Taking Over Me

Summary: With Sam gone, Danny has enough to deal with. At the same time he runs into the first ghost he can't beat, and that's Danny Phantom.

Rating: PG-13 for mature themes and language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman does. I do not own Taking Over Me, Evanescence does.

Chapter Twenty-one

To live, to breathe, you're taking over me.

"You'll get pnemonia and I'll be able to say I told you so." Sam laughed at his statement and his throat closed. How could she still look cute five-months pregnant with her hair caught up in the bitter frozen wind?

She stood next to the door out onto the balcony, as if pausing before wandering to the balustrade. It was hard to believe it was six and already dark. The light from the glass sliding door gave her a surreal look. "I know. I'm only supposed to be out for about five minutes at a time. It's gotten so cold I have to have Tammy come pick me up and take me home."

"As soon as you have your baby, I'll take you home with me." He walked over and leaned against the wall next to the door to the library, hoping she'd get the subtly hint they needed to go back in.

"I still don't see why you'd want that. I mean I'll be all moody still and the baby won't sleep through the night for a while. How can you put up with that?" She pushed off the wall and walked over to the edge of the balcony and looked down.

"I've always been there for you, you know that." Danny watched her spin and lean with her back against the railing holding it on either side of her.

She arched an eyebrow. "What about in third grade when you told me I had cooties and shoved me in the mud," she said, her violet eyes glittering.

He grinned over at her. "Tucker made me do it." She laughed and for the first time during the visit he started to believe she was getting better.

The sound of the door opening shattered the rare moment they were sharing. "Who's the new guy?" The older boy nodded in Danny's direction. Danny's eyes narrowed at the arrogant attitude that seamed to hang around the guy.

"Chris, This is Danny. Danny, Chris," Sam introduced gesturing vaguely.

Chris nodded. "Sam, you really need to go back in. It's cold." Danny felt a wave of anger well up inside him. Chris said it as if he was to stupid to figure that out and get her back inside.

"We were just about to." Sam said, giving Danny a small smile. She pulled her coat tighter around herself and started towards the door.

"Hey, Sam." She turned towards the senior. "You're coming to the game Thursday, right?"

She nodded. "I'm supervising Ryan and Trey Garner. Trey's older brother's on the JV team."

"Yeah, Lucas Garner. I was just wondering if you would want to go with me and some of the guys to grab a pizza afterwards?"

"She can't," Danny cut in. "Weren't you listening? She's got the boys with her." Sam shot him a look but he ignored it. His stomach churned at the idea of Sam out on a date with this creep.

The look Chris shot Danny clearly said he was lower than dirt to this guy. "She can send them home with the Garners'. Beside, I didn't ask you; I asked Sam."

Sam opened her mouth respond but before she could Danny reached out and grabbed her wrist. "She's not interested," he said as he pulled her through the door, letting it slide shut behind them.

Sam shot him a disbelieving look. "Daniel Fenton," she growled. "What did you just do?"

"It's not as if you were going to go with him."

Sam looked at him, violet eyes wide. "I don't remember asking you."

Danny opened his mouth reply but Sam spun on her heal and took off in the other direction.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Sam!" He ran down the steps in twos trying to catch up with her. "Wait!" He lunged forward and managed to grab her right elbow.

She spun on her heals. "You know what, Danny? I think it's you who needs a reality check. I'm not your girlfriend. Not now nor have I ever been. I'm free to make my own choices. I'm sorry if that bother's you." She tried wrenched her arm out of his grasp, but he held on as tight as he could.

"No!" He snapped, forcing her to look back up at his face. "I'm tired of you running from me. I'm tired of you trying to ignore the fact that we may have something more than friendship. You want some safe little high school relationship that's never going to go anywhere? Fine! Go ahead and date him. Be the happy girlfriend of a I'm-going-no-where-with-my-life jerk. I just always thought you were bigger than that, Sam. I guess I was wrong. Or maybe I just no you better than you'll ever know yourself."

"Maybe I wasn't going to go! You never gave me a chance to say anything!"

"Then why are you acting so upset?" He screamed right back.

"Maybe I want to have the freedom to decide what I want to do with my life! God knows I can't now!" She gestured vaguely to herself as she said it. He stood there silently letting that sink in. The silence stretched on for a while. She glanced at his hand. "Maybe I don't know what I want," she whispered.

"You don't want this," he said firmly. Her eyes met his and he couldn't help but notice the sparkle from earlier was gone.

She looked down, giving violet eyes a dark, hooded look. "Go home, Danny."

He dropped her elbow and drew back as if burned. "What," he whispered in disbelief.

"This is just making it worse for both of us," she said. She wrapped her arms around her swollen stomach. "Danny, we're disillusioning ourselves. Life doesn't work like this. Even when they reevaluate the case, I won't get to stay with you. I'm not letting you do this to yourself."

He swallowed, hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. "Maybe it's my choice to make."

"But that's where you're wrong, it isn't. I'm the one who has to live with this and I won't let you ruin your life like this." Sam shook her head. "Please, Danny. Just go back to Amity Park. You have a life to get back to. One with out me."

This should have gone up last night, but I got a call from home at around eleven that they found a snake in my bedroom and I needed to go stay the night at my Grandparents who live an hour away. I am being totally serious about everything that's happening. I think God hates this story or something. But here are the people who actually like it: GetFuzzyFan04, Random Reviewer, WormmonABC, CoLdPLaYeR813, autumngold x3, The Good Girl, Danielle Phantom, Airie-chan, The Fuzy Llama, Medisti, Moody Maud, MayB, Mrs. Granger-Weasley, and Kagome51. You guys Rock Out Loud!

P.S. - I'm sure you all noticed that this chapter and the last one were the happy ones. And in Fallen what always happens after the happy chapter. Ie: after the happy chapter Sam got her weapon in Hello and after Happy chapter was the hearing in Imaginary…