~Chapter 20~

Even though the microwave was beeping incessantly in his ear, Danny didn't hear a single sound from it. The thud and crash kept echoing in his mind and panic began taking over. His heart racing faster and faster, he ran up the stairs and almost tripped doing it. But he didn't care what happened to him; Sam was still in his room and had done something to make that noise. What worried him the most was this one question: what happened?

The door slammed HARD against the wall as the panic-stricken teen flew inside his own room. He didn't care if everyone woke up because of it; he hadn't even given thought to it. All that mattered was making sure Sam was okay.

But the sight before him was horrifying. A bloodied steak knife had just stopped sliding across the floor. His beloved was laying motionless on her back, in her own widening pool of dark red blood. Cuts covered her arms and her thighs. The lamp that had been on his nightstand had apparently fallen on her head, little shards of glass everywhere. Blood was still pooling around her body, but thankfully none of it was coming from her head or neck.

The hybrid ran over to her and knelt down, gently tapping her cheek to try to wake her up. Finding this to be ineffective, he put two fingers on her neck, feeling for her pulse. He couldn't help but sigh in relief when he felt a was a steady heartbeat.

His hand trembled as he tenderly and cautiously brushed away all the hair and glass bits off her face. Her eyes were closed and her face had a few scratches, scrapes, and small cuts from the lamp. He guessed she'd passed out from losing too much blood from cutting herself too much and hit the nightstand on her way down, causing the lamp to fall on her. But the amount of lost blood scared the skin off him. The puddle was so large, it was hard to tell where the red liquid was coming from. He assumed she'd lost just under two and a half pints of it.

The panicked halfa carefully picked her up bridal-style and transformed into the infamous superhero, Danny Phantom. Also known as Invis-O-Bill. People called him both names, but he preferred Phantom over Invis-O-Bill any day.

He turned himself and the goth he was holding intangible and phased through the wall of his room, quickly determining which way the nearest hospital was.

Sam groggily lifted one eyelid only about halfway up to observe her surroundings. She found herself no longer in Danny's room, where she last remembered being, but in a dull white room. To her left was a monitor that kept steadily beeping, while to her right was a few chairs. Danny was sitting in the one closest to her and had his arms crossed and his head down. Light snores told her he was asleep. She suddenly became aware of two needles taped to each of her arms, one needle on one arm, and the other needle on the other arm. The needle on her right arm had a red tube that connected to a red bag that hung off a thin metal pole. The other had some kind of clear fluid in it and also connected to a bag, clear this time, that hung off a congruent metal pole. A third tube wrapped around her face, under her nose, and tucked behind her ears. It seemed to give her air whenever she breathed through her nose. In front of her was a closed door.

The monitor kept up its incessant beeping sound; it took the goth awhile to figure out it was beeping in sync to her heart's beat. She had no clue where she was at, though. All she knew was that Danny was here and nobody else, and that she was stuck in some kind of room with weird machines.

"Danny...?" she groaned, finding her voice raspy and her throat parched. She didn't hear any answer to indicate she'd woken him. Even though she was extremely tired and felt beyond exhausted, it would be too hard to get back to sleep with her thirst growing more and more by the minute. So she tried again, trying to be clearer and louder this time. "Danny?"

His eyes, which had dark bags under them, shot open and he hurried to rush to her bedside. "Sam, how're you feeling?" he asked softly, barely able to stave off a yawn.

"Tired...and thirsty..." she mumbled.

The halfbreed walked around to the other side of her bed and took a white Styrofoam cup. He bent a straw that also happened to be on the same table as the cup, put it in the ice water, and gave the cup to Sam. She gratefully took it and started draining the entire cup.

After she was done, she asked, "Where am I?"

"You're at a hospital, Sam. I went to fix you some mashed potatoes and heard a thump and a crash. When I came upstairs, you were laying unconscious on the floor. My lamp fell and hit you on the head," he explained.

"Why am I at a hospital, though? Why didn't you just put me back in bed or something?"

"You finally went too deep. You lost too much blood. I had to bring you here so you could have a blood transfusion."

She looked up at the red bag. So that was what it was. A blood transfusion. "Oh. What's my blood type?"

"AB positive."

"Who's blood is going into me?"

Danny shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. They took some of my blood but my blood type is O positive, so I couldn't donate."

"If they took tests on your blood, then wouldn't they find out you're half ghost?" she wondered aloud.

"No. When I'm Phantom, I have pure ghost blood running through my veins. But when I'm Fenton, I have only human blood. I know this because a ghost's blood is a neon green color. And it glows. Human blood isn't green and it doesn't glow. When they took my blood, it wasn't green and didn't glow. So I kinda put the pieces together." Danny shrugged again, as if it was no big deal. He hadn't told her that he had risked his secret when they took his blood. He hadn't known whether or not his blood would be mixed with that of a ghost's. So he'd literally just found out when the needle went in.

"Nobody knows about my secret, though, right?" The thought had just hit her.

"I didn't tell them, but they probably found out from all those scars."

"Why'd you let them see?"

He smiled and gently said, "Well, I had to choose between your life and your secret. I think the answer is obvious."

"Ugh...great... Now I'm gonna have to go to therapy or be put in a straitjacket."

"I''m sure they won't do that to you. Although, to make matters fair, I did tell you to stop cutting. You didn't listen and now look where it got you. Remember when I asked you if it was worth it?"

The vegetarian nodded. At the time, she thought it was fine, that just two or three cuts wouldn't do that much damage. But now, around a month later, she was in a hospital due to blood loss and was currently having a blood transfusion done. On top of that, these scars would last for the rest of her life. "Danny, I think I'm addicted to cutting."

"Ya think? You know this isn't even the extent of the damage, either, right? You and Tucker aren't even friends anymore because he can't put his finger on why you're so secretive. Your grades are slipping because you spend more time drawing blood than you do drawing letters. You got a detention for being tardy, again because you were cutting, and skipped it. And on top of that you haven't been studying alot, which only downs your grades even more. I think it's safe to say that this has to stop," he said.

"I didn't mean for this to happen..."

"I know you didn't. I told you this stuff worked like a drug. And all those times I asked you to talk to me, you got mad and told me to back off. I was only trying to help so you could avoid having to go to the hospital. I told you I had your best interest at heart, and I meant it," he told her.

"But, Danny, I'm just gonna keep cutting myself. Yeah, this was a wake-up call, but I'm gonna want a knife or something once I'm better. I just know I will..."

"Nope; I'm taking all sharp objects into my custody, and then I'm hiding them from you. When you get back from this place, the house is going to be completely Sam-proof. And to ensure your safety, you'll eat with nothing but a spoon, that way you can't jab yourself with a fork."

"Thanks, I guess."

"And to make sure you get off this cutting addiction, you're going to go-"

"Don't say Jazz!" she interrupted.

"I wasn't; that's too extreme. I was going to say-"

"Therapist? Psychiatrist? Shrink?"

"No. I was going to say you're going to go to a rehab clinic."

"Rehab? I'm on blood, Danny, not drugs."

"I know. This is a special rehab center I looked up online. It's called Other Ways Rehabilitation Clinic and the best part about it is that it's for cutters. It's a little far away from Amity Park, but if I fly us there, it won't take as long as by car."

"But you can't go back and forth every day."

"I won't have to. They let their patients stay at the clinic until they're broken from their addiction. So you'll be staying there until you don't feel the need to cut yourself, I'll cover for you at school, but the downside to it is that my family is gonna have to know about the problem."

"I don't want anyone to know!"

"Would you rather keep doing it? Sam, you promised me this wasn't going to get out of control, but when you wind up at a hospital because of too much blood loss...well, I'd say it's gotten out of control by then."

"...I'll go to rehab..." the goth grumbled.

Sam and Danny Fenton stood in front of a large white building. There was a sign at its entrance that sat right above the door and said, "Other Ways". A good abbreviation would be "O.W." It looked like a giant hospital with three floors.

Sam started to turn around, but was stopped by the boy's hand. "And where do you think you're going, Miss 'I'll go to rehab'?"

"I change my mind! I didn't mean any of what I said at the hospital!" she protested.

Danny sighed and dragged her inside. The clinic was supposed to have everything she needed, including clothes, brushes, toothbrushes, and toothpaste, so he hadn't packed any of her things. He'd actually already filled in her papers, so they knew she needed maternity clothes. He'd put in the maternity clothes just in case this took longer than expected. He just hoped it wouldn't take six months. And he hoped the baby wouldn't decide to make an appearance before it was time. But she was only three and a half months; it wasn't very likely.

"Sam, I've already filled out all your paperwork and they're already expecting you. Besides, is the hospital where you really want to end up...again?"

She shook her head and reluctantly followed him inside. The inside wasn't swarming with people, like she'd imagined. There were a few people with matching outfits that seemed to be going somewhere, but she couldn't tell if they were visitors, patients, or staff. It actually looked alot like the school. It had tile floors, it branched into several different hallways... But there were no lockers. She assumed this was because they had rooms on the first floor.

Danny brought Sam up to the first room on their right and opened the door for her to go in. "Ladies first."

The vegan reluctantly went in to be greeted by a counselor that worked in the facility. "H-Hey..." Sam said nervously.

"Ah, Ms. Manson, right? We've been expecting you! Have a seat, please." The lady gestured over to a chair with a huge smile on her face.

Sam and Danny both took a seat and Danny was handed a pamphlet, which he immediately began reading.

"Um, don't I get one? I mean, I'm the one who has to stay here, not him," the girl said.

"Well, that's because here we like to keep our newcomers surprised!" she replied gleefully.

"Can I just ask what the heck you're so happy about?" Sam asked.

"It uplifts the spirits of all our patients here at Other Ways," she answered.

The lady was heavily set, and most likely overweight. She had the traditional librarian look, with a fall-colors vest and reading glasses, even a book with an elegant bookmark right beside a festive cup of coffee. "Now, Samantha, how long do you think you've been cutting yourself?"

"A month."

"Every day for a month," Danny corrected.

The lady jotted something down on a sheet of paper and resumed the interrogation. "And how many times do you cut yourself per day?"

"Seven to twelve. Maybe more." Again, it was Danny. When he looked up from his pamphlet to see the surprised look on the woman's face, he added, "She has the scars to prove it." And when he said this, he received from Sam a very cold stare.

She wrote something else down; the pair assumed it was their answers to her questions. "And how deep do you think you cut?"

Sam quickly opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by Danny, "She had to go to the hospital because of blood loss and had a blood transfusion." If looks could kill...

She wrote this down as well. "Now, I'm not going to ask about the length because I know how they vary. However, I do need to know what you're cutting from. Is it depression? Anger? Confusion? Desperation? Anything like that."

This was the one question the halfa couldn't answer for her. She took a deep breath and said, "All of the above." She saw the hybrid's expression drop and felt kind of guilty for saying it right in front of him; she knew how much he cared about her. "...But I'm going to get better." Then she whispered to herself, "Hopefully..."

Danny continued reading the pamphlet. His eyes hadn't left it since he got it. If the girl he loved was going to stay here, he wanted to know what kind of hardships they were going to put her through, even if it was for her own good. But then again...this was cutting, not drugs. It shouldn't be too hard or take too long to get over it. Maybe a week tops. In the pamphlet was a map of each of the three floors. If he wanted to visit Sam, he'd probably find these maps useful.

"That's a great answer, Samantha! That's the first step to stopping cutting, and you just took it! You're on the road to recovery now!" the lady cheered. She reached in her desk drawer and pulled out a map of the first floor. She folded it up and gave it to the goth. "You're room will be here." She took a blue pen and drew a little dot in a rectangle on the map. "You'll be sharing it with three other girls, so don't be surprised if you find the living conditions a tad tight." The lady smiled kindly and gestured toward the door, as if telling them to get out now.

The pair got up and walked out. Sam was supposed to go get herself acquainted with the other cutters, as Danny had explained to her on their way here. Then she was to get herself familiar with the first floor and her room. According to the map, she would be across from the boys' side, and the rooms were all supposed to be sound-proof. She couldn't help but wonder why that was. Each room had its own bathroom that the tenants were expected to keep clean. It was supposed to teach them something about responsibility, or so the description on the side of the map said.

"If cutting doesn't kill me, this place will," she said sarcastically. She looked at Danny. "Seriously, what kind of tortures do they have in store for me, anyway? Doesn't that pamphlet say anything?"

The halfa smiled but didn't answer her question. Instead, he handed her a picture of the three of them-him, Tucker, and her-and said, "Don't forget about us." He left the facility while Sam was still letting it sink in.

A/N

Yeah, the next few chapters will be like this one. Alot of talking because they'll be describing what Sam does in rehab. In the same sense, they might also be shorter because of it. I actually looked this up on the internet. There really is such thing as a rehab center for cutters. Although I wasn't able to find out its name. So in this story, I named it Other Ways, which I think is a good name for a cutters' rehab center. Anyway, the next few chapters will be brutal for Sam thanks to her addiction. I'm not gonna hint at anything, but I just wanted to let you guys know.

Sorry for the last chapter's review quota... I wrote out 266 reviews but I put down 366 reviews. I meant 266, just so you know. Finger hit the wrong key and I missed the error it caused. Anyway, the new review quota for this chapter will be two hundred and seventy-nine (279) reviews.

And, without further ado, I give you your review replies:

Kagome51-Well, we'll just have to see about that, now won't we? lolz!

Danny Phantom Fan1-Yap, always a new problem. But doesn't every story have one? lolz, but mine has several! Several times the suspense!Good; I like when my readers are feeling what the characters are feeling. I put a ton of emotion into this just so you guys like it. Hm...maybe it did, maybe it didn't. I'll never tell until I tell. *grins*

Inventor of ZADRF-Well the bottle was big. Like, beyond normal sized. I tried to emphasize that, but with a bottle...well, it's kinda hard. Yeah. I still thought it was sweet, even if it was fake. I don't really update fast, I just happened to have alot of free time on my hands. I took what I could use. XD THROW him? ROFL! Please don't say that again! I laughed too hard now my lungs hurt! (for real) Well, he kinda calls himself that in the show. What am I supposed to call him? The 'African American'? lolz! Um...I'm on my tweny-fifth page and going strong. Overcame my writers' block, so I can get back on track now. No worries, I like reading long rambles. I just don't like replying to them! XD

Gracie407-Yeah. I tend to think of something really uplifting when I think my readers need a break from all the depressing sad stuff. I try my best on this thing. What do you think happened? You know you're like, the only person that caught that part? I was shocked at how nobody commented on how he called her 'dove' in the last chapter. I thought for sure everyone would be all over that! Of course he brought it up again, but Sam doesn't know he remembered. He only remembers bits and pieces of it, not the whole thing, but he remembers calling her 'dove'.

fishy9494-lolz, yeah. I thought poor old Mr. Lancer needed a little spotlight in the story. He's left out of so many, after all. You make me scared...seriously. You always seem to know what I'm gonna write next! Which is actually good 'cause I need some new ideas. Help me out? AW! CURSE YOUR GET-ME-THINKING QUESTIONS!

Looka'sMagicHell-Very much so, yes. It's fun torturing her. So you can just imagine the next few chapters... *smiles*I know, right? Stupid cliffies!

aras the crazy writer-I know; I was trying to do something both funny, realistic, and unexpected. What can I say? This fit the bill! After reading this, you won't have to figure it out.

Codiak-I know! Me too! People who aren't themselves are just...rofl! Yep, it's very bad on Sam's part. Well, it's not really her fault. I made her do it! XD I'm so evil...

DannyPhantomLover8998-Thanks! Yeah, I was laughing so hard I almost couldn't write the chapter! I couldn't get Danny's blushing face out of my head! lolz! I'm still deciding that, actually. I dunno whether to make just Jazz find out, or all of them find out, or...well, you know where this is going, right? How could Dash prove it, though? He's..well, he's Dash. He's a moron. Wow, good luck with 'em!

L.-Thanks and I will. Try to. I will try to. I also got a real-life, no-internet story to write that will eventually be a book. So I'm kinda busy, especially considering the amounts of schoolwork and stuff...

Hellbreaker-XD Oh, man! Truer words have never been spoken! That's good to hear. You aren't a loser! Stop thinking of yourself that way! Whoever made you think that way about yourself is the loser, not you. Well, that person and the men who go to 'gentlemen's' clubs. Why do they call it that anyway? No gentleman would go to a place like that! Too immoral!

Jaded Jimmie-His face is DEFINITELY blushy! No doubt about that! XD

IsadoraKayStone-Nah, but you just found out what was wrong with her. lolz, good guess, but still not correct.

Sunshine-Midnight123-Nice to know that you're into the story. I love it when my readers like my stories! ^.^

Kpfan72491-Thank you.

lpwriter4life-Broke a window? No, I don't think she'll ever get THAT desperate. Thanks! I'm glad it worked, then! Served its purpose.

hunnybunny276198-She is, as you can see through this chapter.

Ink Kissed-Well, you're welcome! lolz, my first good summary! Yeah, they do. Just wish I knew why. lolz, no harm done, right? I look forward to any more feedback you have to give me.

The Silver Radio-Xd Bummer for you. Yeah, that's always exciting. (speaking for myself) It's actually affecting the whole school. Or at least...getting noticed by them. You're welcome! It's supposed to be able to open your eyes like that because it's an awareness fic. I didn't mention it in the summary because (a) nobody really reads awareness fics and (b) I didn't have enough room.

Guess whooo-I love you too. Yeah, I figured it out when I read your signature, Kris. What's so wrong with the 'K'? Why does it have to be a 'Ch'? It puts a twist to your name, makes it unique. Unique is good! I'll update when I update; I still have Bestia to write, you know. And btw, YOU'RE the jerk! You beat up a bunch of aliens and put them in jail! And must I mention the PRESIDENT?

xxxAngelBlueEyesxxx-Oh, okay. Nice new name. Although, selfishly speaking, I liked VampireGurlxox better. Made it sound...I dunno, just...I dunno. But that's only my opinion, I'm not trying to discredit the name or be mean or anything.

And those were my loyal, super-awesome reviewers! And Kris. (lolz, jk, Kris, jk)