't gotten to decode yet." Tucker said hopefully. "I'm downloading the program into my PDA now, so I'll be able to start going through more of the book tonight." He said picking up the book and notes. "You on the other hand should try and get some sleep." He said seeing Danny's exhausted expression.
"Yeah, we'll see." Danny said softly. He transformed back into his phantom side and took Tucker's arm making him intangible and invisible so they could leave the house unseen. As soon as they left the comfort of Sam's room Danny began to feel his misery return. Danny flew towards Tucker's house, setting him down in an alley next to his house. "Well I'll see you tomorrow." Danny said sadly turning Tucker back to normal.
"Alright Danny. Have a good night." Tucker responded. "Everything will be alright." He added sensing his friend's mood falling.
"If you say so." Danny muttered sadly. "You have a good night too." Danny added as he rose into the air. After waving goodbye he headed back to his house and into his room.
Once inside it transformed back to human and immediately noticed the smell of dinner flowing though the house. "Danny. You in there." Jazz called from the other side of his closed door.
"Perfect timing." Danny moaned as he went to open the door. "Yeah." He responded seeing Jazz looking at him irritated.
"Where have you been, are you alright?" Jazz asked.
"I'm fine. I was with Tucker. I'm sorry I didn't call and tell you where I was, I lost track of time." Danny responded.
"It's ok, I was just worried." Jazz said more sympathetically. "Come on down, dinner is ready." She said turning towards the stairs.
"I'm not really hungry." Danny said not moving.
Jazz looked at him stubbornly. "Have you eaten today?" She asked.
"Tucker and I went to the mall to eat earlier." Danny answered.
"Yes, but did you eat." Jazz asked knowingly. Danny didn't even answer; he knew his sister knew him too well. "Come on, at least sit with us." She said taking his hand, pulling him with her.
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Danny slumped on to his bed tiredly. He spent dinner just picking at his food lamely. Everyone was silent, not sure what to say. His parents again tried to get him to eat more, but he just wasn't hungry. He looked at the clock it was just passed ten pm. "Well I might as well try and sleep." He said rolling under the covers of his bed. As he rolled back he saw the picture he had left on his nightstand. He took it into his hands and let a tear fall. He had felt so calm when he was in Sam's room, he didn't think about the fact that he would never see her again. But now that he was back in his own room the sadness filled his body again. He held the picture to him as he closed his eyes and fell into a troubled sleep.
"No, no… Sam!" Danny jumped up in bed again pledged by the same dream. "No more." Danny whimpered wiping the tears from his face. It was only two am and he was just jerked from his sleep for the third time tonight. "I need to get out of here for a little bit." he spoke to himself as he transformed into his phantom side and flew out his window. He flew a lap a round the park then found himself flying back towards Sam's house. As he got closer he saw her parent's cars in the driveway, but he entered the house regardless. He checked their bedroom and saw her parents sleeping contently in there bed. "How, how can they sleep so soundly knowing that their child is dead." Danny thought to himself. He left the room and reentered Sam's bedroom. Immediately he felt more relaxed. Some how just being in her room calmed him. He transformed back to his human self. He then reached under the bed to the box that it hid. He opened it and found the picture of him and Sam at the fountain. He held it to him and allowed himself to drop onto her bed. He laid his head down on one of her pillows and inhaled deeply and hugged it to himself. He recognized her scent and it made him even more relaxed. He embraced the warmth the bed brought to him and it allowed him to drift to sleep, still holding the picture.
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Sunlight began to dance across Danny's eyes causing him to stir. He was reluctant to move, so he pulled the covers over his head to block the light. "So we have the arguments made for the funeral." Mr. Manson's voice filled his head causing him to instantly wake.
"I stayed all night." Danny said to himself realizing that he was still in Sam's bedroom. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but it was just too easy.
"Yes, they have the plot next to her grandmother's space, being excavated today." Mrs. Manson's voice could be heard on the other side of the bedroom door. Danny listened intently wanting to know more about what they were doing, and not wanting to get caught.
"Good. I'll get the plane tickets and we'll be on our way to England in no time." Mr. Manson responded.
"England?" Danny said softly. They weren't even going to burry her close so Danny could see her.
"That is if she's finally passed on." Mrs. Manson said not sounding at all saddened.
"She's still alive." Danny thought surprised that they hadn't pulled the machines from her yet. She was still alive and her parents are planning her funeral. Suddenly Danny's cell phone began to ring. "Shit." Danny cursed pulling the phone out, seeing that it was only Tucker he silencing it.
"What was that?" Danny heard Mr. Manson question.
"Oh it's probably just one of Samantha's alarms." Mrs. Manson assumed. "That reminds me, Emily." She called.
Danny knew that Emily was the head of the staff at the house. "Yes Mrs. Manson?" She asked walking up to the couple.
"Would you please make sure that someone breakdown Sam's bedroom as soon as possible?" Mrs. Manson asked.
"Of course. What would you like me to do with the her personal items?" Emily asked.
"If you find any decent book please add them to the library the rest just throw away." Mrs. Manson instructed.
Danny looked around Sam's room; she had so many personal items, how could they just throw what they had left of their daughter away. He heard footsteps heading towards the room. He knew he couldn't take it all, so he quickly grabbed Sam's memory box from under the bed and her photo album. Tucker already had all of the files and books on the 'accursed'. Danny quickly turned into his phantom form, and was about to go intangible when he forgot one thing. "They're going to throw it away any way." He said reaching for Sam's pillow that he had used the night before. He then turned intangible and floated out of the room just as the women opened the door.
"Just in time." Danny smiled leaving the house. Just as he was about to take of towards home, his phone rang again. He looked at his phone and saw it was Tucker again. "I'll be right there Tuck." He answered hanging up.
He then flew strait to Tucker's house. As he flew into his room an annoyed Tucker greeted him. "Dude, where the hell were you?" Tucker asked giving Danny a worried look as he transformed by to human.
"What do you mean?" Danny asked confused.
"Jazz just called, she said that she's couldn't find you, and that you've been gone since early this morning." Tucker explained. He then looked at what Danny was holding. "What's with the purple pillow?" he asked getting off topic.
"What, oh, it's Sam's." Danny answered looking down the items he held.
"And why do you have it?" Tucker asked raising an eyebrow at him.
Danny blushed slightly as he began to explain. "I woke up last night, with same nightmares again. I couldn't take it anymore, so I took a flight around the park for a little, and then I just found myself heading back to Sam's." Danny started setting all the items down on Tucker's bed, except for the pillow. He still held it tightly as he continued. "So I decided to stop for a minute, I check on her parents, who don't even seem to care anymore. Then I went to her room." Danny sat down on Tucker's bed still holding the pillow tightly. "When I was in there I just, I felt like she was still with me, it made me relaxed. I looked though her memory box then I laid down." He said looking back at Tucker seeing him pulling a chair up to listen more intently.
"Then what?" Tucker encouraged.
"When I laid down, it just felt like she was right there. I could feel her, smell her, I just couldn't pull my self away, and so I ended up falling asleep. It was the first time I didn't have any nightmares." Danny signed burring his head in the pillow.
"So what's with the pillow?" Tucker asked seeing that he still hadn't set it down.
"When I woke up I heard the Manson's taking. They are having her buried in England." Danny sighed sadly.
"What?" Tucker said despondently. "We won't even be able to visit her."
Danny looked up at him sadly. "I know. Isn't her mothers side from England?" He asked. Tucker just nodded in agreement. "I guess there doing it to burry her with her relatives." Danny explained. "Any way, they also told there maid to breakdown Sam's room, and throw everything away."
"Oh…" Tucker now understood.
"I couldn't let them throw away her memory box and photo album." Danny said placing his hand on the box and book.
"And what about the pillow?" Tucker asked not quite understanding why he took that.
"It…" Danny looked away embarrassed. "It has her scent." Danny muttered shyly. Tucker chuckled slightly. "Shut up." Danny defended holding the pillow tightly. "It makes me feel better."
"Hey, it's fine Danny." Tucker stopped seeing how embarrassed he was. "It reminds you of her, and that's fine." Tucker added standing up placing his hand on his shoulder.
"She's still alive." Danny added looking back to Tucker.
"Well that's doesn't surprise me after what we read yesterday." Tucker said walking back to his desk, retrieving a pile of papers. "I decoded more of the pictures last night."
"Any think interesting?" Danny asked hugging the pillow to him, allowing himself to fall to Tucker's bed.
"Not much. The parts I decoded talk more about rumors of a person that was supposed to be able to ride the accursed dragon, a 'cursed rider' but nothing more about the 'accursed'." Tucker said taking a seat back on his chair in front of the bed.
"A 'rider', she was so small, I don't think she could carry more that one person." Danny said surprised.
"Well like I said it was just rumors. Rumors are rumors, fact are facts." Tucker said putting down the page notes. "I still have more to go over but I didn't have time."
Danny began to zone out from what Tucker was saying. As he lay on his bed holding her pillow a wave of urgency washed over him. "I have to see her." Danny said breaking the original conversation.
"What." Tucker said looking at Danny strangely.
"I just got this weird feeling, I have to see her, now." Danny said sitting up.
"What do you mean? There's no way they'll let you in." Tucker said surprised by his forwardness.
Danny stood up immediately turning into his ghost side. "I have to go, I just have this feeling." Danny said looking back to Tucker.
"I'll call Jazz and let her know your ok. But be careful." Tucker said unsure of what Danny was doing.
"Thanks Tuck." He thanked as he took off towards the hospital.
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