The next several weeks were filled with unease for the family of ghost fighters as they kept up with the case against Jeremy, his murders and the captivity and abuse of his child. Sam seemed to have good days and bad days, her moods all over the place as they waited to hear what would be happening with her father. She would have to testify and while she didn't want to do it, she knew that it was the only way to ensure that he would go away for a long time. Maddie was in the kitchen when she got the call that would get that ball rolling. "Hello?" Danny walked into the kitchen just as she answered her phone, the halfa coming down to grab a few things to eat while Sam lay asleep in his bed, the small Gothic female having one of her bad days. "Oh, okay." He raised a brow at her frown, her lips tightening into a line as she listened to the person on the line. "So, a week from now?" More talking. "Okay. Thanks. I will let her know."
"She has to do it that soon?" the raven haired teen inquired the moment his mom hung up the phone. She nodded, looking rather worried. "Can they not use the tapes from the questioning?"
"No, they need her to talk about it so the jury can see," was her response. "I'm just worried that she's not ready to do that yet." Danny could see that. Not that the young girl wasn't strong, but she had just gotten out of that year long abuse only to be forced to relive it. While she was having nightmares about the abuse, she had Danny with her to help her get thru it. It was also a private moment that only he saw, this would be before several people, all of whom were strangers. "I guess I should tell her so that she has time to prepare, not that I think anyone can be prepared for that." That's when it struck Danny that he could help the teen with this, well, his ghost half could help her. Smiling he told his mother that he would talk to her about it.
"I have a plan to make it a bit easier for her," he said before heading to the fridge to grab items to make a salad for Sam and a sandwich for him. His mother now raised a brow, but trusted that her son knew what he was talking about. After all, Sam trusted him the most, though they had been worried about the pair after the confrontation the other day and the fact that Danny had blown up about the information concerning Sam's captivity. When Maddie had heard from Tucker about what was on the video that had made the halfa blow up, she could understand. Jeremy hadn't just abused and raped her, no, he had forced her to play the part of a willing captive. He had made her tell him that she wanted it. Going back to making the meal for later that night the ghost fighter thought about how that day would go, the worry still gripping her heart.
Danny was in the same boat, though he figured that if he went intangible and stood by her side would help, he was still worried about how much he could take with her. He felt so helpless when she had a nightmare, or when she refused to leave his room, only staying in bed for the most part and sleeping. He also still had to go to school and that caused a bit of a problem when it came to leaving her alone. She trusted his family, but she wasn't as comfortable with them as she was with him around. He seemed to sooth her torment, but sometimes even he wasn't enough. She would return to the guest rooms on those days and while that had only happened a couple of times the first few weeks, he was still concerned that she would never be able to make it thru this darkness that seemed to fall over her. He knew that she would have a hard time dealing with it, but he had assumed that he could truly help her. His mom had even suggested that she go to a therapist, but the Goth was adamant that she could do it with the help of the halfa.
He loved her, that wasn't hard for him to figure out and while he had never believed in love at first sight, he found that his feelings for her were more powerful than the crush he had on the Ice Queen of Casper High. He cared about her wellbeing, went as far as he could to help her and felt her own emotions at times. It was a strange feeling to know the feelings of someone who had gone thru such abuse, but like that one nightmare before, he could feel it. There were nights that he shared in those nightmares, the feeling of being unable to fight back, to watch as she was torn in two by the older blond male. There were even nightmares where he was her, taking that pain himself so that she wouldn't have to, but even then he awoke to her whimpering in her sleep. She didn't cry, no, Sam tried to hold it in, as if she were still there tying to be a good captive so that she could protect him. He knew that was why she didn't cry out, that she kept it bottled in and for that reason he almost wanted her to see a therapist, but then he would see the shame in her gaze and knew that while she was feeling a bit better about him knowing that abuse, she didn't want to talk to others about it.
Taking the food he headed upstairs to find said Goth twisted in the sheets, her face pale with sweat dripping down from her short raven locks. She was whimpering, little sounds that were forced out of her tight lips as she tried to hold them in. Dropping the food off on his desk the halfa went to her side, sitting down on the edge of the bed, ready to wake her from the nightmare when he paused to watch her for a moment. He decided to do what his sister had said when Sam was having a nightmare, to get her more open to fighting them from within. Touching her forehead, his hands chilly against her clammy skin. "Sam," he whispered. The small female let out another whimper, but turned toward him in her sleep, seeking his presence. "He can't hurt you anymore. He's in jail." She stopped moving for a moment, a tear coming down from under her eyelid as they shifted. "I would never let him get you. If he came anywhere near you I would stop him." She seemed to calm a little bit more, her body relaxing at his voice, his words reaching into her subconscious. "You have seen my powers, Sam. I would freeze him on the spot." She moaned softly now, her eyes opening slowly, her gaze dazed in her sleepy state.
"D-Danny," she whispered, her voice husky with sleep. He smiled at her, still touching her forehead before his fingers moved over her scalp, the raven locks being forced back for a moment before popping right back into place. Her stomach rumbled, her cheeks flushing as he chuckled.
"Hungry?" She nodded, the halfa grabbing their food while she sat up. They ate in silence, the Goth still waking up from the nightmare that had been plaguing her while Danny was trying to figure out how he was going to tell her that she would have to face the male that had given her those nightmares. "Sam, I have some good news and some bad news." She stopped eating, the fork stopped mid bite. When she didn't say anything he decided to dive right in. "His trial is next week." She started to smile, happy to have it coming to an end. All the worries about having to wait to know if he would be going away forever or if he would get only a few years... "You will have to testify." The smile drooped, her eyes growing wide as fear flickered in them. He placed his plate on the bed, his hand coming out to touch her knee. She whispered something so softly that he had to ask her to repeat it.
"I-I don't know if-f I can do it," she muttered.
"You won't be doing it alone," he promised. "I will be right there at your side, holding your hand just like I promised you." She looked unsure about that, the question of whether he would be allowed to stand up there with her reflecting back at him. He explained his plan, the fact that no one would know that he was there except for her. "I don't know if that is a good idea." He raised a brow at her words, confused at why she wouldn't want him to be at her side. Did she not trust him to keep his promise? Then again, the first time he had promised her that he would keep her safe, he had failed.
"If you don't wa-" She placed her bowl on top of his plate, her hands coming out to grasp the one on her knee as she shook her head.
"I do want you there," she said, her voice so soft and so forceful at the same time, as if she wanted him to understand what she was trying to say. She was worried about how he would react to having to watch her talk about that time spent in that house. She knew that he was upset by what he had seen, the fact that she hadn't even been aware of the recording equipment in the room. She felt the shame again, the thought that while she had thought that torment would only be for her to relive and now to know that he had recorded it... It made her sick with the knowledge that he had wanted, or he had, to watch it over and over, to see her at her most vulnerable. "I'm...I'm concerned for you." Blinking he realized that she had known his own worry, the fact that he couldn't stop his reaction to her pain, to her abuse at the hands of the monster who had kept her for a year.
"It's so weird," he murmured as he stroked her hand, the small teen raising a brow at him. "It's like you can read my thoughts, that you know my own fears and worries." She smiled now. She understood that. He did the same thing with her. He knew what to say and how to react when she hadn't said a thing to indicate her own feelings. "I promise that I will stand by your side, that I will hold your hand and try not to kill the bastard." She nodded. They could do this together. They could help her face her tormentor and with him by her side she knew that she would be strong enough to look Jeremy in the eyes and retell the horrible things that had been done to her.
The week went by rather quickly for Danny, most of his time spent at school while Sam was taken to the courthouse to speak about the facts of the case so there wouldn't be any surprises and while she seemed okay talking about it... Danny found that when he got home she was more reclusive. Every day was a bad day for her after spending all that time with the prosecution. His parents went with her, sitting in the room as the questions were asked to help keep her calm. They were concerned with how it would go down on the day when she had to speak before the jury and the courtroom gallery. When the day finally came Danny found the Goth hiding under the blankets of his bed, sleeping in the fetal position.
"Sam," he called as he entered the darkened room, the curtains drawn to keep the light out as she slept. She groaned in response, though he could tell that she was asleep as she turned over, a whimper escaping her lips. He moved closer, his steps light as he tried not to startle her. That would not be the right way to start what was to be a very taxing day for both of them. Stopping by the bed he did what he always did when she was having a bad day. He sat down and touching her thru the blankets talked to her. "It's okay Sam. Today is the day that you never have to worry about him ever again." She groaned, moving to stretch, her body moving under his fingers before he pulled back. He tried not to touch her in places that might set her off, unsure of how she would feel being touched on anything other than her knee or shoulder. She pulled back the blanket to peek up at him.
"Do I have to?" she questioned. She felt the anxiety eating at her, the feeling of it keeping her from taking a decent breath as her heart pounded roughly in her chest. She was sweating, though it could be from hiding under the blankets as well as the nightmares. It was early, the clock on the bed reading seven o'clock in the morning. He nodded, the small teen groaning. "Danny, I don't know if I can do it, not today." He smiled at her, the smile sad as he read her body, her eyes reflecting the fear that seemed to darken the normally bright amethyst gaze.
"Do you trust me?" he asked her. She seemed surprised at the question, but she nodded. "Do you trust that I will protect you and that I will stand by you no matter what?" Again she nodded, no hesitation in her responses. "Then we can do this because I trust that you are strong enough to tell the world that he is a monster. That he should never be allowed to be free to do what he did to you." She still seemed unsure. He reached out to take both of her hands in his, his blue eyes holding her own amethyst orbs. "Think about all those people who can never go home to their families. The people he murdered." The fear still flickered in her gaze, but now there was a sadness. "Be their voice, Sam. Be your voice and speak up. Don't allow him to hold you in that grip of fear, unable to fight back against him." He moved closer, pulling her into his arms. "Show him that he can't hurt you anymore, that others love you no matter what he thinks he did to change that." She nodded into his chest, tears in her eyes as she remembered the death she had seen at such a young age.
"At least I don't have to go in until I have to speak," she said, thankful that she didn't have to be around him for long. He smiled at her words, the knowledge that she was trying to be brave and while it was going to be hard to look at the male, to temper the fear that he had instilled in her, he knew she could do it.
"Are you ready?" She shook her head.
"Not really, but I want to get it over with." He chuckled at her, bestowing a kiss on her raven locks before leaving the room so she could dress.