Oh man; when's the last time I updated? It's like a vague memory lol. Anyways, I have a killer headache (and sitting in front of the computer reallly isn't helping), and I really need to get some sleep, but I really wanted to get this one up for you guys today :D So enjoy!

Thanks to: MutantLover09, DP fan, ShatterMyMuse, DannyTimmygirl327, goth.one, Kisho16, dragon of spirits, blondecrazything and Anime Wildfire. You guys rock! Thanks also to Cordria for beta-ing this!

PS. Sorry if my next update takes awhile; I'm not giving up on this story or anything, it's just a bit of writer's block. Anyways, enjoy chapter 10!

Danny sat at the table the next morning, sullenly picking at his cereal. He hadn't wanted any food at all, but Judy was forcing him to eat something.

"Are you okay out there Danny?" Judy called from the kitchen, not hearing the spoon hit the plate as many times as she would've liked.

"I don't know…" Danny sighed, his energy gradually decreasing.

Judy appeared from the kitchen, holding a towel in her hand. "Well, would you like something different to eat?" she asked.

"No offense Judy, but if you were about to be visited by a social worker you wouldn't be too hungry either."

"Aw, I know, sweetie. What would make you feel better, then?" she asked, wanting desperately to help the boy.

"Some fresh air…a walk…" Danny said, looking out the window longingly, wishing that the idea wasn't completely insane.

It clearly was, because John firmly called from the bookshelf he was dusting and organizing, "No. You're not allowed to go out and you know it Danny."

Danny literally banged his head onto the table.

"Come on John! You owe him that much! Just a quick twenty-minute walk outside. Please?" Judy begged on Danny's behalf.

"No."

"Jonathan Timbers, you let this young man go outside and breathe a little! This is completely unfair! I've stuck to your ridiculous routine for so many years now, and it's about time I let you know that it is extremely unhealthy to deprive a growing child of something so basic as oxygen! Especially on a day like this!" she said angrily.

"Fine." Everyone in the room, including John, was surprised at the little word that came from the guardian's mouth. He sighed softly and repeated it.

"Fine. Go ahead Danny. You deserve it for putting up with this for twelve years. Go."

John seemed reluctant, but stuck to his hasty decision. Judy was right. Today was not the right day to have Danny looking pale and sick. John would do anything to help his chances of keeping Danny. Besides, John thought, It's not like he'll actually have a chance of running into him, especially after so many years.

"Are you serious? Thank you so much!" Danny cried happily. He didn't waste a single moment in getting his jacket and putting on his sneakers. He almost hugged his guardian in delight, but quickly caught himself and contented both John and himself with an awkward and completely out-of-place handshake. Judy stood back in the corner, trying to stifle giggles while she watched the scene.

"Just make sure you're back before 1:30," John said, pointing to Danny's watch. Danny nodded.

As soon as the boy was ready, he looked at both adults, and then, as if leaving on a great journey, said, "Well…I'll see you soon!"

Then, smiling and relishing every moment and feeling, from the creaking of the closing door to the squeak of his shoes against the floor, Danny made his way outside the apartment.

Judy was right. The fresh air was doing him good. He felt relaxed and content. Wow. I can't believe John actually let me go out like this! He thought happily as he enjoyed his walk in the park.

On the other side of the large grassy area there was a much bigger, richer neighborhood. Danny walked a little further, venturing into the depths of the greenery, and finally found a swing set on which he took a seat. Before long, Danny was unconsciously swinging high into the air, savoring every gulp of fresh air that penetrated his lungs. Suddenly, he felt someone grasp the chains that attached the swing to the structure. He skidded to an abrupt halt.

"Hi," a familiar voice said. Danny squeezed his eyes shut as he slowly turned his head; his heart skipped a beat.

"Sam?" he asked.

"You know, you can open your eyes now," she laughed.

Danny blushed as he opened his eyes. (Well, it wasn't really his fault…it was his first time out on his own and he had no better way of defending himself).

"Hi…" he smiled.

"Wow, I knew we lived close, but not this close," she giggled.

Danny smiled. She's cute when she giggles…he thought as he stared at her.

"Danny?" she waved her hand in front the boy's face.

"Huh?" he snapped out of his daze and cleared his throat. "Oh…yeah. Me neither. Where do you live?"

"Right over there," Sam replied as she pointed to the neighbourhood on the right side of the park. She then asked where Danny lived.

"Um, the other side of the park. Over there." Danny pointed to the houses on the left.

Sam looked startled. "Oh," she said simply.

"What?" Danny asked.

"Um…nothing. I just think it's cool we live so close," she grinned.

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "So…what're you doing out here?"

"Well, I just needed to blow off some steam, so I thought I'd go for a walk. My parents kind of…well, never mind," she trailed off.

"What?" Danny questioned, interested.

"No, it's okay. I don't want to bore you with my problems."

"It's not a bore!" Danny insisted. "Come on, I don't mind."

"Well, I don't know…"

"Come on, if there's anything I know, it's that keeping it bottled up inside is the worst thing you can do," Danny said truthfully.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Sam asked.

Danny nodded, and so Sam began her story. She began ranting and raving about how her parents never gave her any space and couldn't respect her individuality. She told Danny about how they wouldn't even let her go to the Circus Gothica that was coming to town that week.

When she had finished, she gave an abrupt sigh. "Whoa, that does feel better," she smiled.

"Glad I could help," Danny grinned, "And I think you're right; you do have a right to your own style. It's hard to convince parents of things like that though…"

"Have you ever had problems like that?" Sam asked curiously.

"Well…not exactly. But you know, I've had my share of problems…" Too bad they're not over yet…Danny thought.

"Oh, I see." There was a short silence before she asked, "Um, are you in a hurry?"

"No, why?" Danny replied without realizing that he was giving the girl false information.

"Well, I was just thinking…if you wanted, maybe we could go get some ice cream?"

"Sure!" he said excitedly, completely forgetting his one-thirty 'curfew'.

"Great!" Sam seemed relieved that Danny had agreed, and took his hand excitedly, leading him out of the park. "It's just this way," she said as she pointed to a currently undetectable ice cream shop down the road, "I discovered it about a year ago. They make the best vegan ice cream and pastries!"

"You're vegan?" Danny asked.

"Well, ultra-recyclo vegetarian," Sam corrected. She suddenly noticed she was holding onto Danny's hand and let go with a small blush. Danny's face reddened slightly, and after a few moments, Sam hastily led the way down the road.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else?" Sam asked, looking at Danny's meager fraction of a brownie.

"Oh yeah, I'm positive," he insisted, "I had a big breakfast." It was a lie, but it was all he could afford with the loose change he'd found in his pocket.

"Okay, favorite movie?" Sam said as she took a seat at a table outside the Ice Cream Shoppe.

Danny looked at her in puzzlement.

Sam laughed at the clueless look on his face. "What's your favorite movie?" she repeated.

"Oh!" Danny flushed. "Um…I would have to say, Apollo 13."

"An astronaut movie?"

"I've always wanted to be an astronaut," he shrugged.

"Hmm, sounds ambitious." Sam sounded impressed.

"Well, what about you?"

"Nah, you'll just laugh," Sam grinned embarrassedly as she shrunk back.

"C'mon!" Danny urged playfully.

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise." he said solemnly.

"Okay…well, there are two. Shakespeare In Love and Titanic."

Danny stifled a laugh.

"I know, I know," Sam rolled her eyes good-humoredly, "It's too romantic for me, huh?"

Danny smiled. "No…of course not…it's just…unexpected." Sam gave him a playful push.

Danny, getting into the spirit of the game, asked, "Okay, how about…most self-defining song?"

"Hmm…the song that defines me, huh?" Sam thought intently for a moment before replying confidently, "Blurry, by Puddle of Mudd."

"Never heard it…" Danny said pensively.

"You?"

"Hm…I'd have to say…Away from the Sun, by 3 Doors Down."

"Hmm, sounds…angsty…"

"Angsty? Is that a word?" Danny teased.

"Mmm, it's in my life vocabulary," Sam laughed as she took a spoonful of ice cream. She felt a drop of cold ice cream on her nose and looked at it cross-eyed.

Danny chuckled at the cute sight as he leaned across the table to wipe the ice cream off her nose with a napkin. She blushed furiously, but seemed pleased. The feeling was mutual.

"So," she tried to change the subject to cover up the awkward moment that followed, "You know what's funny?"

"What?" Danny asked, his face still a bit red, but not without a smile.

"Well, it's weird that we've lived so close for so long, and we get along so well with each other, but we met in a completely different state," she grinned.

"Yeah…and we keep meeting up too…"

"It's almost like some incredibly planned coincidence," she laughed.

"Well, not that I mind it," Danny said.

"Of course not, I think it's awesome." Sam took her last spoonful of ice cream, but then caught a glance of her watch. "Oh man! Already?"

"What's wrong?" Danny asked.

"I'm supposed to be home in fifteen minutes. We're having guests over," she sighed before elaborating, "Y'know where the reception for Carey and Nick's wedding was?" Danny nodded. "It's that Vlad Masters guy who owns the house. He wants my dad to be his lawyer or something. I don't know why I have to be there," she said, annoyed, "but I couldn't weasel out of it."

"Oh, so I guess we better go then…" Danny said, not even slightly reminded of his own appointment after hearing about Sam's.

Each taking their jackets, the two teens rose and made for home.

They mounted the old marble front steps of the apartment building that Danny had so rarely left in his twelve years of its occupation. Sam almost tripped on a crack in the fourth step, but Danny quickly stretched out his arm and caught her.

"Yeah, you gotta be careful about that one step," he said, trying to lessen her obvious embarrassment. She murmured something in agreement.

They continued down a flowery walkway until they reached the entrance door.

"Um, ok…I guess I'll see you around then? I mean, know that we know how close we live," Sam said.

"Sure," Danny confirmed.

He looked around awkwardly, unsure of what to do, but then Sam pulled him into a friendly hug. Though startled, Danny couldn't help but smile. They eventually separated from the embrace, and with a small wave, they each went their own separate ways.

Danny entered the building and slipped his hand in his pocket, reaching for his key. He opened the second door that led to the elevator, and headed off to the lifts with a large grin, completely oblivious to what was awaiting him upstairs.

Danny searched for his apartment key in his jacket pocket. Finding nothing, he rang the doorbell. He heard the heavy sound of running footsteps approaching the door; Judy opened for him. Behind her stood John as well as another figure Danny couldn't quite make out. Danny greeted John and Judy as he entered, but then stopped abruptly as he realized who stood behind John.

Even though he hadn't been introduced, Danny could tell who the lady was by the clipboard in her hand and the nervous looks on Judy and John's faces.

"Hello Daniel. I'm Ms. Julia Chang," the fair-skinned young lady said as she took the boy's hand. Danny felt his heart jump in his throat the moment she introduced herself. He shook her hand, though somewhat limply.

Though Danny was a little worried about being late for the appointment, he was more concerned about the fact that he was standing in front of the person who would determine his very future, and yet had no idea how to act or what to say. He felt his throat tighten as she resumed speech, completely ignoring his late entrance.

"So Daniel, as I was explaining to John and Judy earlier, I'm going to take a tour around the apartment to see if it's suitable for you. Then I'll be asking you and John and Judy some questions, separately of course. Actually, we were just about to begin, so…" Ms. Chang gestured toward John as if waiting for him to do something.

John nodded briskly and led the group into the kitchen, where he began explaining something to Julia. Danny had stopped listening. He began trembling slightly and his hands became clammy and cold. He felt his head begin throbbing and was having slight trouble keeping his balance. Judy must have noticed this because she stayed near Danny throughout the whole visit, sometimes putting her arm around him for comfort or support, (both moral and physical). However, John seemed quite distant from the boy. He tried to stay as far away as possible from Danny and even avoided eye contact with him.

Eventually, when Ms. Chang had visited all the rooms in the residence, John led them back to the living room.

"Alright," the social worker said, still scribbling on her clipboard, "I'm going to need to interrogate you each individually, staring with John and Judy. Daniel, could you please go wait in your room until we're done?" she asked arrogantly.

Danny felt a wave of great dislike for the woman pass over him, but did as he was asked.

Sitting nervously on his bed, Danny tried to guess the questions he would be asked ahead of time so he could prepare his answers. Eventually, Judy came in the room and silently beckoned for Danny to follow her.

"Just remember," she whispered before leading him out to the hallway, "Try to stay positive. That's your best guarantee for her approval of John's custody." Danny nodded and took a deep breath as he walked into the living room and sat on the couch across the woman.

She scrawled on her clipboard for a few more seconds, almost as if trying to make Danny nervous. Finally, she looked up from her papers and smiled. "Well Daniel, I just have a few questions to ask you and then you'll be free to go, alright?" She tried to be sweet and comforting, but only succeeded in adding to Danny's stress and pressure. "So, what's it like living with John?" she began.

Danny looked at her for a few moments, expecting her to elaborate. When she didn't, he cleared his throat and began.

"Well, John's really great," he hesitated at first, but soon gained confidence, "He works really hard, he makes sure I do the same with my studies. He's fair and he makes sure I have fun."

"I see," Julia said as she noted something on her infamous clipboard. "And do you like it here?"

"Yes," Danny replied confidently.

"So if John is your guardian, who exactly is Judy?"

"Oh, Judy? She's great. She's John's friend and she comes over sometimes to help out. She's really great company," Danny said.

The social worker proceeded to ask a few questions about Danny's home schooling and regular living habits, such as how many hours of sleep he got, or how many times a week he had dinner with his guardian.

Finally, when the woman had finished taunting Danny with her clipboard, notes and questions, she asked him to go call Judy and John. Danny gladly did so.

A few minutes later, the three adults and the teen were standing at the front door, waiting for Julia to leave.

"Well thank you for the visit," she said briskly as she adjusted her purse on her shoulder, "You will be receiving a letter in the mail concerning the next step of the procedure."

John nodded silently and with a parting wave, Ms. Chang was gone. Danny immediately relaxed when the lady left, and so did Judy, who closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. John locked the door behind the social worker.

"Hey John, when is the let-," Danny began his question casually, but stopped the moment John turned around.

Upon seeing the expression on his guardian's face, Danny felt the tension in the room suddenly mount once more. John's eyes were narrowed and his face was flushed. He stood still for a few moments, glaring at Danny, until finally, he exploded.

"WHERE IN THE WORLD WERE YOU?!"

Danny jumped back slightly in astonishment, his eyes widening in confusion. Judy was standing near him, biting her fingernails and cringing.

What the…?

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU JUST DID?" he bellowed.

Danny was too stunned to reply. He stood motionless in place, completely and utterly bewildered by his guardian's uncharacteristic behavior.

"DO YOU WANT TO GO TO AN ORPHANAGE OR SOMETHING? IS THAT WHY YOU-," John was cut off by Judy who was giving him a pleading look from behind Danny. John sighed, closed his eyes and then started over, with an only somewhat calmer pitch than before.

"Do you know what you just did?" he asked abrasively, the tone of potential exploding anger lying under his voice. Danny decided he had been less scared when his guardian was yelling. "You were fifty minutes late! That's almost an hour! Where were you?"

"I was out and I-." Danny was cut off.

"Do you know how hard it was for me and Judy to stall that lady until you came home? I said twenty minutes! You were allowed to go out for twenty minutes! What kind of impression do you think she got when she saw you coming home late?! Do you know how irresponsible that made me look? Letting a fourteen-year-old go out by himself like that, especially when we knew about her visit and its importance?"

Danny's confusion became his anger as he began to feel his temper boil. So that's why he's angry? That's the problem?

"What do you have to say for yourself?" John demanded angrily.

"Look, you're blowing this out of proportion! I don't think it'll make a difference if-," Danny began angrily but was cut off abruptly by a stinging pain on his face. He looked up into his guardian's eyes as he realized what had just happened. John's hand was up in the air, as a result of the strike Danny had just received. Danny felt a soft numbing on his left cheek. His heart was racing and his stomach churned. Then, without even thinking, he blindly raced to his room, slamming the door shut behind him.