I am really sorry for how long it took me to write this, but I got extremely stuck on this chapter and I had to rewrite it several times, 3 times to be exact. I just got hit big with writer's block and I'm not sure if I've recovered yet. But, now I am back! Unfortunately, this chapter sucks. I'm sorry, but it was the best I could do.

Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers: Extant, Thoughts-of-Nothingness, angel-of-the-obvious, ShortSweetN'ToThePoint, Mademoiselle Z, hauntedgal26, bloodmoon13, Flaming Water, Skaties and Dino Buttons. I hope I didn't forget anyone!!

Chapter 11: Cahoots

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, but yes, I still need a new phone.

Tucker pulled into Sam's garage and let out a sigh of relief. The ride home with Ben had been nothing but tense. He glanced over at the passenger's seat and Sam looked back at him.

"I trust you not to let anything happen to yourself. Be safe," Tucker said, concern showing in his eyes. Sam smiled a small smile and extended her arms to Tucker. He pulled up close to her and they embraced. Sam pressed her head against his as he closed his eyes and cuddled into her neck.

"I love you so much Tucker. Thanks for being my best friend," she said.

"Feels like we're saying goodbye," he whispered as they pulled away. Sam could see the tears behind his glasses and she laughed, trying to get rid of the feeling that something absolutely terrible was going to happen.

"We're not. I, personally, am not ready to say goodbye to you Tucker Foley. So fill up your gas tank and I'll see you here during the weekends," Sam said.

"Ok, I'll be here, no worries. I have to come visit my favourite niece and nephew," he said as he turned to face them. Chills ran down his spine as he came face to face with Ben. Ben didn't blink. He hadn't blinked since they had taken him from the hospital. His body seemed frozen as he had not moved a muscle since they had seen him. He was freaking everyone out. He forced his eyes to drift over to the children.

"We're your only niece and nephew, Uncle Tuck," Zoey said, removing her earphones.

"You got me there," Tucker said.

"Ok, kids, say your goodbye's. Time to bring Ben inside," Sam said as she opened the door. Tucker glanced around at Danny who flung his door open also.

'Go get her man. Keep her safe,' Tucker thought as he saw Danny meet Sam in front of the car.

"Sam, I'm worried," Danny wasted no time in getting to the point.

"Don't be, I can take care of myself," she said, stopping in front of him.

"I know that, but it's not like this is a normal situation. There is a ghost after you, and he wants revenge. I don't think he'll have time for negotiating," Danny said. Sam looked at his face and wanted to reach up and smooth his worried eyebrows and kiss the twist of his lips into a smile. She wanted to hug him and tell him that nothing would happen and he should stop worrying, but she couldn't so she took his hand in hers and held it firmly.

"I know I'm in danger, and so are the kids, but I just want one night to settle things with Ben. Just one night. I am scared out of my wits about ghosts attacking me again and right now I am just hoping that they don't come tonight. I know, its suicide, but I will see you tomorrow Danny. I promise. And then you can have complete control over protecting us, plus, this gives you some time to make a big plan, like last time. Surprise them," she said, watching his thumb making patterns on her hand.

"I can't let you stay alone in that house, unprotected," Danny complained, unaware of the patterns he was making.

"It's just one night. I'll try not to die and like I said, make a big plan tonight, make them think you're not on to them that much and then you can catch them before they do anything serious, plus I won't be alone. I've got Zoey and Shaire…and Ben," Sam said. She thought her brave words were foolish. She was absolutely terrified of being without Danny. She had managed the first time around, but she had lived in terror and hatred for months with Vlad. She hadn't gotten hurt, Danny had swooped in and saved her, thankfully, but what would happen this time around? But she was following her instincts and something told her that something was off…with Ben. She had a theory and she was going to use the night to either prove it or totally dismiss it.

"No!" Danny said. He wouldn't allow her to have her way; her plan was life-threatening and stupid.

"Yes!" She said.

"I'll be here tonight Sam. I'll be here tonight and you can't tell me to leave," he said, biting back his anger. Sam opened her mouth to speak but closed it so that she could think. After a minute, she clapped Danny on the shoulder in a friendly gesture and beamed.

"Just like the old days," she said. Danny's lips curled into an uncertain smile. Was she accepting his offer of friendship? Sam let her hand fall down to her side, subtly brushing her hand against his biceps and Danny answered his question with a no. He let go of her hand and pushed his hair from his eyes.

"Good, I'll be there when Ben is fast asleep," he said. Sam nodded and continued to the other side of the car to unload Ben. Danny turned toward the car and saw Tucker mouthing to him. Danny put up a thumb and Tucker visibly relaxed.

Sam swung open the door and looked at Ben. Just looking at him brought back all those memories she never got to share with Danny. All those memories of the time she had spent with Vlad. She shivered slightly and rubbed the goose bumps on her arms. She gave Ben a fake smile even though he was not looking at her.

"We're home!" She said and grabbed his wheelchair. With one pull, she had yanked him out of the minivan and onto the rough cement. He landed with a hug jerk which almost sent him flying out of his seat. Sam grinned behind his back, his expression did not change.

"Bye Uncle Tuck, bye Uncle Danny," Zoey said as she propelled herself off the seat.

"Bye bye Uncle Tuck and Uncle Danny," Shaire said as he climbed off the seat. Sam raised an eyebrow at 'Uncle Danny'. The boy had some serious smarts. Danny didn't seem fazed by Shaire's new name for him. Sam was wondering if he had even heard it. Sam grabbed Ben's wheelchair again and pushed him roughly up to the front door.

"Bye Tuck, later Danny! Zoey, could you get the door?" Sam said as she turned away from the vehicle. Danny climbed in beside Tucker and both of them watched Sam disappear inside.

"You don't need to worry Tucker. I'll be here tonight. Nothing is going to happen," Danny said. Tucker started the van and Danny turned to him. Tucker smiled.

"Just like the old days," he said, repeating Sam's exact words.

~~~*~~~

Sam shoved Ben around the dining table and traveled to the refrigerator to find something sweet to eat. It would calm her down. Zoey and Shaire had run upstairs the instant they had entered. Now, Sam could not hear their footsteps. They were probably watching TV or sleeping. They were fine.

She repeated that to herself as she spied a generous slice of a black forest cake sitting on the shelf. She licked her lips and pulled it out. She made it to the table, forgetting to get something to drink. She placed her delicious slice of heaven on the table and went back for some water. She pulled the door of the refrigerator opened and inspected the shelves. She was having a hard time deciding between water and a passion fruit drink. She was never one to watch calories. She decided water would go best with something sweet and she snatched it up.

There was a growl and a plate shattering behind Sam and she spun around, heart pounding. Her cake was no longer where she had left it. She could see it splattered on a far wall, the plate it was in, shattered on the ground. Sam stopped breathing for a moment. How had that happened? She stared at Ben, her eyes narrowing, trying to catch what was wrong with him.

He hadn't moved, at least it looked like he hadn't moved. He was holding the same position as before, not one muscle out of place. Then suddenly, Sam couldn't breathe. It was as if a huge force was pushing against her lungs, cutting off her supply of air. She gasped for breath as she stared at Ben. Her fingers trembled and she dropped the water bottle, water splashing all over the floor. She could feel her heartbeat lose its regularity. She was losing consciousness, she couldn't let that happen. If she lost consciousness, she'd never get it back. She knew she was changing colour and the force was getting stronger and stronger, pushing heavier and heavier, killing her.

Her eyes moved to the ground, her knees following as her hands clutched at her chest. Her eyes drifted to Ben and for a moment her heartbeat quickened for on his face was the most devious look that Sam had ever seen. It was the face of evil. But that was for a moment, then it was gone and so was the force that had pushed against Sam's lungs. Her breathing was painful but the force had left so quickly that it was as if it had only been a hallucination, just like how it seemed that she had hallucinated Ben's evil smirk. Maybe she was losing her mind. She lay on the floor for a few minutes trying to breathe normally again. It wasn't easy, but soon she could inhale and exhale with only a slight jab in her chest. She scrambled to her feet, careful of the water. She touched her throat lightly and glared at Ben. He had to be involved in whatever plan there was. He had to. He was proving her theory right.

Ben was in cahoots with the ghosts.

~~~*~~~

"Mommy, I'm scared," Shaire whispered to her as she tucked him in later that night. She sat gently on the edge of his bed and looked softly at her little boy.

"What are you scared of?" She asked, brushing his hair away from his face.

"Ghosts," he whispered and looked around him as if he was certain that one would pop up in his room. Sam swallowed painfully.

"There is no need to be afraid, Shaire. Danny will protect us," she said, letting her hand rest on his head. Shaire shook his head.

"No, he can't. He won't always be here, mommy," he said solemnly. It was growing difficult to Sam to know that her son knew everything.

"Can you feel them close-by?" She whispered. He shook his head again.

"I can't sense ghosts," he said.

"Well, don't worry about that. You have your special skill and I love you, ever since you were in here," Sam said and patted her stomach. Shaire didn't smile, he only stared at her. It made her uncomfortable, like he knew something she did not.

"Be careful, mommy. I love you," he said and he sat up in bed and gave Sam a kiss on the cheek. She touched her cheek tenderly, fear and adoration mixing to produce an unnatural emotion.

"I will be. Goodnight. Time you went to sleep and stopped worrying so much. You're only 7 years old," she said. She kissed him on the cheek and turned off his lights. She left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

"A 7 year old that knows everything that's going to happen," Shaire whispered.

Sam stepped into the hall and saw Zoey on her hands and knees obviously searching for something.

"Umm, Zoe…what are you looking for?" Sam asked. Normally Zoey knew where everything was, whether her room was tidy or not.

"I just had my guitar earrings sitting on my jewelry box 2 minutes ago. I turn my back and abracadabra…they disappear. So, I'm retracing my steps to see if I've lost my mind or if I've become extremely careless," Zoey said, standing up.

"Good luck with that and goodnight," Sam said.

"I'm gonna go look in my room for it, it has been a while since I've cleaned in there." Zoey held her nose and pointed to her door. Sam smiled.

"Well, get to it then."

"Ok, ok. Goodnight to you too mom," Zoey said, and with those final words she left, closing the door behind her, never to be opened again…until it was morning.

"I don't expect you to go to school tomorrow, Zoey!" Sam yelled.

"I had no intention of going!" Zoey yelled back, making Sam smile.

Sam continued to walk toward her room…well…the room she was to share with Ben. She stopped mid-way there and quickly decided to sleep in the guest room downstairs. She wasn't going to play the game again and if Ben didn't want to talk, she would take action. She started toward the stairs, a voice telling her not to approach it. She brushed it off as paranoia. She held on to the railing and stepped on the first step.

"Sam?" It was spoken softly, as if asking a question, with the littlest touch of an English accent. Sam turned around and saw Ben in his wheelchair, expression soft. He was responding to his emotions now. Good, now they would talk.

"Sam," he said this time more firmly. It was in the normal preppy Ben voice that she was used to. It was the first time he had spoken since he had been back.

"Yes," Sam said harshly.

"I haven't forgotten," he said and his soft expression changed so swiftly into pure evil. She knew something bad was going to happen and her grip on the railing tightened. The first push was vicious. Sam felt as if someone had run a fire extinguisher into her stomach. She lost her footing on the stairs but her hand to the railing prevented her from falling. Ben stared at her, relaxed and looking evil. She felt something cover her mouth harshly and rip her hand from the railing. She was panicking as her hand slipped off. Her heart was going a million miles per seconds and her hands were trying to grab at something, but she could hold onto nothing, not even the creature that was holding onto her.

The second thrust was even worse. She felt like a log had been used to do the job. And it did, she went flying down the stairs and everything seemed to slow down as she tried to grab but nothing came up. She was flying way above the steps and that force still held her mouth. She now knew what Zoey's fear of ghosts felt like when it had become real. She couldn't even start crying as she fell on her side, her arm breaking the fall. She opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she could, but not a sound escaped. She wriggled on the floor in utter pain and tears streamed down her eyes, but no one could hear a thing. It was the most horrifying thing she had even experienced.

Ben came to the stairs, looking down at her. His maniacal smile widened and deepened and he had to control himself from bursting out into laughter. Sam looked up at him and she pushed the thoughts out of her mind and into his corrupted one. She knew he could hear them.

"Goodnight, Samantha," he said and turned the chair away. She lay on the floor, switching to her back which thankfully she had not fallen on. But falling on her right hand wasn't much easier. It hurt to move it and she was almost sure that it was broken. She tried to get up, but her legs weren't able to support her so she sat on the floor and cradled her arm. She would be sure to go to the hospital in the morning, but she would not keep anything from Danny. She would tell him the moment he came into the house. She sat there for a long time never realizing that the groans of pain were hers. Then she tried to get up and managed to. She hobbled to the guest room, closing the door tightly behind her.

'I need to tell Danny. Hurry and get here!. I now know what I need to know. I will not put anyone that I love in danger,' she thought as she lay on the bed. Her eyes began closing just minutes after she had climbed into the bed. She couldn't keep up the fight. In a matter of minutes, Sam had drifted off to sleep.

I feel like I've robbed you. I've robbed you of a page (this chapter is shorter than the others) and I've robbed you of a good read. I don't think my reviews will be that good for this chappie, but if anyone has any suggestions about writer's block or how to make the rest of this story awesome, please share it!

I've already started rewriting Boarding School: Sumer Time, but it'll have a new name named (hehehe) Boarding School: Summer Edition! Let me give you a little peek…hopefully I don't change it.

"I don't have a problem with being alone. It's…it's who I am. And reading books is not bad," Sam said softly. Lily rolled her eyes.

'Everybody needs somebody, Sammie. And books are bad when you use them to replace people and experiences.'

'So what if I've never kissed a boy before? That means nothing,' Sam defended herself.

'It means a lot Sammie, that's why this summer is going to be different.'

'Sure. Different.'

So, tell me what you guys think. I will be deleting the original Boarding School (BS) story. Admit it, it sucks.

Sorry I didn't get to reply to some of your reviews, it's just crazy mad round these ends.