Author: Amberfly

Series: Dan and Cam

Title: Valentine's Day and other Horror Stories.

Warnings: Nope.

Sadly…not beta'd.

Heart hammering in his chest, the black clad intruder took shallow breaths as he crept down the hallway on his hands and knees. Using all the stealth of a thief in the night, he picked up the pace urging himself to be both brave and noble. "Don't be such a chicken-shit!"

Finally arriving at his destination, he reached out a black gloved hand before deftly turning the handle of the door. "Easy does it," he cautioned himself. The old adage of when did Plan A ever work coming into play, the floorboards betrayed his stealth and instantly creaked in protest. His eyes widened with alarm and he whirled around expecting to see trouble in size twelve army boots. Sweat beaded on his top lip.

"C-crap!" Anxiety tightened the nocturnal visitor's features as his hand flew to his mouth to stifle anymore-imprudent words escaping. As if the universe suddenly conspired against him, he groaned as both the ancient flashlight died and clouds camouflaged the shards of moonlight that that had conveniently peeked through the drapes. Standing in total darkness, he blinked several times before he murmured softly, "Okay, so I guess it's now or never!"

A grimace tugged at his lips as he squeezed himself through the crack in the door, shooting a final, quick look over his shoulder. He knew that if he were going to be rumbled his captor would likely be here by now. The thought caused him to shiver. He'd never crack under torture, no matter how heinous, but it was still best not to have to test his resolve.

A look of pure triumph crossed his face as he felt for the light switch, instantly dimming it. In the yellowish, half-light, he strode across the floor, smooth, easy, confident, just like the ninja he admired so much. Rolling up the sleeves of his black pajamas, his hard little fingers shook his slumbering prey awake.

"Wake up, Daniel!"

Daniel blinked owlishly into the light before rolling onto to side feigning sleep once more.

"Wont!"

Cammie groaned at his brother's feeble attempt to ignore him, and his fingers dug in a little tighter.

"P-Pssst…."

"No. Go away!"

"Nope, no can do, soldier." With that, Cammie remembered the entrance he'd rehearsed and falling to the floor, he rolled into a tight ball and muttered, "Pretend this is the first time you've seen me! I'm practicing my uzura-gakure!"

"Oh fer cryin'outloud! What?"

"Uzura-gakure, rock-dweeb! I have to remain motionless so you think I am a stone! All us ninjas know what uzura-gakure means!" Words muffled due to his knees in his mouth, Cam wheezed before giving up the dubious mode of camouflage. "Phew, that's kinda hard to do. So, you awake now?"

The look Daniel gave his brother said that he was dangerously close to crossing a line. Arms folded across his chest, he said tensely, "I am calling for dad if you don't uzura-gakure your stoopid ass outta my room!"

"Nah, you won't squeal on me." Jumping onto the bed and casually tossing several of Daniel's stuffies to the floor, Cam smiled while baring his teeth like a little wolf. He hadn't risked losing his three green stars thus staying home for family day for nothing. He was on a sacred mission.

"So, Danny, wanna hear my excellent plan before or after I give you a killer noogie?" Cam buffed his nails on his pajama top, huffing on them for extra menace. It did the trick.

"Fine…." Shuffling further up his bed Daniel slapped Cam's hand away and sighed softly. "What harebrained scheme do you expect me to play along with this time?

"Well, you know Miss Bumstead said its Valentine's Day soon, right? She explained what sissy stuff men have to do, remember? Flowers, candy, and those secret, sappy Valentines cards?"

Daniel rubbed his eyes as he stifled a jaw cracking yawn. "What about it?"

"We want Sarah to be our mom, right? So it's up to me and you to make sure Daddy doesn't get it all wrong.

A moments silence hung in the room. Daniel's blue eyes widened with fright.

"God, tell me you aren't thinking of using dad's credit card to buy her flowers and candy?"

Cam's expression fell flat like one of Sarah's awful lemon sponge cakes. His cunning plan seemed to suddenly sound lame. "Wha-? Er…hell no!" Cam was all bravado, just short on substance occasionally.

"You are! Cammie, Dad will skin you alive if you use it again! Remember last time? Huh? Do you? Huh?"

Cam flinched. "I have those memories," he conceded.

"Then, ninja-nitwit, just roll like the stone you are out of my room."

Realizing his mistake, Cam quickly changed the subject of foolishly pilfered AMEX cards. "Oh, I didn't mean buy stuff! Nooo, I meant we can send Sarah Valentines cards and pretend they are from daddy! We can leave her flowers and stuff on her doorstep."

Hand slapped against his forehead, Daniel groaned before hissing, "Flowers? Stuff? Doorstep? Pray tell how do we do that?"

Another awkward silence descended on the room.

"Okay, obviously we can't get them to her house without riding to the bus stop and …."

"Which means not only leaving the yard, but also means riding by the Thompson's house with flowers in our backpacks?" Daniel grinned a little nastily. "Don'cha think they might call us sissies?"

"Sissies?"

Daniel drove home the advantage. "Even if we made it past those Neanderthals, think what happens next when Sarah wises up and decides she outta call daddy?"

Cameron blinked, dumb struck with horror.

"Sissy? Me? Thompson's might think that I'd was some dumb 'ole sissy? Like you?" The thought of such un-manly behavior appalling Cam, he nodded his head quickly, ignoring the wry look flitting across his brother's face.

"Imagine if they tattled at recess!" Daniel added smoothly, "and please, don't even ask me what terrible, hideous and painful punishment daddy would think up. He is Black-ops after all!"

"They'd really think they tell everyone that I was a…*cough*…a… sissy?"

"Yup."

Any thought of pesky, paternal retribution paled into insignificance. What was a smacked fanny when faced with the humiliation of being caught with flowers in your Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtle, backpack? What would Leonardo think? Leaning across and affectionately rapping a knuckle on Danny's sleep tousled head, he said, "This is why you are the general, Daniel. So, get some shut-eye and have a plan ready for tomorrow. We don't have much time, and Sarah is counting on you. I'm counting on you, so don't let me down." Jumping off the bed, he slammed one little fist into the other and added, "Or else!"

"Wha-?"

Tiptoeing into the hallway while remembering to flatten himself against the wall in case of an incursion, Cammie slunk back to his room. Eyes shining brightly, he jumped into bed, rubbed the silky feel of the ninja pajamas lovingly before yawning and falling instantly to sleep. The little wing-wiper was confident that Daniel would find the answer to his Valentine Day problem. One, he wisely reconsidered, that didn't involve AMEX cards, unauthorized bus rides, or worse- flowers hanging out of backpacks.

In the room down the hall, the once sleepy little archeologist laid wide awake, horror etched deeply into his freckled face. "Me?"

TBC….