Disclaimer: All rights belong to the respective owners of SyFy and Nickelodeon/Butch Hartman. The author of this story owns nothing; this story is for fun and not money or profit of any kind.

Chapter 10: Looking Forward

Danny shot up in bed with a gasp. He was breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. His blue eyes were as wide dinner plates as they darted around the dark room. His heart felt like he had been through a marathon. The seventeen year old began to calm down as he remembered where he was.

A soft knock on his door caused him to whip his head around at the sound. Claudia poked her head in the room as Danny swung his legs over the side of the bed, suddenly thankful he was wearing pants.

"Danny? You okay, dude?" she asked quietly. Her room was next to his, and she had heard something coming from Danny's room.

Danny could hear the concern in her voice. "Uh, yeah," he sighed shakily. "Just, uh... Just a nightmare. Um, I didn't wake you up, did I? Sorry about that."

Claudia could see he was shaken up, even in the darkness of his room. She felt sorry for him. He'd lost so much. He hadn't discussed what had happened with anyone, yet. "Don't worry about it," she said. "You sure your alright? You wanna talk about it?"

Danny shrugged, as he rubbed his face. He rarely had a decent night's sleep, anymore. "Not much to talk about," he said softly. "Just a bad dream."

Claudia didn't want to press the issue, but she also didn't want to just leave him alone. She quietly closed his door and moved to sit next to him on his bed. "Not wanting to sound nosy, but...," she said. "It didn't sound like 'just a bad dream'. Believe me; I've had nightmares like that, too.

"Did Artie tell you that my brother, Joshua, was trapped in a pocket dimension by an artifact when I was a little kid?" she continued, hoping to get his mind off his dreams.

"No," Danny said. "What happened?" That got his attention off himself, for the moment.

"Oh yeah," she nodded. "See, our parents died when I was real little, leaving Joshua to raise me by himself. Long story, but Artie was his teacher in college. Joshua found Rheticus' compass, and got himself trapped. Everyone thought Josh was dead, including Artie. But I never gave up hope. That whole thing kinda sent me over the edge, and I wound up in the looney-bin for... longer than I'd care to admit."

Danny's eyebrows furrowed at the info in surprise. He had no idea she had been through that. "Claudia, I'm so sorry that happened to you."

"Don't be," she shrugged. "It all worked out, in the end. I tracked down Artie; sorta kidnapped him, actually; and we ended up getting Joshua back safe and sound."

"You kidnapped Artie?" Danny asked in surprise. Despite himself, he gave a single chuckle at that. "Sorry I missed that."

"Yeah, some of my finer work," she smirked proudly. She then turned a bit more serious. She placed a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder and subconsciously traced the small scar on his shoulder with her thumb. "But seriously. I might not know what you've been through; but I know what your going through right now."

Danny was touched by Claudia's comforting words. He felt better, knowing that there was someone else around who had an idea of what he was feeling. "Thank you, Claudia," he said softly. "I mean that."

Claudia gave him a comforting smile. "No worries, dude," she said. "We're all here for each other. And... I'm here for you."

Danny's eyebrows raised at that. Before he could respond, Claudia rose to her feet and headed for the door. "Goodnight, Danny," she said before closing his door behind her. Danny sat and stared as the door closed, and he felt his chest flutter with something other than fear and grief.

As he laid back down in bed, Danny felt his heartache slowly beginning to give way. Claudia's words remained in his head as he began to drift back to sleep. The last thing he felt before allowing sleep to overtake him once more was a renewed sense of hope.

And Claudia had given that to him.

Author's notes: So, the reason I haven't updated this story in so long is because I got no reviews or feedback for the previous chapter. Not sure if anyone saw it, or if no one liked it. I really love this story and want to continue it. But if no one reads it, is it even worth it?

Regardless, I have also gone back and edited all of the previous chapters; shaping up dialogue, etc., so feel free to go back and re-read them.

As for this chapter, it is shorter than I normally write, but I wanted to do a nice short scene with Danny and Claudia bonding.

And, as always, thank you to everyone who reads and reviews my stories!